There was plenty of international action across the Cymru men’s national teams during March, headlined by Craig Bellamy leading the senior squad to an undefeated start in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.
In addition to the senior team, the Cymru MU19 and MU17 teams were both in UEFA qualifying action while the Cymru U21 and U18 teams both had friendly fixtures during this international window. Here’s a look back on a busy month of international football.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Cymru senior team head coach Craig Bellamy extended his undefeated record in the job to eight games but needed a late, late equaliser from substitute David Brooks to avoid a first loss in a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia in Skopje on Tuesday evening. The away point made it a solid start to the qualifying campaign and Cymru now sit second in Group J having collected four points from the opening two fixtures.
The new campaign kicked-off at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday night as goals from Dan James, captain Ben Davies and substitute Rabbi Matondo sealed a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan. “It was nice to get on the pitch and get my first goal for my country,” said Matondo after the match. “I’ve had to be patient and it hasn’t been easy at times, but it’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”
A tougher challenge awaited Cymru in Skopje a few days later. North Macedonia had also started their qualifying campaign with a comfortable win over Leichtenstein, and it would be an emotional occasion as they remembered the 59 people who had lost their lives in a nightclub fire the previous week. Both sides showed a real determination to go for the win, but it remained 0-0 until a crazy period of added-time.
A misplaced pass from Joe Allen allowed the home side to take the lead on 90+1 minutes, but the character and belief in this Cymru side has never been more apparent as they responded in the perfect way. Not accepting defeat in a game where they had enjoyed the majority of possession and created the better chances, Brooks salvaged a point on 90+6 minutes with virtually the last kick of the match.
“I felt we were the better team,” said Bellamy after the final whistle. “I thought we really controlled the game but could have made better decisions in the final third. I was really pleased with our performance, to walk away with a point leaves me disappointed, but with the manner of it I have to accept it. This is going to give us such strength as it’s a very difficult place to come and play football.”
MU19 and MU17 UEFA Qualifiers
Cymru MU19 head coach Chris Gunter called on the north Wales fans to come out in their numbers to support his side in their Elite Round fixtures and a superb crowd of over 2,500 were in attendance for the opening match at Nantporth against England. Despite the 2-0 defeat, it was an impressive performance from Cymru on the night as they asked questions of a strong England team who just had that extra bit of quality in attack.
A narrow 1-0 defeat to Portugal at the Hops & Barley Community Stadium in Rhyl followed a few days later, but the campaign ended on a high as goals from Freddie Issaka, Gabriele Biancheri and Elliot Myles earned the side a 3-1 win over Türkiye at the same venue. Cymru would finish third in the group. “It’s been a tough week for us with two losses,” explained Biancheri after the match. “But we played a bit more freely and it’s always nice getting on the scoresheet.”
“The way the players dealt with the disappointment of the last two games was the biggest thing for me,” said Gunter following the victory. “We’re aware of their quality and ability as footballers, but to overcome two difficult games and then produce that says a lot about them as a group. I’m really proud to be in charge and lead them on a night like tonight. We wanted something at the start of the week and we didn’t achieve it, but I fully believe we can compete against these teams.”
Meanwhile, the Cymru MU17 finished top of their group as Wayne Hatswell’s squad returned from Albania with four points. An opening 0-0 draw against Azerbaijan meant that the side needed a victory over the hosts in the final game, and two goals from Will Grainger sealed a 2-1 victory despite Albania taking a one goal advantage into half-time.
Cymru U21 and U18 International friendlies
Matty Jones and his U21 squad headed to Spanish city of Valencia for two friendly matches against Andorra and Sweden, and the head coach used the opportunity to bring a number of new faces into the squad while the MU19 side were in Elite Round action. “Hopefully we set the environment where we give them an opportunity to flourish and express themselves,” he explained. “It’s about the players integrating into a new environment. We’ve had a three day prep so we’ve had to really challenge players.”
However, it was a more experienced figure in Chris Popov who scored the only goal of the game in the opening match against Andorra, with Jones making pre-arranged wholesale changes to his line-up at half-time to make the most of the opportunity. The camp was completed with a 0-0 draw against Sweden. “We spoke a lot over the last couple of days about the journey and how important it is about picking up results and effective performances, not just from the team collectively, but for players to individually showcase their abilities,” Jones added.
Matty Jones speaks to his U21 players during the match against Sweden
The Cymru U18 side were also in friendly action in Spain and the week began for Craig Knight’s team against Denmark in Pinatar. An opening half penalty from Henry Kasvosve put Cymru ahead at half-time, and despite Zac Jagielka also converting from the spot, it was the Danes who did enough to claim a 4-2 victory. However, the side responded well in the second match against Poland and claimed a 1-0 win through a goal from Mannie Barton.
