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Head coach Craig Bellamy won 78 caps for Wales, scoring 19 goals [Huw Evans Agency]
2026 World Cup qualifying: Wales v Kazakhstan
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Saturday, 22 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Sport Extra.
Head coach Craig Bellamy is urging Wales to embrace expectations as they begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign at home to lowly Kazakhstan on Saturday.
Bellamy is unbeaten in his six matches to date, leading Wales to promotion to the Nations League's top tier last year.
Now the former captain has set his team the target of not only qualifying for a second successive World Cup for the first time, but making a more positive impact when they get there having exited at the group stage in Qatar in 2022.
"I can just sit back and let them [players] do it! It's so valuable. Their calmness with it as well, they've been there [to a World Cup]," said Bellamy.
"But also the crowd, they've been there as well. It's so important because they've got to experience major tournaments. When we say 'Together Stronger' it's everyone.
"I expect expectations, I welcome them. I'd be concerned if we didn't have them. I've never tried to play them down but, at the same time, we have to play our game, no matter what goes on."
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Wales are the second seeds in Group J behind Belgium, with North Macedonia and minnows Liechtenstein making up the rest of the teams along with fourth seeds Kazakhstan.
Only the group winners will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the play-offs. Wales have already all but guaranteed themselves a play-off place by winning their Nations League group.
They will be overwhelming favourites to beat Kazakhstan, who are 81 places below them in the world rankings, but Bellamy expects periods of frustration against defensive-minded opponents who have not scored a competitive goal since 2023.
"It's got to be a tough game," the former Liverpool and Manchester City forward added. "You have to earn the right.
"It doesn't matter who you play. We've all been here in international football. We've seen it too many times. Nothing is given to you."
Wales have never faced Kazakhstan, who are 110th in Fifa's standings, in men's football since they entered European qualifying in 2002.
Kazakhstan have never qualified for a major tournament, but have enjoyed an upturn in results in recent years. They finished just four points off an automatic qualifying spot for Euro 2024, including notable wins over Denmark, Finland and a double over Northern Ireland, before losing to Greece in the play-offs.
They were relegated from Nations League B in a tough group with Norway, Austria and Slovenia, although they did hold Erling Haaland's side to a goalless draw in Almaty. Their most recent competitive win was against San Marino in a European Championship qualifier in 2023.
Former Kazakhstan midfielder Ali Aliyev was appointed interim manager in January and has overseen three friendlies so far, drawing against Uzbek club side Lokomotiv Tashkent and losing to North Korea last month before beating Curacao on Wednesday.
The 2-0 victory over Curacao was played in Belek, Turkey, and the Kazakhstan squad flew from there to Cardiff, arriving on Thursday night.
Team news
Wales are without several players because of injury.
The midfield is particularly depleted with Harry Wilson, Aaron Ramsey, Ethan Ampadu and Wes Burns all ruled out, while defender Rhys Norrington-Davies is also unavailable.
Their absence has opened the door for a recall for Rangers attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence and a first inclusion for 18-year-old midfielder Kai Andrews, who is on loan at Motherwell from Coventry City.
Since naming his squad last week, Bellamy has no new fitness concerns.
Match facts
- Kazakhstan have won three of their past four meetings with the British home nations, beating Scotland in March 2019 and winning home and away against Northern Ireland in June and September 2023.
- Wales have lost just two of their past 16 matches in all competitions (seven wins, eight draws), a 4-0 defeat away at Slovakia in a friendly in June 2024 and a penalty shootout loss to Poland in their Euro 2024 play-off final three months earlier.
- Kazakhstan have lost seven of their past eight competitive games, including the past five in a row. They last had a longer losing run between November 2016 and October 2017 (six).
- Wales have lost just two of their past 22 World Cup qualifiers (11 wins, nine draws), though one of those defeats was in their first game of the last qualifying campaign against Belgium in March 2021.
- Since beating the Faroe Islands in September 2013, Kazakhstan have won none of their past 21 World Cup qualifiers (seven draws, 14 defeats). Among European nations, only San Marino (76) and Liechtenstein (41) are on longer winless runs currently.
- The now-retired Gareth Bale has scored each of Wales' past three World Cup qualifying goals and this will be the first time Wales' first match of a World Cup qualifying campaign will not feature Bale since September 2004 against Azerbaijan, a match that featured current boss Craig Bellamy in the Wales starting XI.
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