Wales 1-0 Czech Republic

Dan James’ late header gave Wales a vital 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic in Group E of the World Cup Qualification, as both teams finished the match 10-man in Cardiff.

Wales missed their best first-half opportunity with a rare attack when Tomas Vaclik overturned Gareth Bale’s close-range shot, but the hosts gained a numerical advantage after the break as Patrik Schick was sent off for raising his hand to Connor Roberts. following a fight in the box.

Roberts was then sacked for a second booking, having received the first in the incident with Schick, but Wales played their best football thereafter, securing the winner when Bale’s excellent and wicked center-back James headed home brilliantly. by James for his fourth goal for Wales (81).

Joe Rodon denied Ondrej Celutska a tie in injury time with a sensational block in the penalty area, and Wales maintained their first win of the campaign, placing them third, one point behind the Czechs who had played one game less .

Group E table

How Wales got a vital victory in the end

The aerial threat from the Czechs had been flagged before the game, but in the first half the visitors were causing problems on the pitch as Wales left too much space in front of their defense.

Jakub Jankto came close twice early, first doing a barely open loop from the edge of the area and then attacking the side net from an angle.

But Wales had the best chance of the first 45 minutes, their only shot on goal. After Liverpool’s Neco Williams spun and spun down the left flank, his cross found Bale six yards away, but he couldn’t get proper contact in his effort, allowing Vaclik to flip the bar.

The game heated up in the second half when Schick saw red from a fight with Roberts in the penalty area on a free throw; Replays showed that Schick had used his elbow in wrestling with Roberts, before raising his arm to the Welshman.

But Wales couldn’t make the lead count as the Czechs were encouraged to attack more: Lukas Provod was easily found over the defense, he surrounded Danny Ward, but was dispossessed by James Lawrence’s sliding last inning.

It seemed ominous for Wales as they were also reduced to 10 men as the tables turned on Roberts, who caught Tomas Soucek with a flailing arm as he got up for a header, receiving his second yellow.

But that, in turn, led to the visitors opening up and allowing Wales to attack, the hosts closing in as substitute Kieffer Moore slipped on James, only to be turned away by Vaclik as he looked around at an angle.

The winner came with nine minutes to go when Bale delivered his first real quality moment of the game from the left flank, crossing for James, who did it excellently to head to the ground from 10 yards and past Vaclik.

The Czechs nearly drew a tie in injury time when defender Celustka ran into a cross from eight yards, but Spurs defender Rodon somehow managed to get his body behind the ball to earn Rob Page’s team a hard-earned victory, despite being below par for most of the contest in Cardiff.

Opt for statistics

• Wales have won five consecutive competitive home games for the first time since March 1993 with Terry Yorath.
• Gareth Bale has been involved in 14 goals in his last 19 starts for Wales (7 goals, 7 assists), providing one assist in each of his last four appearances with the Dragons.
• Dan James has scored two goals in his last three appearances for Wales, as many as in his first 19 games for his country. In fact, their win tonight was their first header for Wales.
• Gareth Bale made his 90th appearance for Wales in this game with only Chris Gunter (100), Wayne Hennessey (95) and Neville Southall (92) receiving more games for the Dragons.

Whats Next?

Wales have an international friendly with Albania organized on June 5 in Cardiff, ahead of their Euro 2020 group opener match with Switzerland on June 12 in Baku.