Category News

World Cup Qualifier: Wales v Belgium

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Monday, 13 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

There are certain words that Craig Bellamy doesn’t like; established football concepts that he simply doesn’t use.

Risk is a “horrid word” according to the Wales head coach, who refused to acknowledge there was any risk in choosing England as friendly opponents.

He is similarly dismissive of traditional tactical terminology. “We don’t play formations, we play shapes,” he says.

And as for friendly matches? “There’s no such thing as friendlies.”

Unfortunately for Bellamy and his players, Thomas Tuchel and England seemed to be of the same opinion at Wembley on Thursday.

They launched into this game with the ferocity of a full-blooded qualifier or major tournament fixture, overwhelming their passive visitors with three goals in the opening 20 minutes.

The primary purpose of this match for Wales was to prepare for Monday’s World Cup qualifier against Belgium. If Bellamy picked England to learn how his players would cope against world-class opposition, he got an emphatic answer at Wembley.

“I’d like our egos to be hurt. I’d like us to be annoyed,” he said. “It’s why I wanted this game. We need to see where we are.

“We can play Lithuania if you want, and that’s no disrespect to them, but then we’d have loads of the ball and then try to break them down.

“It’s where do we want to go? Who do we want to be?

“Today, even now, just fills me with motivation but Monday [is] a different game. Learn from this, [learn that] we don’t want this feeling again. You can use it.

Bellamy was on something of a charm offensive when he faced the media before this fixture. There was to be a new and bigger English audience to see what the Welsh public had already witnessed: his evolution from a combustible, confrontational player to a controlled, deep-thinking coach.

This was the sternest examination so far of that new image.

He simmered on the Wembley touchline as he watched his team fold obligingly in the face of torrential English pressure.

Bellamy kept his cool on the surface but did he manage such calm in the changing room too?

“I quite enjoyed half-time,” he said.

“I was like, ‘now we see’. What are we going to do?

“When those moments happen, it shows who you are as a coach. You can come in balling and throwing stuff, but to who? It makes no sense. Me, I’m calm.

“This is a moment we need to relish. It’s not gone well for us, [so] how are we going to do something about it? Now we see who we are. I like those moments.”

Bellamy is clear about how he wants his team to play – pressing high, attacking whenever possible – but acknowledged that, on occasions like this against superior opposition, that will not always be possible.

“I look at England, their physical profile, the speed, the duels. Of course, it helps when you’ve got a lot of players playing in the Champions League, but that’s where you want our players to be,” he said.

“[For] the players, it’s ‘this is where we want to be’. But we also know, we have to be at the top of our game to be able to play against these types of nations.

Much as Bellamy wanted to oversee a first Wales win at Wembley since 1977, his primary focus has undoubtedly been Monday’s World Cup qualifier at home to Belgium.

Bellamy chose England, and Canada last month, as friendly opponents because he wanted to prepare his players for the kind of challenges they will face in high-stakes fixtures.

“That’s why these games are so beneficial,” he said.

Wales will have a better idea of where they stand in their World Cup qualifying group once Belgium have played North Macedonia in Ghent on Friday night.

North Macedonia are top on 11 points, one point ahead of Wales and Belgium, who are above Bellamy’s men on goal difference and have a game in hand on both their rivals.

If Wales are to qualify automatically by winning the group, they need to win all three of their remaining matches and hope Belgium drop points more than once.

Wales’ squad will be watching Friday’s game in their team room after dinner at their training base on the outskirts of Cardiff. Bellamy will already have watched countless hours of previous encounters with Belgium as part of his preparations.

When Monday night comes around, Wales will be prepared – if a little bruised by their trip to Wembley.

“It’s not exactly [as] planned [the result against England] but Monday’s a different game,” said Bellamy.

Thomas Tuchel may have expressed public displeasure with England’s fans after the emphatic Wembley win against Wales, but the performance of his players will have left him feeling only the warm glow of vindication.

Tuchel delivered a highly-critical and unusually blunt verdict from any coach in the direction of his own “silent” supporters after a 3-0 stroll was effectively wrapped up inside the first 20 minutes.

It was, however, another message delivered by the German manager that will carry wider significance as England gather momentum towards next summer’s World Cup.

Tuchel’s words stretched way beyond the shockwaves that greeted Jude Bellingham’s exclusion when he named his latest England squad.

