Craig Bellamy’s war-cry provides fuel for Wales’ World Cup dream – now it’s time for the fire | OneFootball

Four years ago, Wales qualified for their first World Cup in 64 years with two nervy one-goal victories in Cardiff, spurred on by their bombastic ‘Red Wall’ support. Now, the Dragons are chasing their second Finals appearance in three-and-a-half years and, once again, have been gifted home advantage in, potentially, both play-off contests. Deja vu, much?

An engrossing showdown next Tuesday, most likely against four-time world champions Italy, would await Craig Bellamy’s men if they can see off the threat of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their talismanic 40-year-old captain Edin Dzeko, with 146 caps and 72 goals in his back pocket, on Thursday night. Any temptations from the FAW (Football Association of Wales) to shift these titanic matches to the 80,000-capacity Principality Stadium were rightly ignored. It’s no overstatement to suggest that the raucous home support at the Cardiff City Stadium – with a win-rate around 65 per cent over the past decade – could well make the difference in the next five days.

"I honestly feel we should be at this tournament, I feel we will be a massive asset to the World Cup,” Bellamy said on Wednesday. A reference not just to his squad, potential eeked out to the max, but the country’s typically passionate fanbase.

“It will mean everything to qualify; it allows us to keep moving forward as a team and a nation.”

The parallels to 2022’s qualification are stark. No longer able to rely on Gareth Bale’s solo match-winning heroics, the burden has fallen on another left-footed playmaker in Welsh red, cutting in so wondrously from the right, to be this generation’s linchpin.

Harry Wilson has grabbed the mantle and some. Twelve of his 17 international goals have come in the last three years and, last time out against North Macedonia, he scored a hat-trick. The Fulham midfielder is enjoying his best season so far, with 10 Premier League goals to date.

It was much to Bellamy’s relief when, a fortnight ago, Wilson and wing-back Neco Williams emerged unscathed when both faced each other for Fulham and Nottingham Forest.

“I was like ‘don’t you dare try and take him on and don’t you dare try and tackle him’,” Bellamy told BBC Sport. “He’s [Wilson’s] very important to what we do. He has that moment of real high-level quality in the final third, the final pass, actually creating something for himself but also creating for others.

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Free-scoring Harry Wilson (pictured) has become Wales’ most influential player under Craig Bellamy (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

“He’s been really impressive for us and I like to believe the way we use him is beneficial towards him. You can see in our games, especially in my time here, he’s definitely been an outstanding player.”

These tense play-off encounters are often decided by big moments, whether it be a moment of inspiration at one end or desperation at the other. Bale was the hero last time out, but only courtesy of his wildly deflected free-kick in the final match against Ukraine, which sealed Wales’ place at Qatar 2022, their first World Cup since 1958. Such fine margins mean that even with a match-up against Italy or Northern Ireland potentially on the horizon, nothing should be taken lightly.

Bosnia were actually only 13 minutes from this summer’s Finals before Austria equalised in their group-deciding match in November. More good omens for the visitors stand in their record vs Wales: played four, lost zero. And when Bellamy came up against his adversary in the dugout, Sergej Barbarez, on the pitch as both represented their countries in 2003, it was a 2-2 draw. The same again on Thursday would result in extra-time and penalties.

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Bellamy and Sergej Barbarez faced each other for their countries in 2003 (Getty Images)

The temperatures have already risen a notch or two this week with the bizarre row over Brondby boss Steve Cooper, a Welshman, being accused of not selecting Bosnia midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic in recent weeks because of this very fixture. Cooper has now received an apology from Barbarez, who originally made the claim. Still, mind games out in full force.

Over to Bellamy, then, for the pre-match war-cry: “We’re going all out, we’ve got to go full gas. We want 100mph football. It might not be perfect. That’s what I love about our game.

“We ain’t sitting back. You might look at me after the game, maybe I need to change. We’ll deal with that question then, but this is us. This is who I am. This is what the players are. So why not?

“But this is what I like and I hope the fans like it.” More than anything at this juncture, by whatever means necessary, they’ll like a victory.