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The Welsh side secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over less-fancied opponents Liechtenstein to sustain their aspirations of World Cup qualifying.

Jordan James notched his debut goal for Wales from inside the box after the home side's group of full-time players, office workers and students had defended for more than 60 minutes. The scorer celebrated in elation with his obvious relief echoed by the three thousand Welsh followers occupying multiple stands of the venue in Vaduz.

Moments later, yet, James was shown a yellow card and a further late caution for his midfield partner resulted in both midfielders are unavailable for Tuesday’s crunch tie with their next opponents due to suspension.

The Wales' ground match is a clash Wales have to secure victory in to leapfrog their rivals and obtain a better seeding in the playoffs in March.

The Wales manager had an unusual perspective from the dugout, the head coach serving a sideline suspension after receiving a further caution in the qualifiers last month.

The manager's deputy Piet Cremers stood in in the dugout and multiple first-teamers – James, Ampadu, Rodon, Neco Williams – were a booking away from being absent for the last group game. Both James and Ampadu received cautions in moments that might hamper their team.

Their opponents, ranked among the lowest-ranked in global rankings, had been goalless in their winless run and let in 23 goals at an rate of almost four per game.

The visitors unsurprisingly dominated possession as their hosts employed a deep defensive line and packed their defence.

Their opponent's target was rarely tested until Broadhead pressing caused a mistake and James saw his attempt from the 18-yard line parried by the goalkeeper.

The same combination created another chance, Jordan locating his teammate now with a well-weighted pass behind the defence.

The attacker's excellent touch took him past the keeper but the forward was unable to score from a tight angle.

Wales felt they scored the opener after the first half when James directed a high Thomas corner back into a crowded penalty box.

The Liechtenstein keeper was flustered by Dylan Lawlor and Rodon, and his feeble attempt fell to Broadhead who drove home emphatically. But Welsh joy were curtailed when the referee was sent to the VAR screen and ruled that one or more of the Welsh defenders was in an offside from James’s header.

The visitors raised the tempo after the half-time and Thomas provided a centering pass to the far post which Daniel James rattled against the crossbar.

Neco Williams then directed his header off target from within the goal area as it started to seem like a difficult match for Wales.

But, with the match having reached its second half, Williams delivered a shrewd pass for Daniel James to get in behind the opposition backline.

Daniel James bypassed Büchel with a delightful pass across the face of goal, and his teammate Jordan James had the simple job of ending Welsh nerves.