The unbeaten reign of Craig Bellamy continued as his Wales side propelled themselves to the top of their World Cup qualifying group with a thumping win over Liechtenstein. Bellamy was appointed head coach in July 2024 and the national side have drawn four and won five since he was named. Wales leapfrogged North Macedonia, who drew 1-1 against Belgium. The Red Devils are only just getting their qualifiers under way because they were involved in Nations League playoffs in March.
Belgium are the favourites to top the group and qualify automatically for next year’s tournament. But Wales’s great run has put them in a good position to challenge Rudi Garcia’s Belgium, who they play on Monday and have a history of upsetting, with a famous 3-1 win in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.
“There was a lot I liked tonight,” Bellamy said. “I would really like us to make this [result] six, seven, eight. That’s what we have to push. These games have never been easy for our nation. We have a proven record of that. The chances we created, we can make this more. We will get to that …
“We have got a very tough game coming Monday. I will watch the game back tomorrow and I’ll watch the North Macedonia-Belgium game just to recap that one. We race and get to work now to prepare for Belgium.”
For Friday night, Bellamy’s side were firmly focused on the opposition in front of them and Liechtenstein made their presence known in Wales. While the visiting fans were heavily outnumbered, they were the ones in the car park pre-match who could be heard singing songs and shouting chants. They made the trip to see if their side could end a 35-game winless streak in competitive matches.
The two nations have met three times previously, with Wales coming out victorious on all three occasions. The hosts were undoubtedly the favourites and under cloudy conditions they ensured Liechtenstein’s wait for a win continued.
Harry Wilson, who returned after missing the March qualifiers with injury, took an early free-kick and went for goal but his attempt was fired wide. Wales kept up the pressure, particularly through the attacking spark of Sorba Thomas, but the visitors soaked it up.
While it was all Wales in the early stages, it was not all good news for the hosts as they were forced into an early change with Neco Williams off with injury. He needed a stretcher with a suspected hamstring issue and was shaking his head as he was wheeled along the touchline.
Kieffer Moore and the captain, Ben Davies, had close chances but Brennan Johnson, the Spurs hero from the Europa League final, came closest with a deft touch. Goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel, who has won Liechtenstein’s player of the year three seasons in a row, made an incredible save. Ethan Ampadu, who also returned from injury, was the next to take a shot with a bicycle kick almost beating Büchel but the Vaduz keeper nudged it over the bar.
Liechtenstein had been well-drilled in defence but the simplest of set pieces unpicked the deadlock. A good delivery from Thomas led to Joe Rodon heading it home and so the half-time score stood at 1-0. However, the Liechtenstein manager, Konrad Fünfstück, thought the goal-scoring opportunity should not have been given.
“It was a wrong decision [to give the corner] but it’s one we can’t change,” Fünfstück said. “As the underdogs we have to give more. It was a bad situation but Wales did deserve to win.”
Wales continued with their relentless attack but the visitors reverted to a brick wall with chances continually repelled.
That was until Wilson headed an excellent shot for his fifth goal in seven games under Bellamy. The Fulham forward is the top scorer under the head coach.
Moore then got his goal with a tap-in before a ripple of applause came over the crowd in the 68th minute in memory of the Alarm’s Mike Peters, who sang Wales’s Euro 2020 anthem and was an avid supporter of the team. Peters died in April. The 68th minute was chosen in honour of the Alarm hit song 68 Guns.
The pace of the game slowed for the rest of the match but the result was already sewn up. Wales face their toughest test against Belgium in a few days’ time and they will have to make history if they want to come away with maximum points as Wales’s men have never won a match in Belgium.
• This article was amended on 7 June 2025. An earlier version said that Belgium were managed by Domenico Tedesco. However, Rudi Garcia replaced Tedesco in the role in January 2025.
