Wales v Belgium live: Craig Bellamy’s side beaten in blow to automatic World Cup qualification hopes | OneFootball

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'We had to suffer a lot of pain' Bellamy on 'difficult' 3-0 loss to England

Wales have been dealt a mammoth blow to their hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup as they succumbed to a home defeat at the hands of Belgium.

The hosts got off to the perfect start, with Joe Rodon’s eighth-minute header seeing Craig Bellamy’s side capitalise on early pressure in Cardiff. However, Belgium flipped the game on its head before the half-hour mark, with Kevin De Bruyne levelling from the spot before Thomas Meunier fired into the top corner to complete the turnaround.

The visitors added to their lead after the break through another De Bruyne penalty, and while Nathan Broadhead instilled late hope with his 89th-minute finish, Leandro Trossard quickly put dreams of a fightback to bed just a minute later.

It leaves Craig Bellamy’s side with only a glimmer of hope when it comes to topping their qualification group, meaning it will likely be through the perilous play-offs if Wales are to compete in next summer’s World Cup finals.

Kevin De Bruyne double sinks Wales as Belgium take control of World Cup group

Wales’ hopes of automatic World Cup qualification were dealt a blow as Kevin De Bruyne converted two penalties in Belgium’s 4-2 win in Cardiff.

On a crazy night, when second-half Wales substitute Brennan Johnson had to shoo a rat off the pitch, Belgium recovered from an early deficit to take control of Group J.

Full report:

Kevin De Bruyne double sinks Wales as Belgium take control of World Cup group

Wales 2-4 Belgium: The Dragons appear to be in a battle for second spot with North Macedonia as Belgium stormed to victory in Cardiff

Will Castle14 October 2025 00:00

Ben Davies speaks on winning his 100th cap

While he did come off injured and the result didn’t go their way, there was still a tinge of brightness to Ben Davies’ outing tonight. He joined the Wales 100 club.

"It was really special [to get a hundred caps], and I'm sure with time I'll look back on it with really fond memories, but right now it's about the tough result at the moment,” he told BBC Sport.

(Getty Images)

Craig Bellamy left baffled by penalty decision

"I'm definitely proud of the players,” Bellamy told BBC Sport. “What we were looking to do we were exceptional at.

"It's not great because we've lost. We had momentum but the penalty gave them a lift and even the crowd died down.

"That's three penalties we've conceded against Belgium. We've scored five goals against them but not got a point, so that's hard to take.

"I have no complaints about the second [penalty]. But the first? What are we supposed to do with our hands?

"This is not sour grapes and congratulations to Belgium, but we've conceded four penalties from handballs.

"We didn't deserve it at that time. We had to react but they reacted better in that period."

(David Davies/PA Wire)

Will Castle13 October 2025 23:20

Ethan Ampadu pleads for Wales to 'pick themselves back up'

"We can take some positives from what happened out there but the result isn't what we wanted,” he told BBC Sport.

"We're disappointed with the goals. Against a good team they were cheap goals to give away.

"You go through disappointments, you go through hard defeats and tough results, but we've got to pick ourselves up. We're going to do that.

"There's a gap now as we go back to our club teams, but when we come back, the pride of playing for Wales comes through."