Why is it always Belgium?

Despite not playing each other between 1997 and 2012, Wales have now faced their familiar Flemish foes 11 times in 13 years.

Unfortunately for Wales, their previously excellent record has given way to four defeats in the last six meetings, without a win since that Euro 2016 quarter final.

In this recent edition of the Wales vs Belgium cinematic universe – more specifically 2026 World Cup qualifying group J – has seen Wales score five goals in two games.

However, conceding eight across 180 minutes is unlikely to yield any wins. Bellamy’s attacking gameplan was criticised after the latest damaging defeat – the 4-2 thriller at the Cardiff City Stadium on 13th of October – but the start was a glimpse into where the ambitious head coach wants his side to live.

A bold team selection – Ben Cabango ahead of Chris Mepham, Jordan James in midfield, and Mark Harris in for Kieffer Moore – gave clues that Wales were not going to die wondering at home.

“We knew we needed to win. We were here to win,” Bellamy said after the contest.

“The draw wasn’t going to get us first place. We knew that. We’re aware of our play-off positioning as well.

“But to me I honestly love playing these top teams. It’s so good. Your heart is in your mouth at times, you’re really living on the edge.

“I definitely liked a lot of our game. I’m really proud of the players. And I know that’s no consolation to the people who are watching on or the players themselves.”

In a match that they had to win to remain in the hunt for an automatic qualifying spot at next year’s World Cup, Wales flew out of the traps.

With Belgium’s strengths higher up the pitch, and their regular midfield metronome Youri Tielemans out with an injury, Wales flooded the midfield with Ethan Ampadu, James, Harry Wilson, and David Brooks. They all looked to shift the ball forward with purpose, using either the thrusting runs of Neco Williams and Sorba Thomas on the flanks, or Harris’ stretching the backline.

Thomas showed his quality with an excellent whipped corner that found the forehead of an unmarked Joe Rodon, who headed Wales into an eighth minute lead.

It was a marked difference to their lacklustre opening 20 minutes at Wembley four days earlier, when Bellamy’s side were slow to second balls and found themselves 3-0 down against England.

At this point, the Cardiff City Stadium showed its real value. With talk of the Welsh national team playing a few matches ahead of the 2028 Euros at the Principality Stadium, fan reaction was general disappointment at the prospect of playing anywhere other than the CCS.

A cappella anthems are a staple of Wales home matches and the one before Belgium was belted out with all the heart and emotion that some 32,000 Welshmen can muster.

While the Principality Stadium – at its best with the roof shut and electricity bouncing off the walls – has had its fair share of famous days, these have all been rugby internationals.

In the end, in the midst of an old-fashioned crackling atmosphere at the Cardiff City Stadium, it took a very modern quirk of football to silence the Red Wall.

Charles de Ketelaere’s half-hearted clipped effort struck Ethan Ampadu on the arm from barely two yards away, with the referee called to the monitor for a VAR check. After a cursory glance, he pointed to the spot.

Wales have conceded four penalties in 2025, with all four of them via handballs. Three of Belgium’s eight goals against Wales have been from penalties scored after handball offences, with Jordan James’ also penalised for Belgium’s third goal.

“The second one (penalty), I have no complaints with. But the first one, it’s like, what are we supposed to do with our hands?” he said.

“I just don’t know what we’re supposed to do. We’ve conceded four penalties now from handballs.

“Maybe we need to look at our game here as well because we have different rules here.”

Prior to Kevin de Bruyne second successful penalty, Belgium scored a second via a glorious counterattack. Jeremy Doku – easily the best player on the pitch – showed that he not only has pace in abundance, but also the ability to pick the right pass, finding Thomas Meunier on the run, who converted expertly.

In the second half, Wales pressed, harried, and hurried, but could not find an opening.

Doku remained the major threat, with captain Ben Davies – making his 100th Wales appearance – struggling to contain him. It was a mark of Doku’s excellence in the game that Craig Bellamy rotated through three different left backs throughout the second period, with Sorba Thomas deputising before Jay Dasilva saw out the dying stages.

Bellamy threw on attackers in search of a goal and more, with Brennan Johnson, Nathan Broadhead, and Kieffer Moore all making cameos. The latter two combined to give Wales hope in the 89th minute, with Moore bullying Brandon Mechele off the ball and feeding Broadhead to score past Courtois.

Sensing a potential snatched point, Wales poured forward and were almost immediately punished, as Timothy Castagne found an unmarked Leandro Trossard to stroke home and put the result beyond doubt.

Despite an ultimately disappointing night, Wales are still in with a decent chance of appearing at next summer’s World Cup.

They are now four points behind Belgium in group J with just two games two go. The aim now is to finish the group stages strongly – by beating Liechtenstein away and North Macedonia at home in November – before preparing themselves for yet another round of play-offs next March.

While their automatic qualification hopes are now all but over, those final group matches do matter. Beating North Macedonia and placing second would most likely see Wales earn a seeded place in the play-off stages, meaning a home semi and final – similar to previous years for the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Euros.

Even if they fail to beat North Macedonia, their success in last year’s Nations League will gift them a spot – albeit among the lowest seeded sides in the play-offs and face a far tougher route to the World Cup.

The road to the World Cup is never easy. But some routes are simpler than others – with Wales needing to grab their final opportunity to find theirs.

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