He made it crystal clear that England’s star system was over, that players in possession could cement their places by sheer weight of performances, the biggest names no longer guaranteed an automatic recall.

England victory in the Wembley friendly must be placed in the context of Welsh opponents with eyes seemingly fixed on their vital World Cup qualifier against Belgium on Monday, but this was still a night with a large measure of satisfaction for Tuchel’s strategy.

Tuchel made it clear he is picking an England team, not individuals. He even stated: “We are not collecting the most talented players. We are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else.”

Bellingham’s superstar status meant Tuchel’s selection was laced with risk, even though it was shaped by common sense as he had only started one game for Real Madrid following shoulder surgery.

He may have wanted to be included, but on this occasion Tuchel was happy to do without Bellingham, keeping faith with the players who produced the best result and performance of his reign by winning 5-0 against Serbia in the World Cup qualifier in Belgrade.

And, to add further credibility to Tuchel’s decision-making process, England’s outstanding player against Wales was Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, excelling in Bellingham’s number 10 role, as he did in Belgrade.

Rogers, on the evidence of England’s past two games, is fast becoming the poster boy for the new identity Tuchel wants to create.

Bellingham will, of course, go to the World Cup but he will be even more aware now that there is no guarantee he will walk back into the team.

He is not indispensable, but Tuchel will be increasingly convinced England can survive without him.

This was a win also achieved without the injured Cole Palmer, with Manchester City’s Phil Foden left out of the squad, and with injured captain Harry Kane watching from the sidelines.

If Tuchel took a gamble, on this occasion it was rewarded.

If England had faltered, Tuchel will have known fingers would be pointed in his direction. They may well still be if they do not get the right result in Riga, but on this night his beaming smile at the final whistle was fully justified.

Tuchel must feel extemely self-assured to take aim at England’s supporters for their lack of backing in his post-match briefing. It may be contentious, but it is also the action of someone increasingly comfortable in his own skin in this exacting job.

And in Rogers, he is getting a symbol for the way he wants to progress.

The powerful 23-year-old set England on the way with his first international goal after only three minutes, a neat finish swept in from close range. He then helped set up the second for Villa team-mate Ollie Watkins eight minutes later before Bukayo Saka completed a devastating opening burst with a spectacular third after 20 minutes.

Rogers also hit the bar in the second half before being substitute to a standing ovation after 69 minutes.

He played 24 passes, 19 successfully, creating two chances as well as scoring his goal.

Tuchel said: “Morgan is what he is. He is a number 10 and he is competing for his place. He is in a good way.

Former England defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Tuchel has been vindicated. The players named could start a match for England, but he has got big decisions to make.

“His job isn’t to make players happy. His job is to come in and win a World Cup for England. That is the difficult job he has got to do. The difficult part is you’re going to upset people. You’re going to get people in the press asking about your decisions.

“So far, the big decisions he has made have paid off, and it is looking in really good shape for England so far.”

He added: “At the moment it looks fantastic and they might be able to continue that against the best teams in the world. There will come a point when you need a Jude Bellingham, a Cole Palmer, to perhaps have an influence on the game. The great thing is, we’ve got the players.”

Rogers told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Not a bad night for sure. It’s a different team but it’s the same idea. It’s the same mindset. It’s the same thought and the same way we want to play.

“The players that come in, the players that don’t come in, we all know what we are doing and we are feeding off each other and it’s a lovely place to be. It’s a lovely environment and it’s very nice to play for this team.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliott Anderson is another beneficiary of Tuchel’s willingness to look outside the usual inner circle of England stars, producing a third successive top-class display.

Anderson’s constant demands for the ball, his ability to keep England ticking over, are hallmarks of his quality. He played 77 passes, 74 successfully, created two chances and regained possession six times.

Tuchel added: “Morgan and Elliot are humble players and very talented and that is a very good mix.”

The German can now move forward from a position of strength, even stronger than after the win in Serbia. If he can engineer another victory in Latvia, then it will add weight to his conviction that will build a team.

Thomas Tuchel may have expressed public displeasure with England’s fans after the emphatic Wembley win against Wales, but the performance of his players will have left him feeling only the warm glow of vindication.

Tuchel delivered a highly-critical and unusually blunt verdict from any coach in the direction of his own “silent” supporters after a 3-0 stroll was effectively wrapped up inside the first 20 minutes.

