Craig Bellamy on Kpakio potential and return of key duo

Cymru head coach Craig Bellamy believes teenager Ronan Kpakio has ‘ridiculously high’ potential and explained his responsibility for developing the next generation has he announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

“I’ve kept an eye on him and his progression has been outstanding,” explained Bellamy when asked about the Cardiff City defender. “I think his potential could be ridiculously high. He’s very athletic, very intelligent. In the right-back position we have one or two younger ones coming through so we need to really start developing players for that position, and he’s a perfect profile for that.”

Kpakio, 18, has made just six senior appearances for Cardiff City and has also played for the club in the Nathaniel MG Cup. Having come through the Cymru intermediate ranks from U16 to U19 level, Bellamy was impressed with him during the recent training camp in Spain, and spoke about the importance of bringing young players through the pathway and into the senior squad.

“So many positives came out of it,” he added. “It’s just nice to get them into the way we do things, because it’s different to what they’ve been doing before. I have to be honest, I was so impressed by them. The future of Welsh football if they keep developing should be very exciting. It’s not just about this team, it’s about the next team, and the next team after that.

“We have to have a team competing for every tournament now. I’m in charge at the moment, but I have to make sure the next manager is in a healthy position as well. The country is most important, so I have to keep looking at young players and exposing them as well. One or two will force their way in and stay there, but I want to keep creating a squad that will allow high potential players to come in.”

The squad announcement was made ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein in Cardiff on Friday 6 June and Belgium in Brussels on Monday 9 June. Cymru have taken four points from their opening two games against Kazakhstan and North Macedonia, while Belgium are yet to start their campaign.

“It’s just about what we can do,” explained Bellamy. “I know it’s it sounds a little bit cliche, but we can only control what we can control. The way I look at it, Belgium will win every single game and we have to do the same. That’s what we want, to finish first and reach that objective. So it doesn’t matter to me if it’s home or away, we go out to win, and nothing will change.”

Bellamy also highlighted the positives of welcoming Harry Wilson and Ethan Ampadu back to the squad after injury. Wilson ended the season in good form for Fulham and scored the winner in the 3-2 win over Brentford, while Ampadu played a key role in captaining Leeds United to the Championship title alongside Cymru trio Joe Rodon, Daniel James and goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

“If you look at his performances for us in the first six games, his quality is incredible,” said Bellamy when asked about Wilson’s importance. “The team does come first with him, which I completely buy into and really appreciate. If you look at our goals, our assists, like the creative bit and the final third, we definitely missed that in the last two games. He’s been a remarkable player for us and I think he fits really well in the way we play.

“Ethan we haven’t had since September. We don’t quite have someone in the country at this present moment with his profile, so he has been a loss, but we always adapt. We have to adapt, and that’s every nation as well. (Josh) Sheehan has done really, really well, but in the games we control. The game where it’s going to be transition, which the big games really bring in, we need everyone available. Having Ethan available is a big, big bonus for us.”