Wales' Jordan James fires the Welsh team to crucial World Cup qualifying win over Liechtenstein.

The Welsh side claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over less-fancied opponents Liechtenstein to maintain their chances of World Cup finals progress.

The young midfielder claimed his maiden international strike for Wales from close range after Liechtenstein’s assorted collection of professionals, amateurs and students had resisted for more than 60 minutes. The scorer wheeled away in joy with his clear emotion shared by the large contingent of Wales fans packed into three sides of the venue in Vaduz.

Soon afterwards, though, James was cautioned and a further booking for Ethan Ampadu means the pair are unavailable for the upcoming crunch tie with their next opponents through suspension.

That Cardiff City Stadium fixture is a game the Welsh team must win to move above their rivals and secure a better position in the playoffs in next spring.

The Wales manager had an unfamiliar perspective from the sidelines, the head coach serving a touchline ban after being shown a further caution in the tournament previously.

Bellamy’s deputy Cremers took his place in the coaching zone and multiple first-teamers – James, Ampadu, Rodon, Williams – were a booking away from sitting out the concluding match. Both James and Ampadu came unstuck in incidents that could really hurt their team.

Their opponents, situated 206 out of 210 teams in global rankings, had been goalless in their six qualifying defeats and allowed twenty-three times at an rate of almost four per fixture.

The visitors unsurprisingly dominated possession as their hosts adopted a compact shape and got bodies behind the ball.

Liechtenstein's net saw little action until Broadhead pressing won possession and James saw his shot from the penalty area pushed aside by Benjamin Büchel.

The same combination crafted an opportunity, Jordan finding his teammate this time with a accurate pass into space.

The attacker's excellent control evaded Büchel but the forward was unable to score from a narrow position.

The Welsh team thought they had taken the lead after 26 minutes when Jordan James nodded a lofted Sorba Thomas set-piece back into a congested penalty box.

The Liechtenstein keeper was under pressure by Lawlor and Joe Rodon, and his feeble attempt fell to Nathan Broadhead who drove home emphatically. But Wales' joy were curtailed when the official was instructed to the pitchside monitor and determined that at least one of the Wales defenders was in an illegal position from James’s header.

Wales stepped up a gear after the break and Thomas sent in a cross to the back post which the winger rattled against the woodwork.

Neco Williams then headed wide from within the six-yard box as it began to look like one of those nights for the Welsh side.

Yet, with the game having ticked into its 61st minute, Neco Williams executed a shrewd pass for Daniel James to run past the Liechtenstein defenders.

Daniel James bypassed the goalkeeper with a superb cross across the face of goal, and his namesake Jordan had the simple task of relieving Wales' nerves.