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

The young midfielder claimed his maiden goal for the national team from inside the box after the home side's mix of professionals, amateurs and part-timers had defended for more than 60 minutes. James ran off in delight with his visible excitement shared by the large contingent of Welsh supporters occupying three sides of the stadium in the capital.

Shortly after, however, Jordan James was shown a yellow card and a further booking for his midfield partner resulted in the two players are ruled out for Tuesday’s crucial match with their next opponents due to accumulated bookings.

That Wales' ground fixture is a encounter Wales have to secure victory in to leapfrog their rivals and obtain a improved seeding in the playoffs in March.

Craig Bellamy had an unfamiliar view from the dugout, Bellamy completing a touchline ban after picking up a additional booking in the tournament last month.

The manager's deputy Piet Cremers stood in in the technical area and multiple first-teamers – Jordan James, Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Williams – were one caution from from missing the final qualifier. Both James and Ampadu received cautions in incidents that could really hurt Wales.

Liechtenstein, ranked near the bottom in international football, had failed to score in their previous six losses and let in 23 goals at an average of almost four per fixture.

Wales unsurprisingly dominated possession as their hosts adopted a deep defensive line and defended in numbers.

Their opponent's target saw little action until Nathan Broadhead pressing caused a mistake and James saw his effort from the penalty area saved by Büchel.

A similar move worked the next opening, James locating Broadhead now with a precise pass behind the defence.

Broadhead’s excellent touch beat Büchel but the forward failed to finish from a difficult angle.

The Welsh team felt they taken the lead after the opening period when James headed a high Thomas set-piece back into a congested penalty box.

Büchel was under pressure by Lawlor and Joe Rodon, and his poor clearance reached Broadhead who scored decisively. But Wales' elation were halted when the match official was instructed to the VAR screen and determined that one or more of the Welsh centre-halves was in an illegal position from James’s initial touch.

The visitors raised the tempo after the half-time and Thomas delivered a centering pass to the far post which the winger hit the crossbar.

Neco 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.

Yet, with the game having reached its final half-hour, Williams executed a intelligent through ball for his teammate to break behind the Liechtenstein defenders.

James bypassed Büchel with a superb pass along the six-yard box, and his teammate Jordan James had the simple task of ending Welsh tension.