Jordan James scores Wales to important World Cup triumph over Liechtenstein.
The Welsh side secured a hard-fought 1-0 win against underdogs Liechtenstein to keep alive their hopes of World Cup finals qualifying.
The young midfielder claimed his first international strike for Wales from inside the box after Liechtenstein’s group of full-time players, office workers and students had held out for over an hour. James wheeled away in delight with his obvious relief shared by the large contingent of Welsh followers occupying multiple stands of the stadium in Vaduz.
Shortly after, however, James was cautioned and another yellow for Ethan Ampadu resulted in the pair are unavailable for Tuesday’s decisive game with North Macedonia through disciplinary issues.
The Cardiff City Stadium match is a encounter Wales need to win to move above their rivals and obtain a better seeding in the qualifying playoffs in next spring.
Bellamy had an unusual perspective from the sidelines, the Wales manager completing a touchline ban after being shown a additional booking in the qualifiers earlier.
Bellamy’s number two Piet Cremers took his place in the technical area and four of Wales’s starters – James, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams – were at risk of suspension from missing the last group game. A pair were booked in situations that could really hurt Wales.
The home side, situated among the lowest-ranked in world football, had been goalless in their winless run and conceded 23 times at an rate of around four per fixture.
Wales predictably dominated possession as their hosts employed a compact shape and defended in numbers.
Their opponent's target was rarely tested until Nathan Broadhead high press forced an error and Jordan James saw his attempt from the edge of the box saved by Benjamin Büchel.
The same combination crafted an opportunity, James locating Broadhead this time with a accurate ball behind the defence.
The attacker's superb control took him past Büchel but the attacker failed to finish from a narrow position.
The Welsh team believed they'd taken the lead after the first half when Jordan James headed a lofted Thomas set-piece back into a crowded penalty box.
The Liechtenstein keeper was harassed by Lawlor and Rodon, and his feeble attempt reached Broadhead who scored decisively. But Welsh celebrations were curtailed when the official was sent to the video review system and decided that one or more of the Welsh central defenders was in an offside position from Jordan's header.
The visitors stepped up a gear after the break and Sorba Thomas delivered a cross to the far post which the winger struck the woodwork.
Neco Williams then headed wide from inside the goal area as it began to look like a difficult match for Wales.
Yet, with the contest having entered its final half-hour, Williams played a shrewd assist for his teammate to get in behind the opposition backline.
Daniel James cut out Büchel with a delightful pass into the danger area, and his namesake Jordan had the easy task of easing Welsh nerves.
