Craig Bellamy’s Wales squad plans for Nations League hit by injuries to Harry Wilson and Nathan Broadhead
CRAIG Bellamy announced a 28-player squad as Cymru’s UEFA Nations League campaign gets underway against some of Europe’s strongest teams in League A. However, it was not long before he was receiving negative reports on the fitness of Nathan Broadhead and Harry Wilson to add to the defensive loss of Joe Rodon.
Bellamy’s side will begin their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures against Portugal in Lisbon (Thursday 24 September) and Denmark in Copenhagen (Sunday 27 September). Cymru will then return home for two matches in the Cardiff City Stadium, where they will face Norway (Thursday 1 October) and Denmark (Sunday 4 October).
LATEST: Where can I watch Wales in the UEFA Nations League?
S4C is confirmed as a UK broadcast partner for Wales matches in the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, giving supporters another way to follow Craig Bellamy’s side through a fascinating Group A4 campaign.
Wales begin with two difficult away fixtures before returning to Cardiff City Stadium for successive home games:
Portugal v Wales — Thursday, 24 September, 7.45pm
Denmark v Wales — Sunday, 27 September, 5pm UK time
Wales v Norway — Thursday, 1 October, 7.45pm
Wales v Denmark — Sunday, 4 October, 7.45pm
The Norway fixture is already attracting particular interest after Erling Haaland was officially named in Ståle Solbakken’s Norway squad, while attention turns to Portugal and whether Cristiano Ronaldo will face Wales.
Tickets for the home matches against Norway and Denmark are now on general sale, subject to availability.
With Portugal, Denmark and a Haaland-led Norway all providing very different challenges, Wales supporters have plenty to look forward to as the new Nations League campaign gets under way.
There is also a special moment for Cian Ashford, with the Cardiff City youngster receiving his first senior Wales call-up. The 21-year-old has progressed through the Bluebirds’ academy system and now has the opportunity to be part of Craig Bellamy’s squad for a demanding run of Nations League fixtures against Portugal, Denmark and Norway. His inclusion provides an added local interest for Cardiff supporters — and potentially a memorable international breakthrough for a player developed on the doorstep of the stadium where Wales will face Norway and Denmark.
UPDATE: NEW WALES INJURY BLOW: NATHAN BROADHEAD RULED OUT
Nathan Broadhead will withdraw from Craig Bellamy’s Wales squad and miss the forthcoming Nations League internationals after suffering a thigh strain in Wrexham training. Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson confirmed that the injury would keep Broadhead out of Saturday’s Championship match against Southampton and, when specifically asked whether he would miss the Wales camp, answered yes.
That means Wales have lost another member of their squad before a particularly demanding sequence of Portugal away (24 September), Denmark away (27 September), Norway at home (1 October) and Denmark at home (4 October).
LATEST: Cristiano Ronaldo is in Portugal’s squad to face Wales in Lisbon on Thursday, 24 September. The 41-year-old has been included in Jorge Jesus’s first Portugal selection, although the new coach has made clear that reputation alone will not guarantee any player a starting place. It means Ronaldo is expected to be involved when Wales begin their Nations League campaign at the Estádio José Alvalade, but whether he starts against Craig Bellamy’s side remains to be seen.
Wales, meanwhile, have another significant injury concern involving Harry Wilson. The Leeds United midfielder has suffered a quadriceps injury, with manager Daniel Farke saying that Wilson will “probably miss” the forthcoming Wales matches. With Nathan Broadhead already ruled out and Joe Rodon also unavailable, Craig Bellamy’s options are being tested before a demanding sequence of four Nations League fixtures in just 11 days.
ONE YEAR ON: WHAT HAPPENED TO CARDIFF CITY’S WALES BREAKTHROUGH GENERATION?
TWELVE months ago, Cardiff City’s Academy appeared to be providing Craig Bellamy with a new generation of Wales internationals almost overnight.
Dylan Lawlor made a remarkable senior international debut against Kazakhstan. Days later, teenagers Ronan Kpakio and Joel Colwill also won their first Wales caps against Canada.
Rubin Colwill was already established in the international picture, while another Cardiff Academy graduate, Isaak Davies, would subsequently force his way into Bellamy’s plans.
For Cardiff supporters it was an exciting glimpse of the future.
A year later, however, football has provided a reminder that progress rarely travels in a straight line.
As Bellamy prepares to announce his latest Wales squad, injuries have interrupted the progress of Lawlor and Rubin Colwill, Kpakio has found Championship starts harder to come by, Isaak Davies has suffered another injury setback – while Joel Colwill has only recently taken an opportunity to force his way back into Cardiff’s starting XI.
So what has happened to Cardiff City’s young Welsh contingent since those heady breakthrough days?
HOW QUICKLY DID DYLAN LAWLOR GO FROM CARDIFF ACADEMY PLAYER TO WALES INTERNATIONAL?
Very quickly indeed.
Lawlor joined Cardiff City’s Academy at the age of seven and did not make his senior Bluebirds debut until February 2025, when he faced Premier League Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
By the following September he was playing international football.
With Wales missing several established defenders, Craig Bellamy selected the then 19-year-old for the World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
Lawlor did rather more than simply survive his debut.
He produced an outstanding performance as Wales won 1-0 and was named Man of the Match.
It was an extraordinary rise for a young defender who had barely played senior football a few months earlier.
He subsequently became an important part of the Cardiff side that won promotion from League One and remained firmly in Bellamy’s plans.
