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The Welsh side earned a hard-fought 1-0 success over underdogs Liechtenstein to sustain their chances of World Cup finals progress.

The young midfielder notched his maiden international strike for Wales from inside the box after Liechtenstein’s group of full-time players, office workers and students had defended for over an hour. The scorer celebrated in delight with his visible excitement mirrored by the three thousand Wales fans filling most sections of the stadium in Vaduz.

Moments later, however, James was cautioned and a further booking for Ethan Ampadu resulted in the pair are unavailable for the upcoming decisive game with North Macedonia due to suspension.

The Wales' ground match is a clash Wales have to secure victory in to overtake North Macedonia and secure a improved draw in the playoffs in next spring.

Craig Bellamy had an unusual perspective from the sidelines, the head coach serving a technical area prohibition after picking up a second yellow card in the qualifiers last month.

The manager's number two his assistant stood in in the coaching zone and several key players – Jordan James, Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams – were at risk of suspension from sitting out the last group game. Both James and Ampadu received cautions in incidents that may damage their team.

The home side, placed 206 out of 210 teams in global rankings, had been goalless in their previous six losses and conceded 23 times at an rate of almost four per fixture.

Wales predictably dominated possession as Liechtenstein adopted a deep defensive line and packed their defence.

Their opponent's target was rarely tested until Nathan Broadhead chasing down won possession and Jordan James saw his attempt from the 18-yard line saved by the goalkeeper.

A similar move crafted an opportunity, James locating Broadhead this time with a well-weighted pass into space.

The attacker's fine control took him past Büchel but the Wrexham striker could not convert from a tight angle.

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

The Liechtenstein keeper was flustered by Lawlor and Rodon, and his poor clearance landed with Nathan Broadhead who scored decisively. But Welsh elation were cut short when the referee was directed to the pitchside monitor and decided that a player of the Welsh central defenders was in an offside from James’s header.

Wales increased the pressure after the interval and Sorba Thomas delivered a centering pass to the far post which James struck the crossbar.

Neco Williams then missed with a header from inside the penalty box as it started to seem like a difficult match for Wales.

However, with the game having reached its 61st minute, Neco Williams executed a intelligent through ball for his teammate to break behind the Liechtenstein defenders.

James bypassed the goalkeeper with a excellent cross across the face of goal, and his namesake Jordan James had the easy job of ending Welsh nerves.