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Wales claimed a hard-fought 1-0 success against underdogs Liechtenstein to sustain their hopes of World Cup qualification.

Wales' James notched his maiden international strike for Wales from close range after Liechtenstein’s assorted collection of full-time players, amateurs and part-timers had defended for the majority of the match. The scorer ran off in joy with his visible excitement shared by the 3,000 Welsh supporters filling multiple stands of the venue in Vaduz.

Moments later, however, James was cautioned and another booking for Ethan Ampadu ensured the pair are unavailable for the upcoming crucial match with North Macedonia due to accumulated bookings.

The Cardiff City Stadium match is a encounter Wales need to win to move above their rivals and obtain a improved seeding in the qualifying playoffs in March.

Craig Bellamy had an different perspective from the dugout, the head coach completing a technical area prohibition after being shown a second yellow card in the qualifiers last month.

The manager's assistant his assistant assumed duties in the technical area and several key players – James, Ethan Ampadu, Rodon, Williams – were at risk of suspension from sitting out the concluding match. Both James and Ampadu received cautions in incidents that might hamper Wales.

Liechtenstein, situated 206 out of 210 teams in world football, had not scored in their winless run and let in twenty-three goals at an average of almost four per game.

The visitors unsurprisingly had most of the play as Liechtenstein employed a compact shape and defended in numbers.

Liechtenstein's net remained unthreatened until the forward's chasing down caused a mistake and Jordan James saw his shot from the penalty area pushed aside by Benjamin Büchel.

A similar move worked the next opening, James picking out Broadhead now with a well-weighted delivery behind the defence.

The attacker's fine touch evaded Büchel but the Wrexham striker was unable to score from a narrow position.

Wales believed they'd taken the lead after the opening period when Jordan James directed a high Sorba Thomas corner back into a crowded six-yard box.

Büchel was harassed by Lawlor and Rodon, and his weak punch reached Nathan Broadhead who scored decisively. But Wales' joy were halted when the referee was instructed to the pitchside monitor and decided that a player of the Welsh central defenders was in an illegal position from James’s initial touch.

Wales raised the tempo after the break and Thomas delivered a centering pass to the opposite side which James hit the crossbar.

Neco Williams then directed his header off target from within the goal area as it started to seem like one of those nights for the Welsh side.

But, with the game having ticked into its 61st minute, Williams delivered a clever pass for his teammate to break behind the home defence.

Daniel James beat the goalkeeper with a delightful pass along the six-yard box, and his teammate Jordan had the simple job of relieving Welsh nerves.