Gareth Bale had plenty of reasons to celebrate on his 100th cap, after Wales gave their chances of securing a home play-off a boost with a dominant 5-1 victory over Belarus.
It was Wales’ biggest winning margin since the 6-0 victory over China in 2018, and the first time Wales have beaten Belarus by more than one goal.
Aaron Ramsey and Neco Williams opened the scoring in the first half, before Ramsey added another from the spot early in the second half. Ben Davies and Connor Roberts added to Wales’ tally, although Artem Kontsevoi also secured a consolation goal for Belarus.
Wales had the best possible start to the game, scoring with less than two minutes on the clock. Some sloppy play from Nikita Naumov gifted the ball to Dan James, whose cross was blocked by Naumov. Allen’s shot from the resulting corner was deflected wide, earning the home side another corner. This time, the ball fell to Ben Davies on the edge of the box. His half-volley was straight at Sergei Chernik, but the goalkeeper spilled it and Aaron Ramsey was left with a simple tap-in.
Wales had penalty appeals ten minutes later, after Ramsey was brought down in the box whilst trying to climb to meet a long throw, but Maurizio Mariani gave nothing. The ball went all the way to Connor Roberts, whose half-volley fizzed past the far post.
Just before the twenty-minute mark, Wales’ lead was doubled through Neco Williams. Williams cut inside from the left and fired a shot through a crowd of Belarus defenders, and Chernik could only parry it onto the inside of the post.
Belarus did have some chances in the first half, but none of them really threatened Danny Ward, and they were restricted to hopeful shots from outside the box.
After the second goal, chances were rarer for Wales for the rest of the first half. A half-volley by Ramsey was deflected to the path of Neco Williams, who saw both of his efforts blocked.
Much like the first half, Wales started the second half with a bang. A ball into the box was clearly handballed by Ruslan Yudenkov, giving Ramsey the chance to double his tally from the spot. Ramsey made no mistake, sending Chernik the wrong way with a confident strike to the right-hand side of the goal.
Wales continued dominating after the goal, and Brennan Johnson was unlucky not to add to the scoreline after he got onto the end of a cross by Neco Williams, but it was deflected wide by the Belarus defence. Connor Roberts also had a golden chance seconds later, when a corner fell to him, but his volley took a deflection and went over the bar.
Roberts linked up with Neco Williams again to create another chance, but Roberts’ half-volley fizzed past the post.
With 20 minutes left and the victory all but secure, Wales carried on pushing to boost their goal difference. Neco Williams showed great strength to dispossess Lisakovich before brushing off his challenge. Williams unleashed a curling effort from the edge of the box, but it just went over the bar.
In a game marked by Bale’s landmark, Ben Davies had a landmark himself, scoring his first international goal. He got onto the end of a corner and headed the ball home – although the final touch seemed to be off his shoulder!
Davies was unlucky not to add to his tally shortly after, after his flick on from a corner was saved by Chernik.
Artem Kontsevoi got a consolation goal for his side in the dying minutes, and to his credit it was probably the best goal of the game. His shot from the edge of the box curled in, leaving Danny Ward stranded to his spot.
However, Wales restored the four-goal advantage just seconds later. Wilson’s free kick from the touchline was diverted in by Connor Roberts from a tight angle, giving another boost to Wales’ goal difference.
The only blot on an otherwise superb performance for Wales was a booking for Ethan Ampadu, which will see him miss the game against Belgium on Tuesday through suspension.
As it stands, Wales are projected to have a home play-off semi-final, although a victory for Scotland over Denmark would mean Wales would need to defeat Belgium on Tuesday to secure the home spot.
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Neco Williams – Wales
Despite not getting many minutes for Liverpool so far this season, Williams certainly wasn’t lacking in sharpness. He relentlessly ran up and down the left wing, and created plenty of chances with his accurate crosses. He also did well to take his goal, shooting through a sea of defenders.
Line-Ups
Wales: Danny Ward (Wayne Hennessey 90+1′), Connor Roberts, Ben Davies, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams, Ethan Ampadu, Aaron Ramsey (Joe Morrell 71′), Joe Allen, Daniel James (Tyler Roberts 76′) Harry Wilson, Gareth Bale (C) (Brennan Johnson 46′)
Substitutes: Adam Davies, Chris Gunter, Chris Mepham, Rubin Colwill, Sorba Thomas, Mark Harris, Will Vaulks, Jonny Williams
Goals: Aaron Ramsey 3, 50 (p), Neco Williams 20, Ben Davies 77, Connor Roberts 89′
Yellow card: Ethan Ampadu 59′
Belarus: Sergei Chernik (C), Kirill Pechenin, Maksim Shvetsov, Nikita Naumov, Ruslan Yudenkov (Artem Kontsevoi 82′), Aleksandr Selyava, Nikolai Zolotov (Roman Yuzepchuk 71′), Evgeni Yablonski, Vitali Lisakovich (Ivan Bakhar 76′), Pavel Sedko (Dmitri Antilevski 60′), Vladislav Klimovich (Max Ebong 71′)
Unused substitutes: Yegor Khatevich, Pavel Pavluychenko, Gleb Shevchenko, Artem Sokol, Ivan Bakhar, Andrei Solovei, Ruslan Lisakovich, Denis Levitski
Goal: Artem Kontsevoi 87′
Yellow cards: Nikolai Zolotov 25, Dmitri Antilevski 79, Max Ebong 83′
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