Cymru gained promotion to League A of the UEFA Nations League following a 4-1 win against Iceland at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday. The away side took an early lead through Andri Gudjohnsen, but a brace from Liam Cullen meant that Craig Bellamy’s side claimed the half-time lead before Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson’s goals sealed Cymru’s promotion.
Following the game, Bellamy spoke to the media on his team’s performance and how the ‘red wall’ helped his side when they went 1-0 down.
What did Craig Bellamy say?
“Now, of course, I get blindsided by the results and I know we’re in a result-driven business but it isn’t the most important to me. When we spoke to the players before we came here, there were many aspects of our game we managed to get and tick off,” explained the 45-year-old, who previously worked alongside Vincent Kompany at Burnley.
“You have to be able to move them, you have to be able to run and we were. We were able to wear them out with the ball. We stayed patient and the players got what they deserved.”
“Today, because of that, the mentality was tested, and now, at times, we’ve done very well with it. Sometimes, we haven’t quite – but it’s all been learning. So what we were able to show from Türkiye was difficult circumstances and a very good, quality team – we just weren’t compact enough,” Bellamy continued.
The ‘red wall’ drove the Cymru team on as they went one goal down early on and Craig Bellamy thanked the fans for their support last night: “There was a moment, a big moment in the game as well where, like, I look, I know it’s different to what they’re seeing. Like we used to cheer last-minute tackles and 80 metres sprint back and I know the game is a little bit different to what they have been seeing and I feel like we’re getting there together.”
“But, you know, they know moments. They know moments when you need them and then they pick it up and it was like, that’s what these players are very, very grateful for. It was nice, actually. It was the first time I became aware of the Montenegro game that I had any interest in it.”
“When I, like, they were making a noise, I was like, really? This could actually be a good night. But, yeah, hugely important, Hugely important.”