Tournament experience ‘so valuable’ for Wales – Craig Bellamy
The Dragons ended their 64-year wait to play at a World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Craig Bellamy believes Wales’ experience of playing at major tournaments will have a positive bearing on their attempt to reach the 2026 World Cup.
Wales start their qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan in Cardiff on Saturday before visiting North Macedonia three days later.
Group favourites Belgium and minnows Liechtenstein complete the section, with Bellamy confident Wales will benefit from participating at three major tournaments in the last decade.
Wales qualified for Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 as well as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – the first time they had graced football’s greatest event since 1958.
“It is so valuable,” said Bellamy, unbeaten as Wales manager after a six-game Nations League B campaign in the autumn which saw the Dragons promoted to join Europe’s elite.
“The players’ calmness, they’ve been there, but also the crowd. That experience of everyone being on the ride is so important.
“Some get to play more of a part than others, but if we’re successful we all get to go and enjoy this.
“This time it is my responsibility to get to where other managers have been able to get to, and then maybe leave it in a place where it continuously keeps happening.”
Kazakhstan, ranked 110th in the world and 81 places below Wales, ended a 12-game winless streak on Wednesday with a 2-0 friendly victory over Curacao.
Bellamy insists patience will be the key for Wales in the first meeting between the two countries at senior men’s level as he bids to get off to a flying start in the race to make Canada, Mexico and the United States.
He said: “You’ve seen what it takes to get to major tournaments, and you know it all wasn’t one way. There are certain rough periods along the way.
“I’ve never tried to play expectations down, but at the same time we have to play our game. No matter what goes on.”
Wales have come unstuck against lesser-ranked nations in previous campaigns.
A shock 4-2 home defeat to Armenia two years ago left Wales playing catch-up to make Euro 2024, a target that eventually proved beyond Rob Page’s side.
Captain Ben Davies played in that upset and was also part of the side that failed to get out of the group stage at the 2022 World Cup, with only one goal and one point from three games.
Davies said: “It is something that sticks with me and I’m sure it sticks with a lot of the guys.
“The best moment of Qatar for us was probably the Ukraine (play-off) game in getting there.
“It was disappointing out there and it was something that was tough to get over for a while.
“We didn’t really show how good we can be on the world stage and that hunger to go and do it again is definitely there.”
