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The Welsh side earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory against international minnows Liechtenstein to sustain their hopes of World Cup progress.

The young midfielder claimed his first goal for Wales from close range after the home side's group of professionals, office workers and part-timers had defended for the majority of the match. James ran off in elation with his clear emotion echoed by the 3,000 Welsh supporters packed into most sections of the stadium in Vaduz.

Shortly after, however, Jordan James was shown a yellow card and another yellow for Ethan Ampadu means the pair are suspended for the upcoming crunch tie with their next opponents through disciplinary issues.

The Wales' ground match is a game Wales must win to leapfrog their rivals and obtain a more favourable seeding in the qualifying playoffs in March.

Craig Bellamy had an different view from the dugout, Bellamy undertaking a touchline ban after being shown a further caution in the tournament earlier.

The manager's deputy his assistant took his place in the dugout and several key players – Jordan James, Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Williams – were a booking away from sitting out the concluding match. A pair came unstuck in situations that might hamper Wales.

Liechtenstein, ranked near the bottom in international football, had failed to score in their winless run and allowed 23 times at an average of around four per fixture.

The visitors predictably had most of the play as Liechtenstein adopted a compact shape and packed their defence.

Their opponent's target was rarely tested until Nathan Broadhead chasing down caused a mistake and Jordan James saw his attempt from the penalty area pushed aside by the goalkeeper.

That pairing worked the next opening, Jordan finding his teammate on this occasion with a well-weighted ball into space.

Broadhead’s superb first touch took him past Büchel but the Wrexham striker was unable to score from a difficult angle.

Wales believed they'd taken the lead after 26 minutes when James nodded a deep Sorba Thomas set-piece back into a congested six-yard box.

The Liechtenstein keeper was under pressure by Dylan Lawlor and Rodon, and his weak punch landed with Nathan Broadhead who drove home emphatically. But Welsh joy were cut short when the match official was sent to the video review system and ruled that at least one of the Welsh defenders was in an illegal position from James’s initial touch.

Wales increased the pressure after the interval and Thomas delivered a centering pass to the far post which the winger struck the frame of the goal.

Neco Williams then missed with a header from within the six-yard box as it began to look like one of those nights for the Welsh side.

But, with the match having ticked into its 61st minute, Neco Williams delivered a shrewd pass for Daniel James to get in behind the Liechtenstein defenders.

Daniel James cut out the goalkeeper with a delightful ball across the face of goal, and his teammate Jordan had the simple opportunity of easing Welsh nerves.