The young midfielder James fires the Welsh team to vital World Cup victory against the Liechtenstein national team.

Wales claimed a narrow 1-0 victory against international minnows Liechtenstein to keep alive their chances of World Cup progress.

Wales' James notched his first goal for the national team from inside the box after Liechtenstein’s mix of full-time players, amateurs and students had held out for the majority of the match. The scorer ran off in delight with his obvious relief echoed by the large contingent of Welsh fans filling most sections of the stadium in the capital.

Shortly after, however, James was shown a yellow card and another yellow for Ethan Ampadu ensured the two players are suspended for Tuesday’s decisive game with North Macedonia due to suspension.

That home venue contest is a encounter Wales must win to overtake their rivals and guarantee a more favourable seeding in the playoffs in next spring.

Bellamy had an different view from the sidelines, the head coach completing a touchline ban after being shown a further caution in the qualifiers last month.

The manager's deputy Cremers assumed duties in the technical area and several key players – James, Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams – were at risk of suspension from sitting out the concluding match. Two of them came unstuck in situations that could really hurt their team.

The home side, situated near the bottom in world football, had failed to score in their six qualifying defeats and allowed twenty-three goals at an rate of nearly four per game.

The visitors unsurprisingly controlled the ball as Liechtenstein adopted a compact shape and got bodies behind the ball.

Their opponent's target saw little action until Nathan Broadhead high press caused a mistake and James saw his attempt from the penalty area parried by the goalkeeper.

That pairing worked the next opening, James picking out Broadhead on this occasion with a well-weighted delivery into space.

Broadhead’s excellent touch took him past Büchel but the forward failed to finish from a narrow position.

Wales believed they'd scored the opener after the opening period when James nodded a high Sorba Thomas set-piece back into a crowded penalty box.

The Liechtenstein keeper was under pressure by Dylan Lawlor and Joe Rodon, and his weak punch reached Broadhead who drove home emphatically. But Welsh elation were cut short when the referee was instructed to the VAR screen and decided that a player of the Welsh centre-halves was in an offside from Jordan's header.

The visitors increased the pressure after the break and Thomas provided a cross to the back post which James hit the woodwork.

Williams then directed his header off target from inside the goal area as it began to look like a difficult match for the Welsh side.

However, with the match having ticked into its 61st minute, Neco Williams executed a intelligent pass for his teammate to run past the Liechtenstein defenders.

Daniel James bypassed the goalkeeper with a delightful cross along the six-yard box, and his namesake Jordan had the easy job of ending Wales' anxiety.