Wales manager Craig Bellamy praised the efforts of Brennan Johnson as Wales beat North Macedonia 7-1.
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Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson was hailed as ‘brilliant’ by Wales manager Craig Bellamy following his performance in the 7-1 win over North Macedonia on Tuesday evening.
Johnson scored a fantastic curled shot from distance as Wales romped to victory and kept their hopes of World Cup qualification alive. Fulham star Harry Wilson netted a hat-trick in the game with Daniel James, David Brooks and Nathan Broadhead also on the scoresheet.
Johnson, who also provided an assist in the win, scored his first goal for Wales since June and will hope to take that return to form back into the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur face Arsenal in a North London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Tottenham Hotspur star praised for ‘brilliant’ Wales performance
Speaking after the match, Bellamy said: “He was brilliant tonight, wasn’t he? Some of those moments. That’s what we know Brennan can do. I know where you want to go with this, the whole team were exceptional.”
Johnson started the 2025/26 season in fine form with goals against Burnley and Manchester City in the opening two weeks. However, he has not notched a league goal since then and was rated 5/10 by LondonWorld for his showing against Manchester United prior to the break.
We wrote: “A neat finish in the second half but was a long way offside - farcical that VAR even needed to check. Lacklustre in his defending for the Mbeumo goal. Did make one stellar tackle on Diallo in the first half.”
Brennan Johnson still looking to shake off £50 million price tag
Spurs manager Thomas Frank will hope that Johnson can find goalscoring form again over the festive period with strikers Randal Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke continuing to struggle with injury. Former Wales midfielder Joe Ledley said that the forward had a ‘real spring in his step’ on international duty, which bodes well for the London outfit.
Meanwhile, former Premier League and Wales man Ashley Williams said: "From the off Brennan Johnson looked a lot more positive than he has done recently. You felt like he needed a big moment.
"People were questioning whether he should start and I think he answered that today. He can't help the price-tag that's on his head. That's irrelevant. You could see in the celebration that the goal meant a lot to him."
Tottenham Hotspur paid £50 million to sign the player from Nottingham Forest in 2023 with the only more expensive Welsh player being Gareth Bale. Speaking after the victory over North Macedonia, Johnson said: "I think I always feel like I have a point to prove. I'm someone who can be quite tough on himself. I just always want to go out and perform my best."
In other news, Tottenham should beg Fulham to sign £10m midfielder amid risky transfer ploy - opinion.