Craig Bellamy highlights the critical importance of securing a home play-off semi-final against North Macedonia for World Cup qualification, emphasizing the significant advantage of playing at home for his team.
Wales manager Craig Bellamy has called finishing second in their World Cup qualifying group “massive” ahead of Tuesday’s decisive final match against unbeaten North Macedonia.
According to a report from The Independent, Wales must secure a win to leapfrog their opponents and claim the runners-up spot in Group J behind Belgium.
The stakes are high, as securing second place guarantees the “carrot of a home semi-final” in the March play-offs.
Discussing the potential scenarios at his pre-match press conference, Bellamy stated: “It’s massive. I can lie and say it’s not. But, come on, to finish second and have a home game is huge.”
Failure to win will see Wales fall into the bottom seeds, or fourth seeds, resulting in a difficult away assignment against a pot one nation, a group that includes Italy. Bellamy noted the challenge ahead, adding:
“If we finish fourth (seeds) the away games and the teams that are in those games (are difficult) – and I have this overriding VAR (Video Assistant Referee) fear as well.
Just my experience of watching Wales down the years and being able to qualify for major tournaments, being at home is a huge advantage.”
Wales enter the crunch qualifier following a nervous 1-0 win against Liechtenstein, ranked a lowly 206 in the world. The victory came at a cost, with midfielders Ethan Ampadu and Jordan James ruled out through suspension after picking up their second bookings.
In their absence, 28-year-old Fulham forward Harry Wilson will captain the side for the first time in winning his 67th cap.
Bellamy, who admitted that he “like[s] the fact that we’ve got something on this game,” also cautioned against rushing, warning that “North Macedonia do defend deep… they do have counter-attacking ability, so we have to be aware of that.” Wilson reflected on being named captain:
“Everyone would much rather Ben and Ethan were playing, because we know what important players they are for us.
But with Ben’s injury and Ethan’s unfortunate yellow, it gave an opportunity for someone else to be captain and it’s a big honour for me.”