Denmark beat Wales 2-0 at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, a result that left Craig Bellamy acknowledging the home side were worthy winners. A Ben Davies own goal and a Gustav Isaksen strike delivered victory for Brian Riemer’s team in Nations League A.
Bellamy did not disguise his disappointment afterwards. “I’m really hurting. When you see an athletic team run over you a little bit… but then, will we improve? I think we will,” the Wales head coach said. He insisted the team will get better and that the players will keep improving, pointing out that young players are coming through who will be involved long after his own time in charge. His immediate focus, he said, is on the two remaining games and on how he can help the squad improve — and how he can improve himself. “I’m probably more loving when I’m losing, I’m probably more of a pain in the backside when I’m winning,” he added.
Denmark dominated the early stages, with Mikkel Damsgaard hitting the post shortly after Isaksen had a goal disallowed for offside. Wales improved after the opening half an hour but were ultimately undone by two Danish set-pieces.
Bellamy revealed he had warned his players what awaited them. “I said to the players before the game, ‘this is going to be tougher than Portugal’,” he said. “It was a different challenge but a very difficult one. The best team won overall. As disappointed as I am with that, the result I probably think was fair.”
The defeat came just three days after a 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon and leaves Wales without a win in six matches in 2026 and without a point from their away Nations League A double-header against Portugal and Denmark. It is Wales’ second stint in the top tier of the Nations League.
Captain Ben Davies, the Tottenham defender, felt the game showed the standard Wales are now being measured against. “It was a tough game. They are a good team and made it a hard game for us,” he said. “It was really frustrating to concede from two set pieces. The Nations League games are against the best teams in Europe, it was always going to be tough. If you’re not at 100% then you are going to get punished at this level. We have to regroup and go again on Thursday.”
Winger Sorba Thomas echoed Bellamy’s belief that the side can grow from the experience. “Thankfully we’ve got two games at home still to come. We’ll have home advantage so we need to show a reaction,” he said. “We are just going to get better, we are a small nation but we’ve got big hearts and beliefs and for us it’s about showing that more on the pitch.”
Wales will at least have home advantage at Cardiff City Stadium for the remainder of the current international break, with matches against Norway on Thursday, 1 October and then Denmark the following Sunday.