Wales face Turkey at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday evening in the first match of their Nations League campaign, as they look for a the perfect start to Craig Bellamy’s tenure.
Bellamy was appointed manager in July after the Welsh FA sacked Rob Page, and he leads Wales in the Nations League as a precursor to the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup,
Matches against Turkey and Montenegro give Bellamy the first chance to see his new-look team in action, though his first game is against a Turkey side that reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Turkey boast plenty of quality in their squad, including Real Madrid’s Arda Guler and Inter Milan’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu, and will provide a tough test to a Wales squad that is yet to gel despite the experience in their ranks.
Follow all the latest build-up, updates and reaction from the Nations League below:
Wales vs Turkey
Almost time for kick off at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Craig Bellamy will be hoping for a successful start to this era of Welsh football. He’s brought some early messages to the team about high intensity and dominating possession.
Turkey will be a tough team to control though and it’ll be interesting to see how Wales go tonight. Kick off is up next…
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:40
Wales vs Turkey
Harry Wilson has had a hand in five goals in his past seven appearances for Wales (two goals, three assists), with one of those assists coming against Turkey in November last year.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:35
Wales vs Turkey
Turkey have only lost two of their past 11 matches in the Nations League (five wins, four draws), although they did lose their most recent match in September 2022 against a Faroe Islands team ranked 125th in the world.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:30
Wales vs Turkey
Wales have only lost three of their past 30 home matches in all competitions (17 wins, 10 draws). Two of those losses were in the Nations League against the Netherlands and Poland in 2022.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:25
Wales vs Turkey
Turkey are winless in their past five away matches (two draws, three defeats), having won six of their previous seven on the road before this run.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:20
Wales vs Turkey
Wales have failed to score in their past three games, with their most recent match a 4-0 defeat by Slovakia in June. They have not gone four without a goal since September 2012, with new boss Craig Bellamy playing in three of those four matches.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:15
Wales vs Turkey
Turkey have failed to win any of their four away matches against Wales (two draws, two defeats), scoring just one goal in those four games, a Yusuf Yazıcı penalty in a 1-1 draw in November 2023.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:10
Wales vs Turkey
Wales have only won one of their past five matches against Turkey (two draws, two defeats), winning 2-0 at Euro 2020.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:05
New Wales manager Craig Bellamy reveals why he jumped at ‘rare’ opportunity
The former Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle forward was named as the new Wales manager earlier this week, replacing Rob Page, who was sacked after a poor run of results ended in Wales failing to qualify for Euro 2024.
Bellamy, who could have remained at Burnley as an assistant to Scott Parker, made 78 appearances for his country between 1998 and 2013, and is a former Wales captain.
Mike Jones6 September 2024 19:00
Harry Wilson on Craig Bellamy
The international paths of Harry Wilson and Craig Bellamy crossed for a few brief minutes as the former came off the bench in a World Cup qualifier against Belgium in October 2013, becoming Wales’ youngest player at the age of 16 years and 207 days.
Bellamy brought the curtain down on his 78-cap Wales career following that Brussels draw, saying after the game Wilson was too young to be capped.
“We’ve not spoken about that. I feel like we’re focused on the here and now,” said Wilson, “He said in one of the meetings that he didn’t get to qualify as a player.
“But he’s watched as a fan and seen the older boys in the squad qualify for multiple major tournaments, and then myself and some of the younger ones that have been to two.
“He wasn’t able to get there as a player, but as a coach he really feels like he can lead us to another one. To see the standard he set as a player was great, and I feel like he’s taken that into his coaching.”
Mike Jones6 September 2024 18:55