Belief but work to do – Wales' two years under Bellamy

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Craig Bellamy scored 19 goals in 78 appearances as a player for Wales

ByIan MitchelmoreBBC Sport Wales

Published3 minutes ago

Wales' 2-1 loss to Romania brought an end to Craig Bellamy's second year as head coach of the Red Dragons.

The former striker landed the role in July 2024 following the departure of Robert Page.

There have been both highs and lows so far - with promotion to Nations League A followed by World Cup qualifying heartache.

As Wales begin their three-month wait to return to action on the back of friendly disappointment in Bucharest, BBC Sport Wales takes a closer look at Bellamy's time in charge so far.

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Bellamy's record

The contest in Bucharest was Wales' 20th fixture under Bellamy.

They have won eight of those matches at a rate of 40%, drawing seven (when including the World Cup play-off semi-final with Bosnia & Herzegovina) and losing five.

Gary Speed and Ryan Giggs both had highly impressive win rates of 50%, although Bellamy's predecessor Page - the only Wales manager in history to manage at two major tournaments - had a win rate of 33%.

Chris Coleman - the architect of Wales' stunning run to the semi-finals at Euro 2016 - had a win rate of 39% in his 49 games as boss between 2012 and 2017.

Under Bellamy, Wales have scored 34 goals at an average of 1.7 per game and conceded 24 times.

Connor Roberts, who made his long-awaited return from an Achilles injury as a substitute in the defeat by Romania, said: "In general I think we're doing well. We're progressing and learning.

"We just have to sharpen up in areas and stay focused and switched on for the whole game in every game."

Highs and lows

Craig Bellamy in a black rain jacket roars with fists clenched

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Craig Bellamy worked as an assistant to Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley

Bellamy became the first Wales manager to go unbeaten in his first four games at the helm when his side beat Montenegro 1-0 in October 2024.

That impressive start was stretched to a nine-match unbeaten run under Bellamy before losing 4-3 to Belgium in a thrilling World Cup qualifier in June 2025.

However, after such a promising beginning - which included promotion into Nations League A - the going has been significantly tougher.

Wales suffered play-off semi-final heartache as they were beaten on penalties by Bosnia and Herzegovina - which ended their hopes of reaching successive World Cups for the first time in their history.

Having twice lost to Belgium in addition to being beaten by Canada and England in friendlies, Wales are yet to win against a team ranked higher than them since Bellamy took charge.

"There's stuff to improve on, for sure," goal scorer David Brooks said after the Romania defeat, adding it is "bitterly disappointing" that Wales will not be at the World Cup.

The schedule only gets tougher in the second half of 2026 as Bellamy's men take on Portugal, Norway and Denmark in the top tier of the Nations League - with all three of their opponents being ranked higher than Wales by Fifa.

"It's going to be tough in the Nations League, our group has got top, top teams in it, so it's going to be difficult," added Burnley right-back Roberts.

"But that's why you play football, to play against the best footballers on the biggest stage."

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Highlights: Romania 2-1 Wales

Evolving squad

Bellamy has regularly been keen to stress the need for Wales to increase and improve their player pool.

The 46-year-old has used 37 different players during his tenure to date.

He has also handed seven players - Karl Darlow, Dylan Lawlor, Ronan Kpakio, Kai Andrews, Joel Colwill, Isaak Davies and Cameron Congreve - their senior Wales debuts.

Qualifying for Euro 2028 remains the long-term aim for Wales and Bellamy, and blooding young talent has been viewed as a necessity to strengthen the nation's long-term prospects.

Now halfway through his four-year contract with the Football Association of Wales, there are clearly signs of evolution, although there is work still to be done.

Assessing his two years in the hotseat after the loss to Romania, Bellamy said: "We're definitely very different, two years older.

"It's been really enjoyable, there's a lot of stuff I really like that we've been able to do.

"But also it's so, so clear, I feel that if we want to improve, these are the areas we need to improve on."

Bellamy, who has been linked with several clubs in recent months, has clearly not lost his appetite for the Wales job.

"That excites me as well because I do like the team, I like how we play, but we need to be better in certain areas," he added.

"That's going to allow us to be able to compete with the top, top teams on a regular basis - because that's where we want to be and we're going to be tested now on that in Nations League A.

"It's going to test everything about us. That's where we want to be and that's where we want to stay, so a lot of work to do."