Talking points as Craig Bellamy’s Wales prepare to face Iceland in Reykjavik

Phil Blanche

Wales continue their Nations League campaign in Iceland on Friday night.

Craig Bellamy began his managerial reign in the competition last month with a 0-0 draw at home to Turkey and a 2-1 victory in Montenegro.

Here, we look at the main talking points surrounding the Group B4 fixture in Reykjavik.

Building blocks

Wales boss Bellamy will be determined to build on a promising start that saw the players instantly take on board his ideas.

Bellamy said a lot of information was delivered by him and his coaching staff in a short space of time before September’s opening two Nations League fixtures.

The aim now is that Wales will be even better this month after more time spent on the training pitch and in the meeting room.

Red-hot Johnson

Every Wales supporter will hope Brennan Johnson can transfer his Tottenham form to the international stage.

Johnson has scored in six successive Spurs games to underline Bellamy’s assertion the winger is worth at least £80million.

The 23-year-old has yet to spark consistently for Wales, scoring three times in 30 appearances, but he has never joined up with the Dragons before in such a rich vein of form.

Go Joe go

After 20 months in international retirement, Joe Allen is back and ready to represent Wales once again.

The 74-times capped 34-year-old is among Wales’ greatest-ever midfielders and has played at two European Championships and a World Cup.

Injuries have taken their toll on the Swansea veteran but his experience in the dressing room will be invaluable for Bellamy, who believes Allen still has enough left in the tank to make his mark for Wales.

Absent Ampadu

The loss of Leeds midfielder Ethan Ampadu for the rest of the Nations League campaign is a huge blow to Wales.

Ampadu, who is not expected to return until January after sustaining a knee ligament injury, has become a real Wales leader and a key player in the midfield engine room.

The 24-year-old’s composure and passing vision are real assets to how Bellamy wants to play, and filling that central void will be pivotal as Wales tackle their October and November double-headers.

Familiar face

A familiar face to Welsh fans in Iceland ranks is the former Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The 35-year-old, who has scored 27 goals in 82 Iceland appearances, spent three years at Swansea between 2014 and 2017 before joining Everton in a deal worth around £45m.

Sigurdsson, now playing club football at Valur in his homeland, is still going strong in an Iceland squad that also features former Burnley midfielder Johann Berg Gudmundsson and highly-rated Real Sociedad forward Orri Oskarsson.