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Wales boss Craig Bellamy admits he was "bewildered" that they lost on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina given their thorough preparation - insisting he doesn't believe in luck.

Wales were bidding to reach back-to-back World Cups but saw their hopes dashed in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night. A Daniel James stunner put the home side ahead in Cardiff shortly after the breah.

They then spurned several opportunities to increase their advantage before ex-Manchester City man Edin Dzeko equalised with four minutes left. After a cagey extra time, the tie was decided from 12 yards, which left Bellamy particularly confident given the work they'd done in the lead up.

He was even more confident when he was Bosnia missed their first penalty as Ermedin Demirovic's effort was saved by Karl Darlow. But Brennan Johnson skied his effort before Nottingham Forest's Neco Williams missed the decisive penalty.

Bellamy said: "We practiced pens by the way. We've done all our research on it, we've spent all week doing it so we couldn't have done any more on penalties because I don't believe in luck on pens. I don't.

• Edin Dzeko and Craig Bellamy clash in heated Wales vs Bosnia World Cup play-off

• Wales suffer heartbreak as Bosnia scupper World Cup dream with penalty shootout win

"You've got to be prepare, you've got to rehearse them every day in training, even analysis on penalties went really well, we went through it. That leaves me more bewildered. And when they missed the first one I thought 'yeah, this is what we practise for'. But it wasn't the case."

Bosnia's reward will be a home final with Italy as they seek to make the World Cup in North America this summer. It would be just their second appearance, 12 years after their debut at the tournament. Skipper Dzeko said: "We deserve to be in this final".

Wales' next opportunity for a major tournament is Euro 2028, which they will co-host with England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. Bellamy never made it to a major tournament as a player with Wales but is adamant that good times are coming.

"We've got a home nations Euros coming up, what an incredible time," he said. "We wanted to be in a World Cup this summer, but the future is very bright. There are some good years ahead for Wales. I'm disappointed for the players we couldn't get back-to-back World Cups because we are a good team."

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