Somehow, Craig Bellamy kept hold of his unbeaten record as Wales manager in Skopje on Tuesday night against North Macedonia having gone behind in injury time.
In his ninth game as Wales manager and the nation’s second in 2026 World Cup qualifying, Wales took on North Macedonia away from home. Bellamy would have been hoping to build over Saturday night’s win.
Wales beat Kazakhstan in Cardiff on Saturday in which Dan James scored, and both Joe Rodon and Karl Darlow started. The Leeds trio were in action again on Tuesday night, taking on Leeds icon Gjanni Alioski.
Wales were the better side but shot themselves in the foot in injury time, when Joe Allen presented Bojan Miovski with a golden chance and the former Aberdeen man took advantage – scoring past Darlow.
Wales fans question Craig Bellamy for taking Dan James off
But remarkably, David Brooks manage to bundle in an equaliser on 96 minutes to share the points in Skopje – responding in the best way to Miovski’s goal despite failing to score for all 90 minutes initially.
Leeds winger James has been in impressive form for Daniel Farke’s side, winning the February Player of the Month award. He started again on Tuesday night, and was arguably providing Wales’ best spark.
However, Wales boss Bellamy chose to take James off just after the hour mark – bringing Kieffer Moore on in his place. Wales fans could not understand why James had been sacrificed to bring Moore on.
Wales fans were apopleptic on social media when James was subbed off, given he was taking the game to North Macedonia. One Wales supporter posted on X: “Poor subs tonight, taking Dan James off.”
Another said “not sure why” Bellamy opted to take the £25m Leeds man off for Moore, instead of taking off the likes of Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson or Sorba Thomas who is now playing in France for Nantes.
Another fan described Bellamy’s decision as “criminal”, while one said it was a “strange” decision. It comes after James played 86 minutes in the win over Kazakhstan before Bellamy brought on Rabbi Matondo.
Wales fans’ despair is Leeds United’s gain with Dan James
Going into the break, James’ superb form had tailed off somewhat. Leeds have won just once in the last four games and James’ form has coincided with that of late – some suggesting the winger looked tired.
Having played 86 minutes of Wales’ first game on the weekend, Leeds fans were growing concerned that with the promotion run-in ongoing, James would return to Thorp Arch this week feeling rather jaded.
However, Bellamy’s decision to take James off is good news for Farke and Leeds. Playing little over 60 minutes will at least mean James is a whole lot fresher for Saturday’s clash against his old side Swansea.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
