Wales sink Kazakhstan to get World Cup campaign up and running

It was not pitch perfect but Wales made a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, the substitute Rabbi Matondo capping victory in stoppage time after Ben Davies and Daniel James scored either side of a Kazakhstan penalty. The hush of trepidation that filled the Cardiff air approaching the final whistle confirmed what proved an awkward but satisfying night as Wales edged past Kazakhstan, 110th in the world, to preserve Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten record, though an improved performance is surely required if that is to remain in North Macedonia on Tuesday.

Wales hope this is the start of another memorable journey. And one with a happier ending than three woeful group-stage performances. This week even Davies, a typically uber-cautious talker, did not dress up Wales’s showing at the last World Cup. “The best moment of Qatar was probably just the Ukraine [playoff] game in getting there,” said the defender, whose header 79 seconds into the second half offered Wales comfort before Matondo converted Sorba Thomas’s cross. North Macedonia have won their past six matches and Wales can expect a step up in class. “We have to be at our best,” Bellamy said. “I don’t look at everything like I’m living with a knife between my teeth. We have to embrace it and be excited.”

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