Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza remained coy on his prospects for the permanent job at the club after his side comfortably beat 10-man Plymouth 5-0 in the Welsh capital. Cardiff’s victory was their first win by five goals in the league in seven-and-a-half years, since their victory against Rotherham in February 2017. “I’m just trying to do the best job I can,” said Riza.

The highest profile manager in the Championship goes head-to-head against the league’s biggest nobody in Cardiff on Saturday. Omer Riza – Cardiff City’s interim boss, who might struggle to be identified by any base other than Bluebirds fans – is up against Plymouth Argyle.

Wales manager Rhian Wilkinson is confident Chelsea midfielder Sophie Ingle will be fit for next summer’s European Championship should they qualify. Former Wales captain Ingle underwent surgery last month after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage during a pre-season friendly, an injury Wilkinson described as “horrible”.

Joe Allen admits he has unfinished business at the World Cup, although he admits that’s a long way down the road. The Swansea City star has made a “whirlwind” return to international football, but insists Wales have unfinished business in the tournament after flopping in Qatar.

Craig Bellamy may have made Welsh footballing history but as an international manager he insisted: “I’m such a rookie.” The confessional tone came as the Wales manager tried to play down the significance of four matches without defeat, a sequence no other Wales manager has managed at the start of their tenure. Bellamy remains unbeaten after a second victory in his Nations League campaign – a 1-0 victory over Montenegro at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wales manager Craig Bellamy accepts everyone loves romance in football, but thinks asking Joe Allen to solve his midfield conundrum against Montenegro would be a “gamble”. Swansea City veteran Allen, capped 74 times for his country and among Wales’ best-ever midfielders, reversed the decision he made in February 2023 to retire from international football earlier this month.

Matty Jones has promised an enquiry after Wales’ dreams of an historic night at Rodney Parade and a place in the Under-21 European Championship finals were crushed by the Czech Republic. The Welsh side suffered a 2-1 defeat in Newport, compounded by a disastrous day that saw manager Jones forced to exclude six players due to an administrative error.

Craig Bellamy remained upbeat after Wales surrendered a two-goal interval lead to draw their Nations League tie in Iceland. Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson rewarded some incisive first-half approach play to put Wales in command on a freezing night in Reykjavik.

Wales manager Craig Bellamy insists his team can build further on his first camp in charge last month when two positive performances created plenty of excitement among supporters to carry with them into Friday night’s match in Iceland. Euro 2024 quarter-finalists Turkey were somewhat fortunate to leave Cardiff with a goalless draw before Montenegro were beaten 2-1 in Niksic in Bellamy’s opening two matches in charge in the Nations League.

If Wales need inspiration as they head towards World Cup qualifiers later this season, then the man to supply it could be Rhys Norrington-Davies. The Sheffield United defender has shown bucketfuls of resilience to get to the point where he may now finally return for his country this weekend.

Joe Rodon is confident Wales can overcome the “massive loss” of his Leeds United team-mate Ethan Ampadu for the rest of their Nations League campaign. Leeds captain Ampadu will be out until at least January having sustained a knee ligament injury in their Sky Bet Championship win over Coventry on September 28.

Swansea City have parted company with sporting director Paul Watson after issuing a brief three-paragraph statement. Watson has left with immediate effect, little more than two months into the season and only five weeks after the close of the transfer window, over which he presided. The 38-year-old had been in the job for less than 18 months and had overseen three transfer windows, with mixed results when it came the success of the club’s recruitment.

Newport County manager Nelson Jardim insists he remains optimistic over his team’s progress this season despite a fourth defeat in six matches. County have dropped to 10th place in League Two after a 3-1 defeat at Bradford City that enabled the home club to leapfrog Jardim’s team in the table.

Craig Bellamy has warned his Wales captain Aaron Ramsey against taking up a player-coach role at Cardiff City. Ramsey was recently awarded his UEFA A Licence and has been linked with a Cardiff coaching job following the sacking of Erol Bulut and the interim appointment of Omer Riza.

Wales take on Slovakia in a two-legged semi-final at the end of this month as they seek to qualify for Women’s Euro 2025. It would be the team’s first major tournament finals and the fulfilment of a cherished ambition for so many past players, as Alys Haynes reports. Wales may be on the threshold of history, but they have not forgotten their past.

Omer Riza still insists he wants the Cardiff City job as his own despite the fact the club remain at the foot of the Championship. Current caretaker Riza appeared to have done his cause a power of good when the Bluebirds went 1-0 at Bristol City and appeared in sight of back-to-back victories.

Luke Williams admits he will head into the international break with a deep sense of frustration that Swansea City are no better than mid-table in the Championship. A goalless draw at home to Stoke City has left the Swans in 11th position and without a victory in their last three matches.

Lee Trundle used to score goals for fun in his pomp for Swansea City and he is still hitting the back of the net at the age of 47. An ambassador for the Swans these days, Trundle says he wants to carry on playing until he is at least 50 years old.

Wales have named Angharad James as captain on a permanent basis ahead of their Women’s Euro 2025 play-off tie with Slovakia. Seattle Reign midfielder James succeeds Chelsea’s Sophie Ingle, who stepped down in April after nine years in the job. The 122-times capped James has previously taken the armband three times in Euro 2025 qualifying as head coach Rhian Wilkinson rotated the role.

Brennan Johnson was given another vote of confidence by Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou after the Wales striker maintained his rich scoring streak. Johnson scored the crucial second goal for Spurs as they beat Hungarians Ferencvaros 2-1, in the Europa League at the Groupama Arena.