Wales coach Craig Bellamy sarcastically joked about how ‘s***’ his own team was to lose to Bosnia and Herzegovina after they beat Italy to qualify for the World Cup.
The Azzurri will miss a staggering third-straight World Cup having fallen short in a penalty shootout against Bosnia, who had only reached the tournament once in their history.
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Moise Kean put Italy ahead in the 15th minute but the contest flipped on its head just before half-time when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off for a mistimed tackle.
Haris Tabakovic equalised for the hosts in the 79th minute before two misses in the decisive shootout from Bryan Cristante and Pio Esposito ensured Italy went home empty-handed.
News of Bosnia’s stunning triumph over the four-time World Cup winners reached Bellamy during his post-match press conference after Wales’ 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland.
Upon learning of the result, Bellamy threw his hands into the air, sat back in his chair and shook his head in frustration.
The Cymru boss’ emotions boiled down to the fact his side lost to Bosnia on penalties in their UEFA World Cup play-off semi-final despite firing off 18 shots and boasting 60 per cent of possession.
Bellamy’s brutal review
“How s*** were we to lose to them, huh,” Bellamy joked.
“Bloody hell. The Bosnian press raved about us, by the way.
“F***’s sake. That hurts even more.”
Despite the immediate heartbreak knowing what could have been, Bellamy was quick to change his tune and heap praise on the Bosnian side that produced a string of masterclasses in frustrating their opponents.
“But what I would say, this Bosnian team is tough,” Bellamy said.
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“In their qualifying campaign, most yellow cards, most suspensions, most fouls in a game. We’d seen it, but we prepared our players.
“It was like, ‘Do not get involved, do not be doing this because they will break up the game.’ Which is brilliant, credit to them. And they have quality, of course.”
Bosnian brutes
Against Wales, Bosnia did not back down from their rough approach as they conceded 18 fouls and four yellow cards.
In contrast, Wales gave away six fouls and picked up one booking.
However, Sergej Barbarez’s side were on their best behaviour against Italy having committed just four fouls, although they finished with three yellow cards.
For Wales, defeat to Bosnia meant they failed to reach back-to-back World Cups having qualified in 2022.
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Prior to Qatar, the Dragons had not reached the pinnacle of football since 1958.
Despite the unfortunate outcome, Wales star Harry Wilson is adamant Bellamy must remain at the helm and hailed the way he has changed the team’s style of play since taking over in July 2024.
Wilson: ‘We have to stick by it’
“It’s massive, I think he’s shown since he came in now, the way we set up, it’s a completely different style,” Wilson said prior to Wales’ 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland.
“I feel like when you lose games or get a bit of disappointment, it’s easy to look away from that.
“But I think if you look at the overall performances and the way we go about games now, it’s fun to play in.
“I love playing in it and I like to think the fans enjoy watching it as well.
“I think he believes and us players believe that it’s the style and the way that we’re going to get the most benefit from it.
“We have to stick by it and I truly believe it will bring us results.”
