Craig Bellamy has issued a resolute message to his Wales squad, instructing them to "honour the shirt" and not look to swap their strips with Kevin De Bruyne and his Belgian team-mates after their upcoming World Cup qualifier. Wales are preparing for two crucial games in their quest for the 2026 World Cup finals, first hosting Liechtenstein before a trip to meet Belgium's star-studded line-up.
Despite the daunting task of tackling the Red Devils in Brussels, Bellamy draws confidence from Wales' eight-match unbeaten streak since he took over last summer, which he believes reflects the tight-knit mentality within the camp. Determined not to have his team labelled as underdogs – asserting that "small footballing nations don't expect to qualify for World Cups, and we do" – Bellamy places great importance on the tradition of keeping their jerseys post-match.
In a staunch defence of his philosophy, Bellamy explained: "You have to honour your shirt. The only time you give it up is when you lose your place and someone else takes it, but you've left it in a good place.
"Our shirt is the most important shirt in football. We don't give that away, you can't give it away." When quizzed about whether the no-swap rule applied even to a talent like De Bruyne of Manchester City fame, Bellamy replied: "I don't think it is even worth having a conversation about.
"I don't need to answer that question. It's not going to happen. If I'm an aspiring young player then I want that (Wales) shirt. I see ours as the most important shirt, nobody else's."
The Welsh side kicked off their World Cup qualifying journey with a confident 3-1 win against Kazakhstan at home, followed by a nail-biting 1-1 draw in North Macedonia.
David Brooks became the hero in Skopje, scoring in the dying moments to maintain Bellamy's undefeated streak after Wales' ascent to the Nations League's elite division last autumn.
Bellamy likens mastering football fundamentals to the plot of a classic 1980s martial arts blockbuster, asking: "Have you ever watched The Karate Kid? Does he do karate straight away? No – it's Mr Miyagi who decides.
"It's wax on, wax off. He paints the fence. He teaches him all these types of rules before he can do karate, so that he has the disciplines.
"It's about basics, habits. If you don't have that intensity without the ball, if your body language is poor and you're waving your hands, it's the wrong team for you. This is not your team."