Cardiff Youngsters A 'dream' For Wales Boss Bellamy

Craig Bellamy laughs erstwhile asked astir Rubin Colwill, nan 23-year-old guardant presently impressing for Cardiff City.

"He's large for you, isn't he?," Bellamy asks nan newsman who brings up his name.

Not that Bellamy is not a instrumentality of nan nine-cap midfielder, to nan contrary.

However, Colwill has not ever featured successful Bellamy's Wales squads contempt playing a starring domiciled successful Cardiff's League One promotion bid and their quarter-final EFL Cup run.

"Rubin is able, there's still 1 aliases 2 bits that we request much from, but he's capable," insists Bellamy who has plentifulness of different reasons to beryllium a regular astatine Cardiff City Stadium.

"For nan first clip successful a long, agelong time, I've really enjoyed coming distant from Cardiff games pinch a smile," he added.

"Last twelvemonth was difficult, nan ambiance was down, but now I get to spot a number of Welsh young players playing successful a measurement I like.

"I only spot them improving and selfishly I conscionable spot that this is going to use nan country, truthful I'm complete nan satellite pinch that."

It is clear from Bellamy's latest squad - for nan last World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and North Macedonia - that he is enjoying this caller younker activity astatine his hometown club.

Bellamy has not only selected Colwill, but his relative Joel, 21, arsenic good arsenic 18-year-old Ronan Kpakio and chap defender, 19-year-old Dylan Lawlor.

The quartet could soon beryllium joined successful early world squads by nan likes of forwards Cian Ashford (21), Isaak Davies (24) and Tanatswa Nyakuhwa (20), arsenic good arsenic goalkeeper Matthew Turner (23) and midfielder Dakarai Mafico (18).

Bellamy credits Bluebird's leader Brian Barry-Murphy arsenic a awesome logic for this Cardiff resurgence.

"The Cardiff head is benefiting us, he's benefiting america arsenic a nationalist team," said Bellamy.

"The measurement he plays, we're rather akin successful really we effort to move.

"The players he has playing, particularly young players coming done - they person an mean of six, 7 Welsh players successful nan team, playing nan measurement that we benignant of play. We do it a small spot differently, but it's not excessively dissimilar.

"It only benefits me, selfishly. So [Barry-Murphy] is simply a dream for me."

After conclusion to Belgium successful Cardiff past month, Wales will almost surely compete successful nan March play-offs for a spot successful adjacent year's World Cup finals successful North America.

Wales beryllium 3rd successful Group J, 4 points down leaders Belgium and 3 down North Macedonia, their last group opponents who person played 1 crippled more.

A 2nd spot decorativeness would mean a one-off location semi-final against a bottommost seeded squad earlier a one-game final.

Finish 3rd and Bellamy's squad could look a difficult first distant trial against a apical seed specified arsenic Italy.

"If we decorativeness 2nd past possibly it will let america to debar 1 aliases 2 apical 10 teams connected their grounds," added Bellamy.

"That would beryllium beneficial for us. Now that allows america to really beryllium motivated to decorativeness 2nd for those reasons".