It is nearly three years since Gareth Bale brought the curtain down on his glittering Wales career at the 2022 World Cup.

He bowed out after a 3-0 defeat by England in Qatar, with many predicting Wales would go back to the doldrums without their most-capped player and goalscorer.

But Wales boss Craig Bellamy is out to prove the Bale doom-mongers wrong, having lost only two of his 12 games in charge.

“I was told before [being appointed] that it was all falling off a cliff. The king [Bale] has gone,” said Bellamy.

“But I only saw it as like, ‘no, there’s a lot of good players here’.

“Wait until the next couple of years, this machine’s going to get stronger.”