Wales striker Kieffer Moore believes the first half against Iceland on Friday showed everything they are trying to achieve under new manager Craig Bellamy.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson capped a dominant opening period for Wales in the Nations League game in Reykjavik.

The second half was in stark contrast, as Wales crumbled to allow the hosts to come back to make it 2-2 and were perhaps fortunate to escape with a draw after Iceland hit the post late on.

“First half it showed what we’re about and what we’re working on. Everything came off and that was our identity – that’s how we should play,” said Moore, who led the line in Reykjavik.

“Second half we just lost a little bit of it. Iceland are no mugs. They’re a good team and when you give a team like that a foothold in the game they can take advantage, which is obviously what they did.

“But a point away from home is still a good result and we remain unbeaten.”

The draw in Iceland means Bellamy is the first Wales manager to remain unbeaten after his first three competitive matches.

His opening draw with Turkey and 2-1 win in Montenegro last month had rejuvenated Wales, with a progressive new approach exciting fans, players and pundits alike after the disappointment of missing out on Euro 2024.

Wales looked to be heading for a second successive victory and top spot in Group B4 after an impressive first half in Reykjavik, but collapsed after the break.

Iceland wasted several chances before scoring their two goals and had further opportunities to take all three points.

Wales, by contrast, were non-existent as an attacking force in the second half and will hope to rediscover their first-half verve when they face Montenegro in Cardiff on Monday.

“I’m a big fan of Iceland so I knew it was going to be a difficult game,” said Bellamy. “Of course we were 2-0 up by half-time but my words were ‘this is going to be a long half’.

“A very good manager [Iceland boss Age Hareide], we knew being 2-0 down they were going to throw more men at the press because they had to.

“How were we going to find the solutions? Because the solutions were there but it’s being able to find them at the time.

“There’s a lot to benefit us, especially the second half. It allows us to coach more, it builds a library in the players’ heads: ‘Remember this situation, remember when we found this period difficult’. They can memorise it. This is our third game together.

“In the long run, I’m really happy. And this is not me trying to sugar-coat drawing after being 2-0 up, it really isn’t. What I’m telling you now I told the players. This was really good.”

Wales will be without Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson and Rennes midfielder Jordan James against Montenegro due to suspension after they picked up their second bookings of the campaign against Iceland.

Johnson, who has scored seven goals in seven games for club and country, was taken off at half-time after taking a knock during the first half.

“It was a precaution. He took a kick,” said Bellamy. “He did feel something from impact so we’ll get him checked out.”

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor believes her strong personality and will to succeed come from having to fight to play football when she was younger.

Bompastor, who was the first woman to win the Champions League as a player and manager with Lyon, said French attitudes and prejudice towards women playing the sport spurred her on.

“I wanted to fight against this idea that if you were a girl you couldn’t play football,” she told BBC Sport.

“After that I worked so hard but I enjoyed it so much. At around 18 I realised maybe I could have a good career in my life with football.

“Not a career thinking about winning money, more about enjoying and playing at a high level.”

The 44-year-old has gone on to have a glittering career, winning 11 major trophies during two spells at Lyon as a player before claiming three straight league titles and the 2021-22 Champions League trophy as manager.

Despite Emma Hayes’ success during her 12-year tenure at Chelsea, which yielded 13 major titles, Bompastor’s transition at the club has appeared seamless.

The Blues have won each of their opening two Women’s Super League matches, while they claimed a 3-2 win over Real Madrid in their first Champions League group-stage game on Tuesday.

However, they face a tough test against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in the league on Saturday, in a game which is live on BBC One from 13:15 BST.

“Results have been good but this game will be different. It’s a derby. You have to be prepared,” said Bompastor, who has been impressed with the competitiveness of the WSL.

“The competition between the clubs is so big, so strong. I think something was missing in France, even if France has clubs competing at the highest level if you take Lyon and PSG.

“Here, every weekend you don’t take anything for granted and you have to fight to win the games so this is really good.”

Some of the newer faces in the squad stepping up and making an impact could inject some life into Scotland’s form this year.

Clarke has made the decision not to call up many players from the under-21s squad given the junior side are going well in their own European qualification campaign and have crucial games against Belgium and Kazakhstan to play during this international window.

It means in-form Scottish Premiership midfielders Lennon Miller and Connor Barron, or Sturm Graz right-back Max Johnston, are missing, which could have generated some excitement.

Even with lots of players out, the squad has a familiar feel to it and it falls to teenage Middlesbrough winger Ben Doak and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ryan Gauld, who both made their debuts as substitutes last month, to bring some freshness.

