Swansea City star Joe Allen has made a sensational u-turn on his international retirement as he was announced in Craig Bellamy’s latest Wales squad. The Swansea man will be a major boost to the Wales midfield offering vast experience.
Allen returns to the national setup having announced his retirement in 2022 following Wales’ first World Cup participation in 64 years. The 34-year old has previously made 74 appearances for the senior side scoring two goals.
Sheffield United man Rhys Norrington-Davies also returns to the fold after more than two years out following a long term injuries. There are also places for David Brooks, Nathan Broadhead and Wes Burns after they missed out on the last camp due to injuries.
Captain Aaron Ramsey and Leeds United’s Ethan Ampadu both miss out on the upcoming camps as they are both expected to be sidelines for the remainder of the year with injuries. Both will be major absences for Wales as an already depleted midfield is weakened.
Ramsey suffered a hamstring injury whilst featuring for Wales against Montenegro last month and Amapdu picked up a knee ligament injury in his sides 3-0 win against Coventry City. Leeds manager Daniel Farke has stated that there is no surgery needed but he will not be rushed back and is likely to remain out until January.
Blackburn Rovers loanee Owen Beck is the only member of the squad yet to receive a senior cap and will look to feature for the first time in the upcoming camp. The most experienced member is Spurs man Ben Davies who will be only 10 caps away from a century of appearances for the national side if he features in both fixtures.
Wales travel to Reykjavik on Friday 11th October to take on Iceland before returning to The Cardiff City Stadium on Monday 14th of October for their second fixture against Montenegro in the UEFA Nations League.
The away fixture will be the first time Wales have faced Iceland since a 3-1 win at The Cardiff City Stadium in March 2014. Wales have won five out of seven meetings with ‘strákarnir okkar’ losing only once.
Bellamy will be looking to build on a solid start to his tenure as head coach. After securing a 0-0 draw against Turkey and a narrow 2-1 victory over Montenegro thanks to goals from Kieffer Moore and Harry Wilson.
Confidence on securing further positive results will be boosted by the upturn in form of Spurs forward Brennan Johnson.
The 23-year old has scored four goals in his last four appearances at club level. The run came after he deactivated social media accounts after receiving online abuse following the clubs North London derby defeat.
Full Wales squad announcement
Goalkeepers – Danny WARD (Leicester City), Adam DAVIES (Sheffield United), Karl DARLOW (Leeds United).
Defenders – Rhys NORRINGTON-DAVIES (Sheffield United), Owen BECK (Blackburn Rovers- On loan from
Liverpool), Ben DAVIES (Tottenham Hotspur), Ben CABANGO (Swansea City), Joe RODON (Leeds
United), Chris MEPHAM (Sunderland- On loan from Bournemouth), Connor ROBERTS (Burnley), Neco
WILLIAMS (Nottingham Forest).
Midfielders– Josh SHEEHAN (Bolton Wanderers), Jordan JAMES (Stade Rennais), Joe ALLEN (Swansea City), Ollie COOPER (Swansea City), Sorba THOMAS (Nantes- On loan from Huddersfield), Wes BURNS (Ipswich Town).
Forwards – Nathan BROADHEAD (Ipswich Town), David BROOKS (Bournemouth), Brennan JOHNSON (Tottenham Hotspur), Harry WILSON (Fulham), Kieffer MOORE (Sheffield United), Mark HARRIS (Oxford United), Lewis KOUMAS (Stoke City- On loan from
Liverpool), Liam CULLEN (Swansea City).
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