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Nations League: Iceland v Wales
Venue: Laugardalsvollur, Reykjavik Date: Friday, 11 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Sounds & live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app
Captain Johann Berg Gudmundsson hopes Iceland will shackle Wales’ progressive new style under Craig Bellamy when the former Burnley colleagues are reunited in Reykjavik on Friday.
Gudmundsson, 33, played under Bellamy at Burnley when Wales’ head coach served as assistant manager to Vincent Kompany, helping the Clarets win promotion to the Premier League in 2023.
The Iceland skipper joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Orobah in August and will face Bellamy, who was appointed Wales boss in July, when the teams meet in the Nations League.
“I know him really well. He was a fantastic coach when he was at Burnley, a fantastic human being. We had a lot of good times together,” Gudmundsson said of Bellamy.
“It’s difficult in international games – you don’t have a lot of time to implement your style of play, and I know exactly the way he wants to play. We’ve seen some clips of the way he wants to play and tomorrow it’s about us, how we can cancel that out.
“I know he wants to play good football as we did at Burnley, especially that first season. But it’s always difficult when you only have four or five training sessions, so it’s definitely going to take time for him to implement his style on the team.”
The start of Bellamy’s tenure has rejuvenated Wales, with a bold new style of play apparent during last month’s opening goalless draw with Turkey, followed by a 2-1 win in Montenegro.
Wales are clearly more aggressive off the ball than they were under Bellamy’s predecessor, Rob Page, while they are also more creative and dynamic in possession.
“We have had discussions about it but he's only two games in and the way he wants to play perfect football is not there,” Gudmundsson added.
“So we have to be wary at what comes to us. The pitch could be trouble as well, as it was in Montenegro. The way he wants to play was not possible there. Against Turkey you saw more of the way he wants to play.
“It will be interesting. We have looked at the way they want to play and we'll definitely do everything to cancel that out and implement our style on the game as we are playing at home.”
Iceland started their Nations League campaign with a 2-0 win at home to Montenegro before losing 3-1 in Turkey.
Fiorentina forward Albert Gudmundsson was acquitted of sexual assault charges in Reykjavik on Thursday and is now eligible to play for the national team.
The 27-year-old has not played for Iceland since scoring in their Euro 2024 play-off final defeat by Ukraine in March.
Iceland boss Age Hareide said he did not know if it was possible for Gudmundsson to line up against Wales, with Turkey's visit to Reykjavik on Monday a more realistic date for his potential return.
“We have to call Fiorentina and ask for that,” said Hareide. “We are late anyway, so it could be impossible. We don’t know. We will have to wait and see.”
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