Joe Rodon, Harry Wilson and Kieffer Moore were all on target as Wales eased past Liechtenstein 3-0 in their World Cup Qualifier at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Victory ensures the Dragons stay unbeaten since Craig Bellamy’s appointment last July and places Wales top and two points clear in Group J. Wales are also now six points ahead of their Monday night opponents, Belgium, who were held 1-1 by North Macedonia.
With 176 positions separating the two sides in the FIFA World rankings, it was no surprise that Wales, buoyed by their home support, dominated from the off. Sorba Thomas caused problems down the left-hand side early on as Wales pushed for an opener.
However, a positive start was dampened as Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams had to be replaced by Jay Dasilva after 24 minutes when an innocuous injury resulted in the fullback needing to be stretchered off.
Williams’ withdrawal didn’t dampen Wales’ spirit, with Brennan Johnson denied by a huge Benjamin Buchel save, who was in inspired form all evening.
There wasn’t much he could do about Joe Rodon’s headed goal moments later, though (40). The Leeds defender muscled away defenders to mark his 50th start for Wales with his first international goal.
Wales continued their patient, dominant approach in the second half and in a game that saw many a cross gathered by Buchel, Dasilva’s peach of a ball met the forehead of Harry Wilson in the area, who guided the ball home (64).
A third soon followed, a neat move from Wales saw a freshly introduced David Brooks’ effort from a tight angle creep under Buchel, into the path of Moore to tap home (69).
Wales managed to close out the game without conceding an effort on target and now look forward to the opportunity to further strengthen their World Cup qualifying hopes by potentially moving nine points clear of Belgium with a win in Brussels.
Rodon: We will be ready for Belgium
Wales defender Joe Rodon speaking to BBC:
“It’s been a long time coming but it’s not about me, it’s about the team. Delighted to come away with the clean sheet and points.
“It’s been a bit of a ride this season and the last few months have been an experience.”
On Belgium: “We will prepare like we have for every game. We recover tonight and will be ready for a really tough game.”
More to follow.