Craig Bellamy said Wales' stirring comeback in a seven-goal epic in Belgium is evidence of the team's changed mindset, despite Kevin De Bruyne inflicting the first defeat of his tenure as manager. Wales trailed 3-0 inside 27 minutes after a Romelu Lukaku penalty and strikes by Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku, before Harry Wilson converted a penalty on the verge of half-time.
Second-half goals from Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson brought Wales level at 3-3, but De Bruyne snatched victory for Belgium in the 88th minute. Bellamy praised his players for their response and said he thanked them after the match for giving him something he never had in international football: belief.
“You’ve seen 5,500 fans here – the most we’ve taken away, apart from maybe England across the border – because they believe. I believe,” he said. The former Wales captain, who won 78 caps, added: “In international football I had 70-odd caps where I didn’t believe. It was hope. I don’t want to live on hope. It’s the hope that kills you. It’s [about] belief.”
Bellamy promised his team would not “camp” in Brussels and, despite a dreadful start, they came within minutes of a valuable point in Group J. “I’d rather try something great and fail than do nothing and succeed,” he said. “Before we’ve played here and it has been a different Wales. You have the ball, we sit deep – to change a mindset is completely different.”
Although the defeat was a blow, Bellamy insisted it was a valuable test. “If you’re going to give me a loss, give me this loss,” he said, underlining the progress his side have made in a short space of time.
