'Exciting' Wales boss Bellamy set World Cup goal

Craig Bellamy has been tipped to be a “huge success” as Wales head coach after being set the target of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup by Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief executive Noel Mooney.

Bellamy will name his first squad on Wednesday in preparation for the opening match of his reign, at home to Turkey in the Nations League on Friday, 6 September.

Having appointed the 45-year-old on a four-year contract in July, the FAW’s ultimate goal for Bellamy will be to reach the next World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“We're very confident about the future, we're already excited about playing Turkey, and I think there's a buzz about Welsh football,” Mooney told BBC Sport Wales.

“There's a buzz everywhere about him [Bellamy]. We felt it was the right thing to do as an organisation to bring Craig in, we're delighted with how he has connected with everyone here.

“He's really focused on his style of play, his principles of play which he clearly has, and we feel that he's going to be a huge success here.”

This is Bellamy’s first role as a head coach in senior football, having served as an assistant to now Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht and Burnley.

Bellamy had previously missed out on the Wales job to Ryan Giggs in 2018 but impressed Mooney and FAW chief football officer Dave Adams during the process to find a successor to Rob Page, who was sacked in June.

Page paid the price for a failure to qualify for Euro 2024 and, while Wales’ performances and results in the forthcoming Nations League will be scrutinised, Mooney says ultimate judgement on Bellamy’s reign will be reserved for major tournament qualification.

“We want to qualify for the World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico, and we felt that Craig was the right choice there,” the FAW boss added.

“I know he had gone for the job previously, and it probably was a good thing that he didn't get it then because he went out into the world, he went to Anderlecht and developed a lot of very good young players at Anderlecht. They're a top European club for developing young talents.

“He got to work under Vincent Kompany and then he got the chance to go to Burnley and got promoted to the Premier League, and he really grew himself. I think it's a really exciting appointment.

“We do see the Nations League as a chance for Craig to input his ideas, mindful of the fact that we would like to get some results in this Nations League as well, of course. However, ultimately, here it's about tournament qualification. That's what it's about.”

Wales had qualified for back-to-back European Championships before failing to make this summer’s edition in Germany.

The pressure on Page had been increasing before then, however, arguably as far back as the 2022 World Cup.

Page had become the first man to lead Wales to a World Cup since 1958 but, once they were in Qatar, the team performed dismally as they were knocked out in the first round.

Should Wales qualify for the next World Cup in 2026 – and then Euro 2028, where Wales will be one of the UK and Ireland host nations – Mooney hopes they will give a better account of themselves than they did two years ago.

“We want to be in America, Canada, Mexico in 2026 and when we host the Euros here in 2028, we want to have a brilliant side that goes out there and represents Wales really well,” he said.

“We want to make sure that we get to the tournaments and compete really well at the tournaments, as well as the other part of it too.

“It's fine to get to a tournament but, once you get to the tournament, it's how you present yourself at these tournaments and how you deliver at these tournaments.”