Wales were drawn in Group A4 of the 2026-27 Nations League alongside holders Portugal, Denmark and Norway, setting up a series of heavyweight encounters as Bellamy’s side return to League A.
The standout fixture is the meeting with former Swansea City boss Roberto Martinez’s Portugal, the reigning champions and a squad still headlined by global icon Ronaldo — should he continue his international career beyond this summer’s World Cup.
With Euro 2028 looming on home soil, the venue for that tie has become a significant talking point.
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Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney recently suggested the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium could be used for marquee occasions as part of preparations for the tournament, stressing Wales must not “turn up like tourists” when they host matches there in 2028.
But Bellamy has made clear that any decision over leaving the Cardiff City Stadium — Wales’ home for recent qualification successes — will rest with the public.
“Whatever we choose to do, it will be the fans that will make the choice for that,” Bellamy said at the Nations League draw in Brussels.
“They want us to stay in Cardiff, we stay in Cardiff. They want us to go to Principality, we’ll go to the Principality. Our fans choose.
“They’re the ones in charge, and we’re happy with that. Whatever they choose is the right decision.”
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The possibility of Ronaldo coming to Cardiff for the first time since Portugal ended Wales’ dream run at Euro 2016 adds extra intrigue.
That semi-final defeat in Lyon remains one of the most significant nights in Welsh football history, and a rematch — even a decade on — would carry emotional weight.
Portugal are not the only major threat. Norway bring the formidable presence of Erling Haaland, while Denmark have consistently proved themselves one of Europe’s most organised and technically accomplished sides.
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For Bellamy, however, this is exactly the level Wales must embrace if they are to progress.
“I’m very excited and actually quite happy with the draw,” Bellamy said.
“How I look at this group is to stay in this group. We've dipped between A and B and in the qualifying campaigns we are second.
“How do we get to be number one so we're competing for the number one spot?
“If we can stay in League A it will give us a better opportunity of being a number one seeded team that goes into qualifiers, and able to stay at number one and go straight to a tournament and not in the play-offs anymore."
Having climbed back into the top tier, Bellamy sees consolidation as a crucial step toward automatic qualification for major tournaments.
Wales are currently preparing for a pivotal World Cup play-off semi-final against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 26 March, with a one-off final against Italy or Northern Ireland awaiting the winners.
For now, though, attention briefly turned to the calibre of opposition lying in wait later this year.
“It’s good. We definitely know a lot of Scandinavian players, due to the players playing in the UK, but Portugal, as well as being the reigning champions, they’re a completely different threat to what those two teams would be.
“I’m looking forward to it. Listen, it’s League A, whatever group you’re going to be in, the teams are going to be loaded, and that’s what we need, and that’s what we want to be (up) against all the time.”
Portugal manager Martinez is well aware of the challenge Wales will pose.
Having led Portugal to Nations League glory last year, he acknowledged the transformation under Bellamy following disappointment at the 2022 World Cup and failure to qualify for Euro 2024.
"Wales are a national team I know very well and are close to my heart," said Martinez.
"I know how they work, I know the passion and how much it means to them to represent the national team so the games with Wales will be really open and very competitive.
"Craig Bellamy has transmitted that feeling of taking risks, playing games eye to eye with any national team."
The Nations League group fixtures will take place in the autumn, with four matches scheduled between late September and early October, and the remaining two in November.
The competition then moves into its knockout phase in March 2027 before the finals in June.
Elsewhere in the draw, England face Spain in a repeat of the Euro 2024 final, alongside Croatia and the Czech Republic, while Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland all discovered their respective opponents across Leagues A and B.
For Wales, the immediate objective remains the World Cup play-offs.
Bellamy confirmed injured Tottenham defender Ben Davies will not feature in those decisive matches.
