Craig Bellamy urges Wales improvement but wary of Norway’s threat

Craig Bellamy has said Wales must improve against Norway on Thursday after appearing unrecognisable in defeat against Denmark, and highlighted their next opponent’s run to the World Cup quarter-finals as proof of their talent.

Wales host Norway in Cardiff on Thursday hoping to record their first win since last November and their first since promotion to Nations League A. “This team has been on a surge,” Bellamy said of Ståle Solbakken’s side. “They are progressing and they will keep going as well – they ain’t going away, especially with the youngsters they’ve got coming through. We’ve all been waiting [for them to flourish]. But it was coming and it’s come with a bang.”

Bellamy said Norway having two teams in the Champions League – Bodø/Glimt and Viking – would have been a “miracle a number of years ago”. Addressing the Norwegian media at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Bellamy said: “I think you’re all sneakily hoping we don’t talk about you as much but the World Cup exposes you. But I’m on to yous. I know what you’re up to and I know your younger age groups are getting even stronger.

“Sander [Berge], [Martin] Ødegaard and [Erling] Haaland, they are really close friends and their three sons are all the same age, born within a few months of each other. They’re already preparing the next generation, so we’re all in trouble.”

Addressing Wales’s 2-0 defeat in Copenhagen on Sunday, Bellamy said: “I didn’t recognise anything about us in the game and that was hard. We didn’t look clear in what we were doing, we were ‘in between’ and that comes from myself. I want us to improve as a team and I want to improve.”

Meanwhile, the Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer insisted Haaland has displayed the same personality as normal amid the noise surrounding Manchester City after the club were found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules across a nine-year period. “Ever since I met him he’s been a guy that brings a lot of energy and joy to the group and that’s the biggest compliment I always give Erling,” Ajer said.

“When people ask about him, he hasn’t changed one bit since the first time I met him, even though he’s the biggest star on the planet right now. He’s been exactly the same the last few days as well, which is not a surprise for me.”

Solbakken, Norway’s head coach for the past six years, said “everything’s fine” with Haaland, who has scored three goals in his past two matches, and played down the idea that the City verdict has been a distraction. “[He’s been] very good, scoring goals,” Solbakken said.

“He missed one chance against Portugal that he usually doesn’t miss and that’s the only thing I can say negative, because he’s on fire.”

Bellamy said he did not expect Haaland to be bothered by his club’s situation at Cardiff City Stadium. The Wales head coach said: “I don’t think he’ll be distracted, the guy’s a machine. Have you seen his record at international level? He’s brilliant. If you love football, you have to appreciate him. Remember the Jonah Lomu factor [in rugby union]? We’re coming through the Haaland factor at this present moment.”

Ødegaard is a doubt for the game on Thursday after a poor challenge by Bernardo Silva in the 2-1 defeat against Portugal on Sunday. “He will probably test himself a bit today,” Solbakken said of the Arsenal and Norway captain before training in the Welsh capital. “If he had no chance [of playing], he wouldn’t be here.”