It was, however, another message delivered by the German manager that will carry wider significance as England gather momentum towards next summer’s World Cup.

Tuchel’s words stretched way beyond the shockwaves that greeted Jude Bellingham’s exclusion when he named his latest England squad.

He made it crystal clear that England’s star system was over, that players in possession could cement their places by sheer weight of performances, the biggest names no longer guaranteed an automatic recall.

England victory in the Wembley friendly must be placed in the context of Welsh opponents with eyes seemingly fixed on their vital World Cup qualifier against Belgium on Monday, but this was still a night with a large measure of satisfaction for Tuchel’s strategy.

Tuchel made it clear he is picking an England team, not individuals. He even stated: “We are not collecting the most talented players. We are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else.”

Bellingham’s superstar status meant Tuchel’s selection was laced with risk, even though it was shaped by common sense as he had only started one game for Real Madrid following shoulder surgery.

He may have wanted to be included, but on this occasion Tuchel was happy to do without Bellingham, keeping faith with the players who produced the best result and performance of his reign by winning 5-0 against Serbia in the World Cup qualifier in Belgrade.

And, to add further credibility to Tuchel’s decision-making process, England’s outstanding player against Wales was Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, excelling in Bellingham’s number 10 role, as he did in Belgrade.

Rogers, on the evidence of England’s past two games, is fast becoming the poster boy for the new identity Tuchel wants to create.

Bellingham will, of course, go to the World Cup but he will be even more aware now that there is no guarantee he will walk back into the team.

He is not indispensable, but Tuchel will be increasingly convinced England can survive without him.

This was a win also achieved without the injured Cole Palmer, with Manchester City’s Phil Foden left out of the squad, and with injured captain Harry Kane watching from the sidelines.

If Tuchel took a gamble, on this occasion it was rewarded.

If England had faltered, Tuchel will have known fingers would be pointed in his direction. They may well still be if they do not get the right result in Riga, but on this night his beaming smile at the final whistle was fully justified.

Tuchel must feel extemely self-assured to take aim at England’s supporters for their lack of backing in his post-match briefing. It may be contentious, but it is also the action of someone increasingly comfortable in his own skin in this exacting job.

And in Rogers, he is getting a symbol for the way he wants to progress.

The powerful 23-year-old set England on the way with his first international goal after only three minutes, a neat finish swept in from close range. He then helped set up the second for Villa team-mate Ollie Watkins eight minutes later before Bukayo Saka completed a devastating opening burst with a spectacular third after 20 minutes.

Rogers also hit the bar in the second half before being substitute to a standing ovation after 69 minutes.

He played 24 passes, 19 successfully, creating two chances as well as scoring his goal.

Tuchel said: “Morgan is what he is. He is a number 10 and he is competing for his place. He is in a good way.

Former England defender Stephen Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Tuchel has been vindicated. The players named could start a match for England, but he has got big decisions to make.

“His job isn’t to make players happy. His job is to come in and win a World Cup for England. That is the difficult job he has got to do. The difficult part is you’re going to upset people. You’re going to get people in the press asking about your decisions.

“So far, the big decisions he has made have paid off, and it is looking in really good shape for England so far.”

He added: “At the moment it looks fantastic and they might be able to continue that against the best teams in the world. There will come a point when you need a Jude Bellingham, a Cole Palmer, to perhaps have an influence on the game. The great thing is, we’ve got the players.”

Rogers told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Not a bad night for sure. It’s a different team but it’s the same idea. It’s the same mindset. It’s the same thought and the same way we want to play.

“The players that come in, the players that don’t come in, we all know what we are doing and we are feeding off each other and it’s a lovely place to be. It’s a lovely environment and it’s very nice to play for this team.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliott Anderson is another beneficiary of Tuchel’s willingness to look outside the usual inner circle of England stars, producing a third successive top-class display.

Anderson’s constant demands for the ball, his ability to keep England ticking over, are hallmarks of his quality. He played 77 passes, 74 successfully, created two chances and regained possession six times.

Tuchel added: “Morgan and Elliot are humble players and very talented and that is a very good mix.”

The German can now move forward from a position of strength, even stronger than after the win in Serbia. If he can engineer another victory in Latvia, then it will add weight to his conviction that will build a team.