Wales head coach Craig Bellamy believes his side could have been “out of sight” by the time Edin Dzeko headed a late equaliser in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualifying win at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Harry Wilson shot against the woodwork for the hosts before Dan James put them ahead with a spectacular long-range strike after the break, but their opponents improved considerably after falling behind and levelled through former Manchester City striker Dzeko on their way to prevailing on penalties.
“The last 20-odd minutes was the only time we stopped playing,” Bellamy told BBC Sport after missing out on a first major tournament of the tenure he began in September 2024.
“We can’t stop playing – we just can’t. It’s understandable: we’re leading, they’re throwing more forwards on.”
Daniel James has backed Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams to bounce back from their penalty misses and praised their character in stepping up to take a spot kick 🙌⚽#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/j93YdQJFCZ
— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) March 26, 2026
Tactical analysis: Bellamy on ‘big problem’ for Wales
Bellamy said Wales did not want “hard luck”. “We really push ourselves to be at major tournaments,” he added.
“We expect to be there. There was a lot tonight that gave a good opportunity of being there, but it wasn’t to be.
“We weren’t triggering, we weren’t pressing, but when we had the ball, we didn’t have the energy to press because of the simple fact that we didn’t keep the ball long enough.
“If you want to see games out, you’ve got to see it out with the ball. We regained momentum in extra time but, considering the chances we created and the moments we had, maybe we’d have liked to have been out of sight by that time.”
Dzeko, who captained his side to a one-legged final at home to Italy on Tuesday (19:45 BST), had already drawn a spectacular save from Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow by the time the 6ft 4in, 40-year-old striker scored.
“The bigger presence they had in the box was always going to be a big problem, so we needed to keep them away from the box,” rued Bellamy.
Here’s how Wales fared in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
| Date | Opponents | Result |
| Mar 22, 2025 | Kazakhstan (H) | 3–1 |
| Mar 25, 2025 | North Macedonia (A) | 1–1 |
| Jun 6, 2025 | Liechtenstein (H) | 3–0 |
| Jun 9, 2025 | Belgium (A) | 3–4 |
| Sep 4, 2025 | Kazakhstan (A) | 1–0 |
| Oct 13, 2025 | Belgium (H) | 2–4 |
| Nov 15, 2025 | Liechtenstein (A) | 1–0 |
| Nov 18, 2025 | North Macedonia (H) | 7–1 |
| Mar 26, 2026 | Bosnia and Herzegovina (H) | 1–1 (2-4 pens) |
‘Incredible time’ for Wales, says Bellamy
Brennan Johnson sent his effort over the crossbar and Neco Williams’s spot kick was saved by Nikola Vasilj to end Wales’s hopes, but Bellamy is looking forward to a set of Nations League fixtures that begin with a trip to Portugal on September 24 following promotion to Group A.
“We’ve got Group A coming up, we’ve got a home nations Euro [in 2028],” said Bellamy, pointing optimistically to Wales’s youthful squad.
“What an incredible time. We want to be at a World Cup this summer… but the future’s very bright.”
When does the 2026 FIFA World Cup start?
The World Cup starts with a meeting between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City on June 11 (20:00 BST).
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