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The Welsh side secured a tight 1-0 victory against underdogs Liechtenstein to keep alive their chances of World Cup finals qualifying.

Wales' James claimed his first international strike for Wales from close range after Liechtenstein’s assorted collection of full-time players, office workers and students had held out for the majority of the match. James wheeled away in joy with his obvious relief shared by the three thousand Welsh followers packed into multiple stands of the Rheinpark Stadion in the capital.

Soon afterwards, however, James was shown a yellow card and a further booking for his midfield partner resulted in both midfielders are ruled out for the upcoming crucial match with North Macedonia due to accumulated bookings.

The home venue fixture is a game the Welsh team have to secure victory in to move above their rivals and guarantee a better seeding in the qualifying playoffs in next spring.

The Wales manager had an different vantage point from the stands, Bellamy undertaking a touchline ban after being shown a further caution in the qualifiers earlier.

The manager's assistant Piet Cremers stood in in the dugout and four of Wales’s starters – James, Ethan Ampadu, Rodon, Williams – were one caution from from missing the final qualifier. Both James and Ampadu came unstuck in situations that may damage their team.

Liechtenstein, ranked 206 out of 210 teams in global rankings, had failed to score in their six qualifying defeats and conceded 23 goals at an average of around four per game.

Wales as expected controlled the ball as Liechtenstein lay in a compact shape and packed their defence.

Liechtenstein's net remained unthreatened until Broadhead high press won possession and James saw his attempt from the penalty area parried by Büchel.

A similar move created another chance, James finding his teammate now with a precise delivery over the top.

Broadhead’s fine touch beat the keeper but the attacker failed to finish from a tight angle.

Wales believed they'd taken the lead after 26 minutes when James nodded a deep Sorba Thomas set-piece back into a packed penalty box.

The Liechtenstein keeper was flustered by Dylan Lawlor and Rodon, and his weak punch reached Broadhead who drove home emphatically. But Welsh elation were cut short when the match official was directed to the pitchside monitor and ruled that one or more of the Wales defenders was in an illegal position from Jordan's header.

The visitors raised the tempo after the half-time and Sorba Thomas provided a ball to the far post which the winger hit the woodwork.

Williams then missed with a header from inside the goal area as it started to seem like a frustrating evening for the Welsh side.

Yet, with the game having reached its second half, Williams delivered a shrewd through ball for his teammate to get in behind the home defence.

Daniel James cut out the goalkeeper with a delightful pass across the face of goal, and his namesake Jordan James had the easy job of relieving Welsh tension.