Wales Beat Norway 2-1 to End Six-Game Winless Run

Bellamy's Wales Finally Break Their Duck

Wales ended a six-game winless run on Thursday when they beat Norway 2-1 in Cardiff, according to reports, handing Craig Bellamy his first victory of this Nations League A campaign. The match was played at Cardiff City Stadium, where the visitors finished the night with ten men.

The result represents a significant psychological lift for a squad that had opened its League A campaign with defeats in Portugal and Denmark. It was Wales' first win at this level in their second crack at League A, having previously suffered immediate relegation without a single victory under Rob Page in 2022.

Bellamy has stated repeatedly that the aim this time around is to avoid a similar fate. Thursday's win over Norway did not move Wales from the bottom of Group A4, meaning they still trail both the Danes and Norway in the standings, but it has kept their survival hopes alive heading into a decisive week.

Why Denmark Matters So Much

Attention now turns immediately to Sunday, when Denmark visit Cardiff City Stadium for a 19:45 BST kick-off. Victory would mean recording back-to-back wins over higher-ranked nations for the first time in more than a decade — a marker of genuine progress under Bellamy.

More importantly, it offers an opportunity to take a huge step towards securing Wales' top-tier Nations League status, which in turn would significantly boost their Euro 2028 qualification hopes. With Wales co-hosting the tournament, the pathway through the Nations League carries extra weight, and dropping out of League A would remove a valuable safety net.

The challenge is considerable. Denmark beat Wales in the reverse fixture earlier in this campaign, and the visitors arrive as one of the higher-ranked sides in the group. But the mood around the camp has shifted after Thursday's result, with Bellamy responding to abuse earlier in the week before the Norway win lifted the mood around the squad.

What Thursday's Win Actually Changed

On paper, the table looks much the same: Wales remain bottom of Group A4. But the performance and result against Norway carried meaning beyond the standings. Ending a six-game winless sequence removes a psychological weight that had been building since the previous campaign, and doing it against a higher-ranked opponent — with Norway reduced to ten men — showed a Wales side capable of managing a game to its conclusion.

The win was described as a potential turning point for Bellamy, whose tenure had been defined by narrow defeats and near-misses rather than results. Thursday provided the first concrete evidence that his approach can deliver points at the top level of the Nations League.

For supporters, the contrast with the 2022 relegation campaign is stark. That Wales side went through an entire League A season without a win. This one has now beaten Norway and heads into a home fixture against Denmark with something tangible to build on.

The Wider Context

Wales' Nations League position matters beyond the immediate group. With Euro 2028 on home soil, the qualification route through the Nations League play-offs is a critical insurance policy, and retaining League A status keeps Wales in the strongest possible bracket for any future draw or play-off scenario.

Defeat to Denmark would not end those hopes, but it would leave Wales needing results elsewhere and likely requiring a strong finish to the campaign. Victory, by contrast, would put Bellamy's side level on momentum with the group's leading nations and set up a genuinely competitive run-in.

The scheduling offers little respite. There has not been much time for Bellamy and Wales to enjoy the Norway win, with Denmark arriving just three days later. Recovery, preparation and tactical adjustment will all be compressed into a short window — a familiar challenge in modern international football.

What to Watch on Sunday

• Whether Wales can produce back-to-back wins over higher-ranked nations for the first time in more than a decade.
• How Bellamy sets up against a Denmark side that has already beaten Wales in this campaign.
• Whether the Cardiff City Stadium crowd can replicate the atmosphere that helped deliver the Norway result.
• The impact on Group A4 standings, with Wales still bottom and trailing both Denmark and Norway.

For neutral observers tracking the Nations League, the fixture is a useful gauge of whether Wales' win over Norway was an isolated result or the beginning of a genuine revival. For Bellamy, it is the clearest opportunity yet to demonstrate that his project is moving forward.

Coverage is available across BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and 5 Live, plus the BBC Sport website and app with live text commentary.