Craig Bellamy will lead Wales into their Nations League A clash with Denmark on Sunday in Copenhagen, hoping to create another memorable moment against the Danes. Wales lost their opening game 1-0 to Portugal in Lisbon, while Denmark were beaten 3-2 by Norway in Oslo. Both sides are searching for their first win of the campaign.
For Bellamy, Denmark has been a surprisingly happy hunting ground. In 1998, as a 19-year-old substitute, he scored an 87th-minute winner in Euro 2000 qualifying, his first competitive international goal. The goal completed a comeback and ended Wales’ seven-game winless run in competitive matches. Former striker Iwan Roberts, an unused substitute that day, believed the result saved manager Bobby Gould. “It was a magnificent header and probably saved Gould,” Roberts told the BBC’s Feast of Football podcast. Gould himself said: “All I saw was 14 fantastic Welshmen out there giving everything.” He added: “When Craig scored the winner we were all sitting on the bench blowing it over the line.”
Bellamy, however, remembers the aftermath differently. “I got loads of stick for it after the game as well, from the players in the changing room, and they weren’t too happy,” he said. “For me it was one of the happiest moments of my career at 19 years of age, and the players looked at me with such disgust.” Reflecting on the match, he added: “The kit was awful; I looked awful. I was a young kid coming through at the time, scoring a lot of goals in the Championship. I was 19; everything was going in at that moment. The actual reflection of the game, they battered us. To come on, and it was the furthest thought from my mind that I was going to get a winner. It was crazy.”
Wales defender Jay Dasilva, who was born six months before that famous night, revealed that Bellamy had not mentioned the goal to the current squad. Dasilva vowed to “pull him up on it” after speaking to the media on the eve of the match.
A decade later, Bellamy struck again against Denmark. In November 2008, in a friendly played about 15 miles southwest of Parken Stadium, he drilled a shot beyond goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen from around 20 yards out in the 77th minute to earn John Toshack’s side a surprise victory. The game also saw Aaron Ramsey make his senior international debut. Toshack said afterwards: “I asked him to play deeper and go behind, and he still got his chances in the first half and scored the winning goal as well.”
Now Bellamy faces Denmark as head coach, tasked with toppling a side that is also wounded. Denmark missed out on this year’s World Cup, as did Wales, with Denmark suffering penalty shootout heartache against Czechia in the play-offs. Denmark have not won since beating North Macedonia in the World Cup play-off semi-finals in March, while Wales have been winless since overcoming the same opponents in November of last year. Wales have no wins in their five matches.
Denmark boss Brian Riemer described the fixture as a “must-win”, and Bellamy said he could “understand the frustrations” of the Danish supporters. The Wales head coach felt it was wise not to “poke the bear” when making predictions about the contest. But he will be quietly confident that his side can create yet more positive headlines against Denmark as they bid to prove they have what it takes to compete in the top tier of the Nations League.
The match kicks off at 17:00 BST on Sunday, 27 September at Parken Stadium, Copenhagen. It will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer, BBC One Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and 5 Live, with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.