“I'm really hurting” was Craig Bellamy's first reaction after Wales were outclassed by Denmark in Denmark vs Wales. He said Wales were “run over” in Copenhagen, called the night “tougher than Portugal” and added that “the best team won overall”. The result left Wales winless in six in 2026, with Bellamy still insisting the side will improve.

Bellamy's reaction

Bellamy's point was not just that Wales lost, but that they were second best physically for long stretches. That is the part he kept returning to after a match decided by two set pieces and a late push to salvage something.

“I said to the players before the game, 'this is going to be tougher than Portugal',” he said. “This team will get better, these players will keep improving. There are young ones coming in well after I'm gone.” He also told BBC Sport that the result felt fair.

That optimism sits alongside a stubborn reality. Wales are bottom of Group 4 with zero points after one match, and the defeat at Parken Stadium left them with no goal from the away Nations League A double-header against Portugal and Denmark.

What the game exposed

The match turned on a mistake and then a finish. Ben Davies scored an own goal in the 53rd minute, then Gustav Isaksen made it 2-0 in the 66th. Bellamy had warned before kick-off that Denmark would be a tougher test than Portugal, and that warning proved accurate.

Ben Davies said it was “really frustrating to concede from two set pieces”. Wales had only three shots on target, while Denmark had seven, which matched what the eye test suggested on the night. Davies also played the full 90 minutes, and Isaksen's decisive goal came in a 76-minute outing.

Bellamy can point to improvement as much as he wants, and there is some merit in that with younger players coming through. But the basic issue is sharper than mood or messaging. Wales were beaten by a team that looked stronger in the decisive moments, and the table now shows a side with 0 points and a six-match winless run heading into the next round of games.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →