Wales v Iceland talking points as Craig Bellamy’s side chase promotion

Football Mad -

Wales complete their Nations League group fixtures at home to Iceland on Tuesday.

Craig Bellamy’s side are unbeaten in the competition – winning two and drawing three of their five games – and remain in with a chance of gaining promotion to League A.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the Cardiff City Stadium clash.

Group picture

Three different outcomes are possible for Wales heading into the final fixture.

Wales will win automatic promotion to League A should they beat Iceland and Turkey slip up against Montenegro, who are pointless after five games and already relegated.

A promotion play-off against a third-placed team in League A awaits them in March should they finish second. Losing to Iceland would condemn them to third spot and a relegation play-off with a League C runner-up.

Fresh legs needed

Wales battled hard for a point in Turkey on Saturday but used up a lot of energy in doing so (Huseyin Yavuz/Dia Photo via AP)

Wales boss Bellamy has not been afraid to make changes for the second game of a Nations League double-header with such a quick turnaround between matches.

Bellamy made five alterations after September’s opener against Turkey,  another seven following October’s trip to Iceland for the return game with Montenegro.

Wales used up considerable energy holding Turkey to a goalless draw in Kayseri on Saturday – and freshening up the side may almost be as much out of necessity as choice.

Allen to start?

Joe Allen returned to the Wales scene against Montenegro last month with a measured performance from the bench (David Davies/PA)

Joe Allen came out of international retirement in October to help close out a 1-0 win over Montenegro with a valuable contribution from the bench.

Allen did not feature at all in Turkey with Bellamy having the Iceland game possibly in mind for the midfield veteran.

The 34-year-old has struggled for fitness this season, but has started twice for Swansea in the Sky Bet Championship since that Montenegro victory.

50 up for Rodon

Joe Rodon (right) is in line to win his 50th cap for Wales against Iceland on Tuesday (Joe Giddens/PA)

Joe Rodon is set to reach a special milestone on Tuesday by collecting his 50th cap.

The landmark appearance looked in doubt in Turkey on Saturday when Rodon clashed heads with team-mate Mark Harris and needed treatment on a couple of nasty cuts for several minutes.

But the Leeds defender carried on to produce a player of the match performance and underline his importance to Wales, with Bellamy describing him as “beyond impressive”.

Iceland no pushover

Iceland’s Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson (left) is congratulated after scoring a Wembley winner against England in June (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Iceland might have struggled to hit the same heights since beating England to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

But Age Hareide’s side are certainly no lightweights and shook England again by beating them 1-0 in a Wembley friendly in June.

Iceland defeated Montenegro twice in this Nations League campaign and were unfortunate not to beat Wales in Reykjavik after recovering from a 2-0 interval deficit and draw with a stirring second-half performance.