Doak has made five appearances in the Championship since the last international break, when the 18-year-old helped set up a goal against Poland and scored his first goal on loan to Boro from Liverpool against Stoke City.

His pace and dribbling ability offers something completely different, particularly with the recent switch to a back four.

Gauld has been nursing an injury in recent weeks, but the 28-year-old looked bright when coming on against Poland, creating two chances.

Then there is Andy Irving, the West Ham United midfielder taking part in his first camp. His story in itself is positive, having left Heart of Midlothian before ending up in the Premier League via the lower leagues in Austria and Germany.

“It’s been a mad journey to be honest,” the 24-year-old told the Scotland national side’s media channels this week.

“In Austria, I played more as an attacking midfielder and number 10 – when I was in Scotland, I was a bit more defensive. I’ve added different things to my game.”

Nobbs joined Villa in 2023 after 12 years with Arsenal and she has scored 58 goals across her 193 WSL appearances.

She won 12 trophies at Arsenal, including three WSL titles, but had to overcome a number of serious injuries, which heavily affected her international career.

“Those times, when you look back now, appear to have just flown by, but when you’re actually in the moment it was one thing after each other,” said Nobbs.

A major setback for Nobbs came in November 2018.

“After I did my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), I couldn’t really catch a break and it was just the love of playing and believing that if I worked hard, eventually I could get back on the pitch,” she said.

“I just had to keep thinking there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Football is good and bad. You have amazing days and then you have bad days too.

“I think it’s just about trying to enjoy it as much as you can. I’ve always played football because I love it. I’ve probably learned to just keep fighting.”

Villa boss Robert de Pauw described Nobbs as a “little Luka Modric in midfield”, something she joked she would write down and keep forever.

She has long been considered one of England’s brightest talents, catching the eye at WSL level after signing for Arsenal from Sunderland in 2010.

Nobbs was named the England Player of the Year in 2016 and the FA Players’ Player of the Year in 2017 – but a lot has changed throughout her WSL career.

“It’s probably just the level of support. Backroom staff, for example, that maybe you don’t see or hear as much about,” Nobbs said.

“When we first started, we were still doing a lot on our own as players. Now, especially for the younger ones coming up, there’s just so much they can learn and soak up on how to be the best footballer.”

At the 2018 finals in Russia, Zlatko Dalic led a nation with a smaller population than that of Scotland to the zenith of international football when they contested the World Cup final. They would come up short against France on the day.

Croatia reaching that showpiece was a surprise, but Modric is the very embodiment of upsetting the odds.

He and his family had to flee their home near the Dalmatian city of Zadar due to the Croatian War of Independence that provided the backdrop to his childhood.

As a Dinamo Zagreb graduate, 20 years ago, he was sent on loan to Bosnian club Zrinjski Mostar. For a young Croatian, that will have been an eye-opener.

In the ensuing two decades, Modric has won six Champions League titles, five Super Cups, four Spanish titles and five Club World Cups alongside the 180 caps he has proudly amassed in Croatia’s red and white checks.

Yet, when he made big-money moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, where he has won anything and everything, he was written off by many. He is currently enjoying his 13th season at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I’m still here, motivated as before,” Modric said last month. “I am most proud to play for Croatia. I think I can still help.”

He was right as he followed up that statement with a complete masterclass against Poland on matchday two in Osijek in which he scored the only goal of the game with a superbly executed free-kick.

Scotland actually have a winning record against the Croats and are unbeaten on their two previous visits to Zagreb.

However, their two victories during the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, including an unexpected triumph in the Croatian capital, came after the qualification horse had long since bolted.

More recently, the Scots were on the receiving end of Modric wizardry in what was their must-win final group match of Euro 2020. Croatia eased to a 3-1 victory at Hampden Park, with the veteran scoring the second, and the game exposed a big gap between the teams.

To remain in contention in the current Nations League section and maintain hopes of a place in pot one or two for next year’s World Cup qualifiers, this is a game Scotland will probably have to win.

The trouble is that Croatia do not lose at home very often. That Scotland victory 11 years ago is one of only seven competitive defeats suffered on their own soil since Croatia entered the Fifa rankings in 1994.

Like Scotland, they had a disappointing European Championship in Germany, exiting at the group stage after conceding late goals against Albania and Italy in a tough group. Eventual winners Spain topped the section.

However, that anti-climax does not detract from the fact this will be a very tough assignment.