Wales 3-1 Kazakhstan: Craig Bellamy begins World Cup bid with well-earned victory

Craig Bellamy made a point this week of stressing how difficult he felt this contest would be.

But when Daniel James gave his side the lead after just 10 minutes in this, the first step on a road many hope will take Wales to the 2026 World Cup, one must have wondered if that prediction was perhaps a little misguided.

After all, Kazakhstan hadn’t even scored a goal in a competitive fixture for nearly two years before rolling into Cardiff.

But, as evidenced by the traumatic defeat here against Armenia during the desperate Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, international football is often riddled with potential pitfalls. And when Askhat Tagybergen’s penalty restored parity as part of an incident-laden first half, Bellamy’s prediction suddenly looked thoroughly vindicated.

But while they were frustrating for periods of this game, the level of hard work displayed in grinding out this well-earned victory means this will still have been a pleasing night for the Wales boss, whose unbeaten run in charge now stretches to seven games.

Captain Ben Davies settled Welsh nerves with a brilliant header after half-time, before Rabbi Matondo came off the bench to net his first international goal in the final minute of normal time, rounding off a night that means the feelgood factor around this side continues to burn brightly.

Kazakhstani football, in contrast, hasn’t yet managed to catch the attention of too many outsiders, but the deal taking Dastan Satpayev, their youngest ever senior player at the age of 16, to Premier League giants in 2026, suggests that might just be about to change. As will the number of headaches they caused their hosts here.

Kazakhstan boss Ali Aliyev admitted his side’s preparations for this clash had been made more