AN UPSET AVOIDED - NOW WALES HAVE TO COMPLETE THEIR TASK

WALES avoided slipping on a Liechtenstein banana skin with assistant manager Piet Cremers admitting their sole objective was a World Cup qualifying win to set up a massive showdown against North Macedonia.

- GLEN WILLIAMS

Wales' Nathan Broadhead (left) and Liechtenstein's Alessio Hasler battle for the ball

Jordan James' close-range finish after 61 minutes gave Wales a precious victory in Vaduz - against opponents ranked 206 in the world and drew them level on points with second-placed North Macedonia, who they host in their final Group J qualifier tomorrow.

Wales must win at the Cardiff City Stadium to finish above North Macedonia and claim a home semifinal tie in the playoffs in March.

If they do not, Wales will be placed in the fourth pot and face a top seed - possibly Italy, Poland, Turkey or Ukraine - away in the playoff semifinals.

"We knew we had to take care of today," said Cremers, who was standing in for Craig Bellamy with the Wales boss unable to speak to the media because of his one-match touchline ban.

"We did that and now our focus goes to North Macedonia.

"It will be another difficult game in Cardiff but we play at home, we've got our fans in numbers and we'll look to turn it into a positive result.