Bellamy eyes fresh chapter against wounded Denmark as coach
Wales boss Craig Bellamy, who twice scored decisive goals against Denmark as a player, now hopes to guide his side to victory over the Danes in their Nations League A clash.
Wales head coach Craig Bellamy is preparing for a tough test as his side face Denmark in a Nations League A fixture, a country against which he built a special history as a player.
At just 19, having been in scoring form in the English Championship, Bellamy came off the bench in Copenhagen and struck a winning goal despite Wales having been outplayed for much of the match. He later admitted he took stick from teammates after the game, some of whom were unhappy that another player had been handed a surprise recall. A decade later, in November 2008, Bellamy struck again against the same opponents, driving home a 20-yard effort in the 77th minute to hand John Toshack's Wales an unexpected friendly win over Denmark.
Now Bellamy is trying to overcome Denmark from the touchline instead. Both sides suffered defeats in their opening Nations League matches last week, with Denmark losing 3-2 to Norway in Oslo. Neither Wales nor Denmark qualified for this year's World Cup, with Wales exiting via a penalty shootout defeat to Czechia in the play-offs. Denmark boss Brian Riemer's side have not won since beating North Macedonia in a World Cup play-off semi-final in March, while Wales' last victory also came against North Macedonia, back in November.
Riemer has described the meeting with Wales as a "must-win" fixture. Bellamy said he understands the frustration among Danish supporters but declined to make predictions, saying he did not want to "poke the bear" ahead of the contest.
