Wales v Kazakhstan: World Cup qualifier – live
Key events
81 min: Kazakhstan can’t get a touch.
79 min: The pace of this match has dropped. Wales are still in control, though.
77 min: Incidentally, just before that double change, poor Harris nearly suffered an double change of his own, Zarutskiy accidentally blootering a clearance into the Wales striker’s special area from close range as the pair contested a loose ball. Thankfully Harris was soon back into action.
75 min: Two changes for Kazakhstan. Off go Samorodov and Zhaksylykov, on come Aimbetov and the 16-year-old Satpayev, the latter Chelsea-bound in the summer of 2026.
73 min: Roberts nips down the right and crosses low for Cullen, who slams a shot straight at Zarutskiy. Wales are going hard for the third goal that would surely settle this match. Speaking of three-goal hauls … “It’s six years to the (yester)day since Scotland were humiliated 3-0 in Kazakhstan in a Euro 2020 qualifier,” reminisces Simon McMahon. “Still, the defeat ushered in the Steve Clarke era, and he’s done OK, so it’s swings and roundabouts. If Bellamy can do for Wales what Clarke has done for Scotland, I don’t think there will be many complaints. And while I’m at it, it was definitely a penalty at Anfield.”
71 min: Harris, on the right, cuts back for Cullen, who goes over while attempting to trap. Tagybergen right behind him. Cullen wants a penalty but the referee is sure Tagybergen got the ball. Say what you like about the referee, he’s definitely not a homer.
69 min: For those wondering, 10,000 Macedionian denars equals £136.25 at current exchange rates.
68 min: Williams curls low and hard towards the bottom right. Zarutskiy saves. His defenders half clear. Sheehan aims a long shot towards the bottom right. It deflects wide of goal, and nothing comes of the resulting corner.
67 min: Bystrov barges into the back of Jordan James, just to the left of the Kazakh D. A free kick in a very dangerous position.
65 min: Jordan James is immediately in the thick of it. Cullen shoots. Zarutskiy parries. A game of pinball breaks out. James tries to flick into the bottom right but the keeper claims this time. Wales claim a penalty for handball amid the melee, but that’s something that didn’t happen.
64 min: “Huge celebration in the casino,” reports Alun Pugh of Pre-match Postbag fame. “Thought it a bit strange that Super Ben Davies has such a following in Macedonia. It turns out that someone has just won ten thousand denars on a one-armed bandit.”
62 min: Changes all round. Kazakhstan replace Muzhikov with Zhukov, then Wales send on Jordan James and Harris for Brooks and Johnson.
61 min: Chesnokov is booked for one foul too many. The last straw was a cheeky block on Williams.
59 min: Chesnokov nearly gets the better of Williams down the right. Zipping along the byline, he reaches the box only to be denied the chance to cut back for a team-mate by Williams’ brave, perfectly timed, slide tackle. Anything of the man and that would have been a penalty. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
57 min: Cullen performs a faithfully observed tribute act to Muzhikov. Almost exactly the same shot, top-right of the stand.
56 min: James tries to raise the tempo with a couple of electric sorties down the right. Nothing comes of either dribble. The visitors go up the other end, Muzhikov sending an overly ambitious long rake into the top-right corner of the stand behind the goal.
54 min: Wales stroke it around patiently. Their fans get a little impatient as a stand-off develops, Kazakhstan happy to sit back and let the home side pass it left and right.
52 min: Vorogovskiy tries to get something going for the visitors with a useful dribble down the left touchline, but there’s nobody in the middle for him to cross to. Does he try to shoot from the tightest of angles? Not sure. It sails out for a goal kick anyway.
50 min: Wales have signally picked up the pace since the restart. They’re snapping into challenges now, pressing in the manic manner. Craig Bellamy’s half-time talk must have been something to hear.
48 min: The stadium is roaring now! Wales needed all of 75 second-half seconds to restore their lead.
GOAL! Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan (Davies 47)
Thomas takes, sending the corner long. Zarutskiy comes off his line to punch clear, but flaps and misses. Davies slams a header home from a couple of yards!
46 min: Thomas tries to get things moving with a determined run down the left, winning the first corner of the second half in short order. From which …
Wales get the second half started. No changes. No real roar, either. A hotbed of pensiveness. The Cardiff City Stadium, usually so loud, is pretty subdued right now.
Half-time postbag. “Aside from Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final, I can’t recall another successful penalty that hasn’t touched the net” – David Bowen
“Taking Jeremy Boyce’s idea and running with it for a bit – would a football ‘bonus point’ system like rugby work? Four points for a win, two for a draw, plus one winning bonus point if you score four and one losing bonus point if you’re only one goal behind? It would stop teams ‘declaring’ at 2-0 (cough, England, cough) if they could gain more points through scoring more. I don’t see Ifab or Fifa going for it though, even if it would open games up a bit” – Andy (not that one) Flintoff, channelling the pioneering rulebook-ripping spirit of Jimmy Hill
“Back in the 80s Leyton Orient had a midfield player called Lee Harvey. Unsurprisingly, his nickname was Oswald” – Ian Burch
HALF TIME: Wales 1-1 Kazakhstan
Nope. The whistle goes to end a first-half packed with incident. Hey, it’s Saturday night, it’s Wales, it’s been a rollercoaster ride of emotion. Did you really expect anything else?
45 min +4: Samorodov crosses long from the left, forcing Roberts to head behind for a corner with seconds remaining on the clock. They couldn’t, could they?
45 min +2: Williams comes haring out of defence to clear a ball he’s never going to reach. Chesnokov eases him out of the way, allowing Tapalov to advance on the Wales box and shoot. Easy for Darlow.
45 min: You’ve certainly seen reds given for challenges like the one made by Samorodov, malicious intent or no. But here we are. There will be four additional first-half minutes.
44 min: Thomas reaches the byline on the left and crosses low and hard. Zarutskiy flops on the ball and smothers, but lets his prize escape from under him. James nearly gets to the loose ball, but the keeper claims at the second attempt.
43 min: Williams touches the free kick to the left, and Brooks, aiming for the top-left corner, blazes over. Meanwhile on the touchline, Craig Bellamy has a long pow-wow with the fourth official.
42 min: The referee does indeed deem it a foul, but not one worthy of a red card. Just a booking for Samorodov, a look of great relief spreading across the Kazakhstan midfielder’s face.
41 min: It’s for a challenge seconds before the foul on Sheehan. Roberts was dancing in from the right touchline. Samorodov hung out a leg, and caught Roberts on the back of the knee with his studs. It’s high and late. There didn’t seem much malice, but it was out of control. Samorodov could be in bother here.
40 min: Brooks waits to take the free kick. And waits, because VAR is looking at a potential red card! The referee is called over to the monitor.
39 min: Thomas loops a cross in from the left. Johnson competes for the high ball but goes down. Nudged in the back? He claims a spot kick but the referee’s having none of it. The home fans far from happy. But they’re cheered a little bit when Sheehan advances down the inside-left channel and draws a free kick from Zhaksylykov.
37 min: Wales again with the possession. But they’re being held at arm’s length right now.
