Two uncapped Cardiff City stars earn Wales call-ups in latest 25-man squad
Wales manager Craig Bellamy ahead of kick off. Iceland v Wales in the UEFA Nations League at Laugardalsvöllur Stadium on the 11th October 2024.
Craig Bellamy has named three uncapped players in his latest Wales squad to face Kazakhstan and Canada in September.
Cardiff City duo Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor have been named in the 25-man squad alongside Coventry City midfielder Kai Andrews.
Both Andrews and Kpakio featured in Bellamy’s last squad but didn’t feature in either fixture, with Bluebirds defender Lawlor earning his place following a strong start to the campaign with the League One club.
Players who play their club football for Wrexham will be involved in the squad for the first time in more than a decade after Danny Ward, Nathan Broadhead and Kieffer Moore all joined the club in the summer.
Both Moore and defender Chris Mepham will make their 50th appearance for their nation if they feature in either of the upcoming fixtures.
Despite Rubin Colwill’s standout performances for Cardiff this season, he misses out on selection, while Aaron Ramsey is also absent from the squad as he continues to settle into life in Mexico with Pumas following his recent return to action.
The squad will travel to Astana to continue their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan on the 4th of September before returning to Wales to take on Canada in a friendly at the Swansea.com Stadium.
More than 1,000 fans will travel to Astana as part of the Red Wall, the first time the Cymru men’s team will make the 3,000-mile trip to Kazakhstan.
When the two sides last met, Craig Bellamy’s team opened their qualifying campaign with a 3–1 victory over Kazakhstan in Cardiff, thanks to goals from Daniel James, captain Ben Davies, and Rabbi Matondo.
Cymru currently sit second in Group J with two wins, a draw and one loss at the halfway stage of the qualifying campaign.
The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup; the four remaining berths are determined by play-offs involving the 12 group runners-up and four teams from last year’s Nations League phase.
The match against Canada on Tuesday 9 September, marks a return to Swansea for the team, having last played there in November 2020 in a goalless draw against the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last match with a crowd at the Swansea.com Stadium was a 2-1 loss in 2013 against Croatia, in a match featuring current Head Coach Craig Bellamy.
Full Wales squad announcement
Karl DARLOW (Leeds United), Adam DAVIES (Sheffield United), Danny WARD (Wrexham), Ben CABANGO (Swansea City), Jay DASILVA (Coventry City), Ben DAVIES (Tottenham Hotspur), Ronan KPAKIO (Cardiff City), Dylan LAWLOR (Cardiff City), Chris MEPHAM (Bournemouth), Joe RODON
(Leeds United), Neco WILLIAMS (Nottingham Forest)
Kai ANDREWS (Coventry City), David BROOKS (Bournemouth), Charlie CREW (Doncaster Rovers- On loan from Leeds United), Jordan JAMES (Stade Rennais), Josh SHEEHAN (Bolton Wanderers), Sorba THOMAS (Stoke City)
Harry WILSON (Fulham), Nathan BROADHEAD (Wrexham), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), Mark HARRIS (Oxford United), Lewis KOUMAS (Birmingham City- On loan from Liverpool), Daniel JAMES (Leeds United), Brennan JOHNSON (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieffer MOORE (Wrexham).
