James making up for lost time after penalty painpublished at 09:48 Greenwich Mean Time
Turkey v Wales (Sat, 17:00 GMT)
Wales
It’s been nearly eight months since Daniel James missed the decisive spot-kick against Poland that ended Wales’ hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024. But now the Leeds United winger is aiming to make up for lost time with new boss Craig Bellamy.
A hamstring injury ruled the 27-year-old out of Bellamy’s first four games as Wales boss in September and October, but he has returned for this month’s Nations League matches against Turkey and Iceland.
“It’s great to be back. I definitely missed it. I was gutted not to be involved in the first two camps,” said James.
“It [penalty miss] was tough to take, but it’s long gone now. Football isn’t always positive but you have to bounce back. If I said I’d forgotten about it I would be lying, but I won’t let it affect me in future games.”
Wales are unbeaten in their four matches under Bellamy, with two wins and two draws leaving them second in Group B4.
They face leaders Turkey in Kayseri on Saturday needing victory to boost their chances of winning the group and securing promotion to the Nations League’s top tier, before concluding their group with a match against Iceland in Cardiff the following Tuesday.