MX23RW : Friday, November 15 15:39:54| >> :120:22233:22233:
[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: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
1 Portugal Portugal431010
2 Croatia Croatia42117
3 Poland Poland41124
4 Scotland flag Scotland40131

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Italy Italy541013
2 France France531110
3 Belgium Belgium51134
4 Israel Israel50141

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Germany Germany431010
2 Netherlands Netherlands41215
3 Hungary Hungary41215
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina40131

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Spain Spain431010
2 Denmark Denmark42117
3 Serbia Serbia41124
4 Switzerland Switzerland40131

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic42117
2 Georgia Georgia42026
3 Albania national flag Albania42026
4 Ukraine Ukraine41124

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 England flag England540112
2 Greece Greece540112
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland52036
4 Finland Finland50050

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Austria Austria531110
2 Norway Norway531110
3 Slovenia Slovenia52127
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan50141

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Turkey Turkey431010
2 Wales flag Wales42208
3 Iceland Iceland41124
4 Montenegro Montenegro40040

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Sweden Sweden431010
2 Slovakia Slovakia431010
3 Estonia Estonia41033
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan40040

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Romania Romania440012
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo43019
3 Cyprus Cyprus41033
4 Lithuania Lithuania40040

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland42117
2 Belarus Belarus41306
3 Bulgaria Bulgaria41215
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg40222

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Macedonia N. Macedonia541013
2 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands51316
3 Armenia Armenia51134
4 Latvia Latvia51134

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar31205
2 San Marino flag San Marino21013
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein30212

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Republic of Moldova Moldova32016
2 Malta flag Malta32016
3 Andorra flag Andorra20020


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!