Wales go into their Nations League opener in Lisbon without Harry Wilson, Nathan Broadhead and Karl Darlow. Craig Bellamy has already had to adjust his plans before a ball is kicked, with Portugal first up on Thursday and Denmark waiting in Copenhagen next Sunday.
Bellamy's late reshuffle
The scale of the absences is awkward because all three were expected to be part of the squad picture. BBC Sport reported that Wales have suffered a triple blow going into the campaign, and the replacements tell you how quickly Bellamy has had to move.
Veteran Leicester City keeper David Cornell, Huddersfield Town forward Joe Taylor and Reading midfielder Charlie Savage have been called in. Cornell is 35 and only joined Leicester on a one-year deal last Friday after leaving Preston North End in the summer. Taylor has scored five goals for Huddersfield so far this season, while Savage has made more than 150 appearances for Reading since joining from Manchester United in 2023.
Wilson's own club minutes show how stop-start his season has been. He has made four Premier League appearances and played 149 minutes, so Wales are losing a player who has not had much rhythm at club level. Broadhead has only one competitive appearance this season, and Darlow has none in the Premier League.
The immediate issue for Wales is simple enough: Portugal away first, then Denmark away a few days later, with three senior names already missing from Bellamy's squad.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
