5 talking points as Wales start World Cup qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan | OneFootball

Wales begin their World Cup qualifying campaign at home to Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Belgium, North Macedonia and Liechtenstein complete the Group J line-up as the race for the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States gets under way.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the Cardiff City Stadium clash.

Bellamy crusade

Wales boss Craig Bellamy never came close to gracing the World Cup as a player.

“I’ve got to be honest, we weren’t good enough to qualify. Even if we had all the luck in the world, we still didn’t have enough quality,” said Bellamy.

So the 45-year-old former Newcastle and Liverpool striker has added motivation to lead Wales to their second successive World Cup after Rob Page’s side bowed out at the group stage in Qatar in 2022.

Building on Nations League success

Bellamy remains unbeaten after six games – the best start by a Wales manager.

Wales topped their Nations League group in the autumn with three wins and three draws, finishing above Turkey, Iceland and Montenegro to secure top-tier status in the next edition of the competition.

The aim now is to maintain the feel-good factor prevalent since Bellamy succeeded Page last summer.

Overcoming injuries

Wales have been dealt a cruel double blow with injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Harry Wilson, arguably their two most important players.

Wilson scored in four of Wales’ six Nations League games and Ampadu’s influence is massive in a central midfield are where Bellamy is short of options.

Skipper Aaron Ramsey is also absent with hamstring issues that have plagued him in recent times.

Who is the number one?

Will Wales’ number one goalkeeper finally stand up?

Bellamy rotated his goalkeepers during the Nations League campaign with Danny Ward and Karl Darlow playing three games each.

Neither Ward nor Darlow are starting at their respective clubs, Leicester and Leeds, but surely the time is right for Bellamy to choose a number one for Wales’ World Cup adventure.

New rivals

This will be the first meeting between Wales and Kazakhstan at men’s senior level.

Kazakhstan are ranked 110 in the world, 81 places below Wales, and were relegated from the second tier of the Nations League in November with only one point from six games.

But Wales should beware complacency: Kazakhstan won six of their 10 Euro 2024 qualifiers and beat Northern Ireland home and away, as well as upsetting Denmark and Finland.