But injury has changed the picture.
Lawlor suffered a problem while away with Wales during the June international period and has yet to establish himself back in Cardiff’s side this season. Brian Barry-Murphy recently confirmed that the defender had not been training as the club continued to manage an ongoing injury problem.
That makes a place in Bellamy’s latest squad appear highly unlikely.
For a player whose career moved at extraordinary speed during 2025, 2026 has provided the other side of professional football – patience and rehabilitation.
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WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO RONAN KPAKIO?
Kpakio’s rise was every bit as striking.
The right-back joined Cardiff’s Academy at Under-8 level, made his first-team debut in 2024 and established himself during the Bluebirds’ promotion season.
His performances earned him a surprise first senior Wales call-up in September 2025.
Five days after Lawlor’s memorable night in Kazakhstan, Kpakio made his Wales debut against Canada in Swansea.
Still only 19, however, Kpakio is now discovering how difficult the next stage can be.
He has featured in the Championship this season but has not been a regular starter. He started at Derby in August but subsequently spent several league matches on the bench before making a very late appearance at Bolton.
That should hardly be viewed as a crisis.
Kpakio is still younger than many players when they make their first senior league appearance.
His situation instead illustrates one of the peculiarities of rapid development: it is possible to become a full international before completely establishing yourself at club level.
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IS JOEL COLWILL NOW TAKING HIS CHANCE?
Joel Colwill provides a useful counterpoint.
Like Lawlor and Kpakio, he made his senior Wales debut during that remarkable September 2025 international window.
Having spent much of the previous season developing on loan with Cheltenham Town and Exeter City, Colwill returned to Cardiff and became increasingly important during the promotion campaign. He made his Wales debut from the bench against Canada.
This season he has again had to compete for his place.
But when his opportunity came against Stoke City, he took it.
Making his first Championship start of the campaign, the 21-year-old scored Cardiff’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw and almost grabbed another, prompting Barry-Murphy to praise the midfielder’s goal threat.
He then started again at Bolton.
So while some of Cardiff’s young Welsh players are temporarily moving out of the spotlight, Joel Colwill may be moving back into it.
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WHAT ABOUT RUBIN COLWILL?
Joel’s older brother has already travelled much further along the road.
Rubin Colwill made his Cardiff first-team breakthrough in 2021 and has represented Wales at a major tournament. He is no longer really part of the same “new generation” as Lawlor and Kpakio.
But his experiences underline exactly the same point.
Talent alone does not guarantee an uninterrupted career.
Colwill’s ability has never really been in question, but injuries have repeatedly prevented him from building the sustained run of football Cardiff and Wales supporters have hoped to see.
An ankle problem has again disrupted the start of his season. He missed the recent Stoke game, and Cardiff have been understandably reluctant to risk him while the problem persists.
If he misses Bellamy’s new squad, it will therefore be another case of circumstances rather than a closed international door.
At 24, there should still be considerably more to come.
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WHERE DOES ISAAK DAVIES FIT INTO THE PICTURE?
Another name worth remembering is Isaak Davies.
Davies has been at Cardiff since the age of seven and made his first-team debut as far back as 2021.
His career has included an impressive loan spell in Belgium with KV Kortrijk, but injuries have prevented him building the consistent run of senior football his pace and attacking ability once appeared likely to produce.
Nevertheless, Bellamy included Davies in his Wales squad for the matches against Ghana and Romania in June 2026 alongside Lawlor, Kpakio and Joel Colwill.
That alone demonstrated that he remained very much on the national manager’s radar.
Now injury has intervened again, with Davies currently sidelined by a muscle problem.
It is another reminder that the distance between being an international footballer and watching from the treatment room can sometimes be remarkably short.
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SO HAS CARDIFF’S ACADEMY REVOLUTION STALLED?
Not at all.
Perhaps the mistake is expecting young careers to develop in straight lines.
A year ago, Lawlor, Kpakio and Joel Colwill all won their first Wales caps during the same international window. Cardiff’s official review at the time celebrated an extraordinary trio of senior international debuts.
By June this year, Bellamy’s Wales squad included Lawlor, Kpakio, Joel Colwill and Isaak Davies.
Add Rubin Colwill – already an established international – and Cardiff City’s youth system had made an extraordinary contribution to the senior national picture.
Twelve months later their individual circumstances are very different.
Lawlor needs to get healthy.
Kpakio needs regular football.
Rubin Colwill needs an uninterrupted run.
Isaak Davies needs another injury comeback.
Joel Colwill needs to grasp the opportunity currently in front of him.
That isn’t necessarily a story about careers going backwards.
It is probably a much more realistic picture of what happens after the breakthrough.
Tomorrow’s Wales squad announcement will provide the latest snapshot rather than the final judgement.
Getting there is one achievement. Staying there, it seems, may be an even greater challenge.
DID EWE KNOW?
The First Cap: In April 1912, midfielder Jack Evans became the very first Cardiff City player to be capped for Wales in a 3–2 victory over Ireland.
Most Capped for Wales While at Cardiff: Legendary defender Alf Sherwood holds the club record for the most Welsh caps earned while actively playing for the Bluebirds, amassing 39 caps between 1946 and 1956.
The Youngest Debutant: In 2007, academy graduate Chris Gunter became the youngest ever Cardiff City player to represent Wales when he made his debut at just 16 years and 299 days old.
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