Craig Bellamy: Was the long-awaited win a turning point for Wales boss?
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Welsh Football
Was long-awaited win a turning point for Craig Bellamy?
Craig Bellamy has won nine of his 23 games in charge of Wales since replacing Rob Page in July 2024.
By Chris Wathan, BBC Sport Wales
Published 55 minutes ago
A game won, a line drawn. And perhaps the end of Craig Bellamy's summer of discontent.
The significance of the victory over Norway was not lost on the Wales head coach. After all, goals from Neco Williams and Dan James – as well as shutting out Erling Haaland – delivered not only Wales' first win in seven games, but their first ever in Nations League A.
Indeed, this was only the second time Wales have beaten a side ranked higher than them in a competitive fixture since reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
But it also meant more.
And even if it wasn't obvious at the final whistle as he calmly shook hands with Stale Solbakken and his staff, Bellamy knew it too.
From March's disappointment over missing out on the World Cup, to June's dalliance with Burnley, it had been a testing time for a head coach still trying to make his mark with his country.
Those summer clouds that had darkened the atmosphere among fans had lingered into the start of this Nations League campaign. Stormier still after the manner of defeat in Denmark.
But, on a clear night in Cardiff, the evening's skies ended up filled only with the sound of the national anthem serenading a re-energised national side's efforts.
A song to signal a turning point? Perhaps, but it was certainly in contrast to the mood music just a few hours before kick-off.
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[Wales 2-1 Norway Highlights](Video link)
Just as they had done on the night World Cup dreams were ended on penalties by Bosnia-Herzegovina, prior to Thursday's game fans gathered at the Canopi venue in the shadow of the Principality Stadium where – all being well – Wales will kick-off a home European Championships in less than two years time.
That prospect was not the topic of conversation of the Red Wall members present, though, with many instead deep in discussion of where and why things seemed to have gone wrong under Bellamy.
From going unbeaten in his opening nine games with a refreshing brand of football, the consensus was things had gone flat and that the head coach was bearing the brunt of it.
"I think people were down on him after Bosnia, the way the game panned out and seeing mistakes we made on the night we'd made earlier in the campaign," said Ryan March, fan and editor of Alternative Wales, the fanzine that had organised the pre-match meet.
"He didn't really come out and say he'd made an error, and then when the Burnley thing happened, perhaps people thought it might be good for a change and we could move on. When it didn't, I expected a reaction – and we haven't had it."
Bellamy speaks out over criticism after Norway win
Published 11 hours ago
Although never a yardstick to always take seriously, the reaction on social media has been more extreme. In real life, the opinion...