Wales edge closer to World Cup qualification with narrow 1-0 win over Liechtenstein.
Craig Bellamy's Wales side breathed a sigh of relief after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over international minnows Liechtenstein, keeping their hopes of World Cup qualification alive. Jordan James' first goal for the national team from close range proved to be the difference between the two teams, with James also picking up his second booking of the competition and Wales midfielder Ethan Ampadu earning a red card.
The Welsh players were largely dominant in possession but struggled to break down Liechtenstein's low defensive block. Nathan Broadhead came closest to scoring for Wales before Jordan James eventually broke the deadlock after 61 minutes. However, Albanian referee Juxhin Xhaja ruled that at least one of the Welsh centre-halves was in an offside position from James' header.
Wales took advantage of Liechtenstein's recent struggles with their forwards coming forward in numbers and getting bodies behind the ball. Despite being awarded a number of free kicks, Wales struggled to create clear chances until Broadhead drove home a rebound after a Sorba Thomas cross was punched out by Benjamin Buchel.
James then doubled his joy when he rattled the woodwork before Nathan Williams headed wide from inside the six-yard box as the contest ticked into its 61st minute. However, with Wales starting to look like one of those nights, James cut out Buchel and found his namesake Jordan, who scored easily to seal the win.
Wales assistant manager Piet Cremers hailed the win as a crucial step towards securing World Cup qualification, stating that their focus now shifts to North Macedonia. "We knew we had to take care of today," he said. "We did that and now our focus goes to North Macedonia. It will be another difficult game in Cardiff but we play at home, we've got our fans in numbers and we'll look to turn it into a positive result."
Craig Bellamy's Wales side breathed a sigh of relief after securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over international minnows Liechtenstein, keeping their hopes of World Cup qualification alive. Jordan James' first goal for the national team from close range proved to be the difference between the two teams, with James also picking up his second booking of the competition and Wales midfielder Ethan Ampadu earning a red card.
The Welsh players were largely dominant in possession but struggled to break down Liechtenstein's low defensive block. Nathan Broadhead came closest to scoring for Wales before Jordan James eventually broke the deadlock after 61 minutes. However, Albanian referee Juxhin Xhaja ruled that at least one of the Welsh centre-halves was in an offside position from James' header.
Wales took advantage of Liechtenstein's recent struggles with their forwards coming forward in numbers and getting bodies behind the ball. Despite being awarded a number of free kicks, Wales struggled to create clear chances until Broadhead drove home a rebound after a Sorba Thomas cross was punched out by Benjamin Buchel.
James then doubled his joy when he rattled the woodwork before Nathan Williams headed wide from inside the six-yard box as the contest ticked into its 61st minute. However, with Wales starting to look like one of those nights, James cut out Buchel and found his namesake Jordan, who scored easily to seal the win.
Wales assistant manager Piet Cremers hailed the win as a crucial step towards securing World Cup qualification, stating that their focus now shifts to North Macedonia. "We knew we had to take care of today," he said. "We did that and now our focus goes to North Macedonia. It will be another difficult game in Cardiff but we play at home, we've got our fans in numbers and we'll look to turn it into a positive result."
I'm glad to see Wales is getting back on track after that tough loss earlier this year... or should I say, they're edging closer to the World Cup qualification 
. It's not an easy feat, especially against teams like Liechtenstein who can pack a punch but ultimately couldn't break down our boys' defense 
. Jordan James is definitely living up to his name after scoring that crucial goal 
οΈ! Now, I know it won't be easy going forward, what with North Macedonia on the horizon and all... but I'm confident that Craig Bellamy's side will give it their all in Cardiff 
. The fans must be buzzing for this upcoming match 
.
so wales finally secured that win against liechtenstein! it's like a huge weight has been lifted off their shoulders 
i was literally on the edge of my seat watching this game with my mates and we were all screaming at the ref when they made those dodgy calls 
but in the end, jordan james proved to be the hero and got that sweet goal 
cant wait for them to take on north macedonia next! 
fingers crossed for wales!! 
wales almost pulled their heads out of the water after that 1-0 win over liechtenstein lol, i mean it's not like they just won by default or anything 
but seriously, james' goal was more luck than skill tbh. and etan ampadu's red card? yikes 
that's one way to get your team pumped up before the north macedonia game 
anyway, looks like wales is still in it for a bit so fingers crossed they don't blow it 
. And what's up with the offside calls? It's like the ref has it in for Wales 
omg i'm literally so relieved for wales they've worked SO hard for this and to finally get that win against liechtenstein is just everything 
now let's go wales let's make it to the world cup 
. Meanwhile, Jordan James got his 2nd booking and Ethan Ampadu got his red card - talk about a dynamic duo 
OMG this is like soooo stressful for the Welsh team!! They literally just squeaked out of that one 1-0 win over Liechtenstein and now they gotta focus on North Macedonia, which is basically a death match. I mean, I'm happy they're getting closer to World Cup qualification but it's just so intense... 
. Like come on, man! That goal was legit and Wales should've gotten more than 1 point from that game. 
I'm so happy for the Welsh team! They totally deserved that win 
. And yay for Jordan James' first goal - he must be thrilled! 
Now, let's keep our fingers crossed for the next game against North Macedonia... may they bring home that World Cup spot 
.
. And what's up with all those bookings? Wales was dominating possession but couldn't get a break, and they're the ones who got penalized 
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. Been saying for ages that Craig Bellamy should've been in charge of the team, seems like they needed a shake-up 
.
οΈ. Now that they've taken care of this one, let's hope they can keep their momentum going for the North Macedonia match 
. First off, Albanian ref Xhaja needs to get his act together - that header by James was clearly not offside! And don't even get me started on Ethan Ampadu's red card... what a waste, literally just 10 minutes in and he's already gone 
can't believe he scored twice (well, almost 
) love how the team worked together to get that win 
. And congrats to Jordan James on his debut goal 
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. They stuck to their strategy and got the job done 
.