Wales produced one of their strongest results under Craig Bellamy as they recovered from an early setback to defeat 10-man Norway 2-1 in the Nations League at Cardiff City Stadium.
The victory ended a six-match winless streak and gave Bellamy his first success against a side ranked above Wales since taking charge in 2024. It was also Wales’ first victory in Nations League A, secured at the ninth attempt.
Norway struck with the first major attack of the match. Oscar Bobb exchanged passes with captain Martin Odegaard before running beyond the Wales defence and beating goalkeeper Danny Ward at his near post.
Despite falling behind, Wales responded positively and gradually took control. Sorba Thomas caused repeated problems from the left, while Bellamy’s side pressed Norway into mistakes and began creating openings.
Their pressure was rewarded seven minutes before half-time. Liam Cullen intercepted a pass from Fredrik Aursnes, allowing Lewis Koumas to move the ball towards Thomas on the flank. His delivery found Dan James, who finished confidently for his 11th goal at international level.
Wales gained a major advantage almost immediately after the restart.
Torbjorn Heggem struggled to deal with a long ball from Ben Davies and brought down James on the edge of the penalty area. The Norway centre-back was shown a red card less than 30 seconds into the second half, reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Neco Williams made the resulting free-kick count. His curling effort wrong-footed Orjan Nyland and found the goalkeeper’s right-hand corner to put Wales ahead.
Bellamy’s team had opportunities to make the result more comfortable, with substitutes Josh Sheehan and Mark Harris both denied by Nyland.
Norway continued to pose a threat despite their numerical disadvantage, but Erling Haaland was largely kept out of the contest. His clearest opening came nine minutes from time when he met Marcus Pedersen’s cross with a header that went straight at Ward.
Jorgen Strand Larsen later fired over as Norway searched for an equaliser, but Wales held firm to secure an important victory and lift the pressure after their recent run without a win.