Wales boss John Toshack has likened West Ham striker Craig Bellamy to his former Liverpool teammate Kevin Keegan.

Wales produced a remarkable 5-2 win in their Euro 2008 qualifier over Slovakia that may only prolong their mathematical rather than real chances of qualification. He said: "Craig has produced this sort of form for us before. As captain he is producing some superb displays.

"He reminds me of Kevin Keegan at his very best, stretching defences, pulling people around and scoring goals.

"It really was a scintillating performance with two stunning goals.

"He was disappointed to have ended last season at Liverpool sitting on the bench for the Champions League final and not getting a chance to play and that maybe has inspired him to be playing like this now."

Bellamy's former boss Rafael Benitez highlighted a problem the striker had at Liverpool with finding space inside a packed area.

Toshack added: "You do need to get the best from him by risking pulling teams onto you so he can hit them hard in the spaces behind them.

"I keep on saying that to make any progress we have to go away and beat a team who are seeded higher than us. I cannot remember us, for a very long time, being able to do that."