National media reaction to 'tidy' 8/10 Leeds United pair as Craig Bellamy's Wales draw vs Turkey

Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon both got 90 minutes of football under their belt on Friday evening as Wales kicked off their new era with a 0-0 Nations League draw at home to Turkey.

Craig Bellamy’s first game in charge of the Welsh national side saw him welcome Euro 2024 quarter-finalists Turkey to the Cardiff City Stadium, and the 45-year-old had four Leeds United players to pick from in total, with late call-up Charlie Crew joining Karl Darlow, Ampadu and Rodon. Dan James would almost certainly have been involved, were it not for a minor hamstring injury that kept him out of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Hull City.

Ampadu and Rodon were backed to start by their new international manager and played their part in an excellent Wales performance that lacked only the decisive goal. Bellamy’s fluid attacking style was on show in Cardiff but equally important was the defensive stability provided by the Leeds pair in central midfield and centre-back.

Rodon earned plenty of praise for his defensive contribution and was given a rating of eight by Wales Online, with reporter Tom Coleman reporting the Leeds man ‘stood up so well defensively’ and ‘completely rattled’ Baris Alper Yilmaz in the first-half, with the Turkish winger booked for a confrontation before receiving a second yellow on the hour mark.

There’s never been a better time to sign up to Inside Elland Road with Graham Smyth - offering unrivalled and in-depth coverage of Leeds United

Clwbpeldroed.org also gave Rodon an eight, writing: “A very good performance from the Leeds United man. He won everything that came near him and looked calm and composed playing out of defence.” But it could have been even better for the Whites man, who missed a glorious first-half chance to open the scoring, his close-range effort spooned high and wide after being found at the back post.

Ampadu was at the heart of a midfield trio, tasked with sweeping things up and allowing the more attacking Jordan James and Harry Wilson to bomb on without being vulnerable to the counter-attack. As with Rodon, the Whites captain was given a rating of eight by Wales Online, who described him as ‘tidy in possession’ while praising Bellamy for giving his midfielder ‘more opportunity to express himself’.

Clwbpeldroed.org gave Ampadu a rating of seven, writing: “Bellamy described him as a future captain of the national side and it’s easy to see why with the footballing brain he possesses. He looked to drop deeper as the link between defence and attack.”

Neither Darlow nor Crew got an appearance off the bench but Ampadu and Rodon evidently impressed, cementing themselves as core players in Bellamy’s exciting new set up. Wales are on the road for their second Nations League clash at Montenegro on Monday evening.