Wales tee up crunch North Macedonia clash with win in Liechtenstein
By Phil Blanche, PA
Wales laboured to a 1-0 win over international minnows Liechtenstein to keep alive their hopes of World Cup qualification.
Jordan James claimed his first Wales goal from close range after Liechtenstein’s assorted collection 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 3,000 Wales fans filling three sides of the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz.
Moments later, however, James was booked and another late caution for Ethan Ampadu sees both midfielders ruled out of Tuesday’s crunch tie with North Macedonia through suspension.
That Cardiff City Stadium contest is a game Wales must win to overtake North Macedonia and secure a more favourable draw in the play-offs in March.
Craig Bellamy had an unfamiliar view from the stands with the Wales manager serving a touchline ban after receiving a second yellow card in the competition last month.
Bellamy’s assistant Piet Cremers took his place in the technical area and four of Wales’ starters – James, Ampadu, Joe Rodon Neco Williams – were a booking away from missing out the final qualifier.
Two of them came unstuck in incidents that could really hurt Wales.
Leeds midfielder Ampadu captained his country for only the second time with injured pair Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies absent.
Liechtenstein, ranked 206 out of 210 teams in world football, had not scored in their six qualifying defeats and conceded 23 at an average of nearly four per game.
Wales predictably dominated possession as Liechtenstein lay in a low defensive block and got bodies behind the ball.
The home goal remained unthreatened until Nathan Broadhead’s pressing forced an error and James saw his effort from the edge of the box pushed aside by Benjamin Buchel.
The same combination worked the next opening with James finding Broadhead this time with a precise ball over the top.
Broadhead’s excellent touch took him past Buchel, but the Wrexham striker could not convert from a tight angle.
Wales thought they had broken the deadlock after 26 minutes when James headed a deep Sorba Thomas corner back into a congested six-yard box.
Buchel was flustered under pressure from Dylan Lawlor and Rodon, and his weak punch fell to Broadhead who drove home emphatically.
But Welsh celebrations were curtailed when Albanian referee Juxhin Xhaja was sent to the pitchside monitor and decided that at least one of the Wales centre-halves was in an offside position from James’ header.
Emanuel Zund fired wide from distance as Liechtenstein broke their shackles, but Buchel reacted well to foil Mark Harris and James.
Wales raised the tempo after the break and Thomas delivered a cross to the far post which Daniel James rattled against the woodwork.
Williams then headed wide from inside the six-yard box as it began to look like one of those nights for Wales.
But, with the contest having ticked into its 61st minute, Williams played a clever pass for Daniel James to break behind the home defence.
James cut out Buchel with a delightful ball across the face of goal, and his namesake Jordan had the straightforward task of ending Welsh anxiety.
