James making up for lost time after penalty pain

Daniel James says his Euros penalty heartache is behind him – if not entirely forgotten – as he aims to make up for lost time with Craig Bellamy’s Wales.

Leeds United winger James missed the decisive spot-kick as Wales were beaten by Poland in a shootout in March to miss out on qualification for Euro 2024.

A hamstring injury then 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.

More impressive than the results under Bellamy has been the expansive new style of play the former Liverpool and Manchester City forward has introduced.

Wales’ head coach himself has spoken excitedly about the opportunity to work with the pacey and direct-running James for the first time, and the feeling is mutual.

“It’s been brilliant. We’ve dominated the ball a bit more, but we’ve still got that togetherness off the ball to win it back,” said James.

“I’ve been watching and the new style is very enjoyable to watch. I just want to get involved.

“I think he wants to get the wingers one-v-one, get them in behind, and that really suits me. I want to be one-v-one, I want to attack in behind. We want to play through the lines and ultimately get in behind so for me his principles suit me well.”

James is also looking forward to working under Bellamy as the former Wales captain is a player he admired when he first dreamed of playing for his country.

“He was a player I aspired to be when I was younger because of his work ethic. He had an aura on the pitch – give him the ball and he will go and get you a goal or an assist,” the ex-Swansea City and Manchester United man added.

“But he was also so important off the ball with his work rate. A lot of his principles – the way he wants to get on the ball, creates one-v-ones and get in behind, while off the ball it is all about how quickly you can win it back - I’ve grown up with at Swansea and with other teams I played with.

“Having missed the first two camps it’s been all about learning what’s required. I felt like I was missing out and that’s why it’s great to be back.”