Allen, having retired from Wales duty after the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, returned to the international scene last September under Craig Bellamy.

Wales begin their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in March when they are home to Kazakhstan in a group that also features Belgium, North Macedonia and Liechtenstein.

“I think it wasn’t a surprise when we were drawn against them [Belgium] once again,” Allen said.

“I’m sure they’re sick of coming to play against us. A top team for sure.

“We’ve talked about them enough over the years, but they’re a team with a bit of history in recent years which hopefully inspires us to get a result against them.

“With the rest of the group, we’ll see how it goes.

“We’ve got to make sure we hit the ground running, confidence is high in the camp. Let’s see what happens.

“I’m really confident this group is capable of doing something special.”