Ronan Kpakio has earnt a first international call-up to the Wales squad as Craig Bellamy picks a 27-player group for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.

Cymru face Liechtenstein at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday 6th June, before travelling to Brussels on Monday 9th for arguably their toughest test of the group: Belgium away.

Regulars Ethan Ampadu and Harry Wilson return after missing previous international breaks through injury, while 18-year-old Cardiff City fullback Kpakio is the only uncapped member of the squad.

Kpakio has his first taste of the senior international environment last week when Bellamy took a group of players, excluding those still playing in the Premier League, for a warm weather training camp in Spain.

Kpakio, who is capped for Wales at U16, U17, U18, and U19 level, clearly impressed Bellamy on this trip and is in line for a debut in the next week.

Wales have several players coming into camp off of excellent club seasons. Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Karl Darlow, and Dan James all won promotion to the Premier League with Leeds United, with Ampadu captaining the side and James selected in the Championship Team of the Season.

Connor Roberts also secured promotion with Burnley, with the Lancashire side conceding a remarkable 16 goals in 46 games – a defensive record.

Chris Mepham joins the squad directly from celebrations of his own as he helped Sunderland win the Championship play-off final against Sheffield United, coming on as a first-half substitute.

In the Premier League, Wilson has been excellent for Fulham, while Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson recently won the Europa League with Tottenham.

The FAW are confident that the Liechtenstein match will be a sell-out at the Cardiff City Stadium, while Cymru’s allocation of 4,500 away fans for the Belgium trip is already sold out.

Wales are second in their qualifying group behind North Macedonia – with whom they drew 1-1 in March – with only the top side in the table earning direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Wales Squad

Karl Darlow, Danny Ward, Adam Davies, Neco Williams, Jay Dasilva, Connor Roberts, Ronan Kpakio*, Ben Davies, Chris Mepham, Ben Cabango, Joe Rodon, Josh Sheehan, Charlie Crew, Ethan Ampadu, Jordan James, Ollie Cooper, Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Sorba Thomas, Liam Cullen, Nathan Broadhead, Lewis Koumas, Rabbi Matondo, Kieffer Moore, Mark Harris, Brennan Johnson, Dan James.

Sportin Wales’s coverage of Wales’s World Cup qualifying campaign is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this year for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

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