Wales captain Craig Bellamy said his side do not have a “glimmer of hope” of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa after a 2-0 loss at home to Finland here on Saturday.
Former Charlton forward Jonatan Johansson put the Finns ahead in the 42nd minute after he was played in by Jari Litmanen, once of Liverpool.
Substitute Shefki Kuqi made sure of victory when he struck in the second minute of stoppage time at the Millennium Stadium.
Defeat left Wales, who haven’t appeared in the finals of a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, down in fourth place in the Europe zone group four qualifying pool, ahead of Wednesday’s clash with football giants Germany.
“That was two poor sides trying to contest this game and neither of us have got a glimmer of hope of qualifying,” dejected Manchester City striker Bellamy told Sky Sports.
“That is a fact, from what I’ve just seen today.”
“Where we go from here, God knows. We’ve just got a lot of games to play and get as many points as we can but same old story, we’re out of the group.
“They are not a good side. I do feel we are the better side even though we have just lost. They sucker-punched us really. It was just poor to be honest.”
