MX23RW : Monday, December 23 02:25:23| >> :600:2633022:2633022:
[monks data]
Wales national football team
Nations League | League B
Nov 18, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Cardiff City Stadium
Finland national football team

Wales
3 - 1
Finland

Wilson (29'), James (46'), Moore (84')
Ampadu (76')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Pukki (63')
Uronen (12')

Wales secure UEFA Nations League promotion with win over Finland

The Dragons have virtually guaranteed themselves a 2022 World Cup play-off spot.

Wales secured promotion to the top tier of the Nations League with a 3-1 win over 10-man Finland in Cardiff.

Harry Wilson, Daniel James and Kieffer Moore were on target as Wales moved up to League A and virtually guaranteed themselves a 2022 World Cup play-off spot.

Teemu Pukki had halved the deficit to set up an anxious half-hour for the Dragons, but Moore's header six minutes from time eased Welsh nerves.

Daniel James was on target as Wales won promotion to League A
Daniel James was on target as Wales won promotion to League A (Nick Potts/PA)

Finland needed to win to deprive Wales of top spot in Group B4, but they were forced to play with 10 men for 78 minutes after Jere Uronen hauled down Wilson with the forward through on goal.

Uronen had failed to deal with Danny Ward's long goal-kick and Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano was quick to brandish his red card.

Wales were unbeaten in 10 competitive matches, a record-matching run in their history, and had kept seven successive clean sheets in that sequence.

They went into the game as the only team not to concede in all four tiers of the Nations League, and with a one-point advantage over opponents who had won four games in the competition since a 1-0 Helsinki defeat to Wales in September's group opener.

Gareth Bale wore the armband while one short of 200 career goals and Wales made three changes from the side which edged out the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.

Connor Roberts, James Lawrence and Wilson came in with Neco Williams, the suspended Ben Davies and David Brooks dropping out.

Finland's Robin Lod and Gareth Bale battle for the ball in Cardiff
Finland's Robin Lod and Gareth Bale battle for the ball in Cardiff (Nick Potts/PA)

But caretaker boss Robert Page, standing in for the absent Ryan Giggs for a third game, persevered with the 3-4-3 system that had spluttered on Sunday before a formation change brought Brooks' winner.

Finland were without suspended skipper Tim Sparv and striker Joel Pohjanpalo, who broke an ankle during Sunday's 2-1 win in Bulgaria.

The visitors appeared anxious from the start with Daniel O'Shaughnessy's fifth-minute error allowing Bale a shooting opportunity from a tight angle which goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky smothered.

Uronen's dismissal tipped the scales firmly Wales' way, but O'Shaugnessy should have done better when left unmarked at a corner.

Hradecky was a busy figure tipping away Rhys Norrington-Davies' swirling cross and denying Bale from point-blank range after James had delivered a delightful cross.

But Welsh pressure was rewarded when Bale stole away from Joona Toivio and slipped in Wilson who finished in clinical fashion for his fourth international goal, and his first on home soil.

Kieffer Moore scores Wales' third to kill off the tie
Kieffer Moore scores Wales' third to kill off the tie (Nick Potts/PA)

Norrington-Davies went close again and Wales sensed the kill at half-time with striker Moore sent on to replace defender James Lawrence.

Moore's impact was instant as he helped Joe Morrell find James and the Manchester United winger claimed his third Wales goal in stunning fashion from 20 yards.

Wales' previous four Nations League wins had been by a 1-0 margin, and this was the first time they had scored two in a game since beating Hungary 2-0 to reach Euro 2020 almost a year to the day.

Bale was withdrawn just after the hour mark with Wales seemingly in cruise control, but Finland had hope when Pukki found space in the penalty area to fire home.

Ward saved smartly from Nicholas Hamalainen and Toivio fired wide as Finland chased an unlikely equaliser amid a few Welsh wobbles.

But Moore headed home James' cross to put the issue beyond doubt, and Finland knew it was not their night when Pukki struck a post moments later.

ID:422778: cacheID:422778:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9441:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Wales' David Brooks scores against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League on November 15, 2020
Read Next:
Wales insist Finland preparations are unaffected by Ireland coronavirus cases
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!