Craig Bellamy has insisted Wales’ extraordinary fightback against Belgium has offered a glimpse into a new era for Welsh football.
The Wales manager claimed it was one built not on hope, but belief — even as Kevin De Bruyne’s late goal handed him his first defeat - a 4-3 epic - as national team manager.
Wales clawed back from three goals down in Brussels to draw level at 3-3, only for De Bruyne to volley home an 88th-minute winner and give Belgium a dramatic 4-3 World Cup qualifying victory.
While the result ended Bellamy’s unbeaten start as boss, it also showcased a fearless approach that has begun to redefine his team’s identity.
Bellamy said “There’s a lot of life in this group and today I saw a lot of life in this team. We aren’t going anywhere.
“I will have a couple of weeks now of recharging but I’m beyond proud and really excited about the future.”
It was Bellamy’s first defeat in 10 games in charge and Wales were also knocked off top spot in Group J by North Macedonia, 1-0 winners in Kazakhstan.
Belgium are three points behind Wales with two games in hand, and will visit Cardiff in October for the return fixture.
The group winners will qualify automatically for next summer’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with Wales almost certainly guaranteed a play-off place through their Nations League results.
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Asked what he told his players at full-time, Bellamy said: “I thanked them because they’ve given me something I 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.
“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.
“Can we come here and win? Three-nil down, still believing? It’s crazy.”
Belgium, ranked among the world’s elite, looked to be on course for a routine win after a whirlwind first half-hour.
Romelu Lukaku struck from the penalty spot following a contentious handball call on Brennan Johnson, Youri Tielemans doubled the lead after linking with Maxim De Cuyper, and Jeremy Doku dazzled with a solo effort to make it 3-0.
Wales, however, refused to capitulate. Just before half-time, Chris Mepham was fouled by goalkeeper Mats Sels while attacking a corner, and after another extended VAR check, Harry Wilson calmly converted the penalty to reduce the deficit.
In the second half, Wales continued to press. Wilson picked out Sorba Thomas with a sweeping diagonal ball, and the Stoke City winger slotted home to make it 3-2 — his first goal for his country.
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The equaliser came 15 minutes later, when Thomas nodded Wilson’s cross back across goal for Johnson to head in, capping off an astonishing revival.
With Belgium rattled and the visitors in the ascendancy, Wales pushed for an unlikely winner.
Lukaku briefly thought he’d restored the hosts’ lead with a deflected finish, only for VAR to rule the ball had gone out of play earlier in the move — a call that infuriated both benches and saw Bellamy and his Belgian counterpart Rudi Garcia shown yellow cards.
But just as a famous result seemed possible, Belgium’s quality told.
Tielemans swung in a cross to the back post and De Bruyne, unmarked, arrived to smash the ball home and extinguish Welsh hopes with two minutes remaining.
Despite the cruel finish, Bellamy remained focused on the bigger picture — a change in mentality that he believes is taking root.
“It was like: ‘We told you you’d be able to play here.’ I’d rather try something great and fail than do nothing and succeed.
“I’ve always been that way. I might not be great at anything but I’ll try to be. It means more. I liked that. What can we do here?” he said.
“I said I wasn’t coming to sit back, it’s not in my nature, don’t do it … it’s not who we are. So for me it was: can we come to a top-eight team in the world then and come and play?
“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.”
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Bellamy admitted the defeat stung — especially with Wales falling behind in Group J after North Macedonia’s earlier win — but insisted there were still valuable lessons in the loss.
“You need these types of tests. I know it’s a loss and, listen, it’s not valiant Wales, no, it’s a loss, I don’t like it but also … if you’re going to give me a loss, give me this loss.”
Though Wales leave Brussels empty-handed, their performance suggested a team in transformation — one finally trading hope for conviction under their passionate new manager.
The result ended Bellamy’s unbeaten start at the helm and marked Wales’ first loss in a year.
Their hold on top spot in Group J had already slipped earlier in the day after North Macedonia’s win in Kazakhstan, and this result saw Wales slide further behind in the qualification race.
