Wales have won at the last minute in the qualifying series for the World Cup. The team of national coach Robert Page was heading for a draw against Belarus on Sunday afternoon, but deep into injury time, Gareth Bale scored his third and final goal: 2-3. Wales, which took office without the injured foursome Aaron Ramsey, Neco Williams, Joe Rodon and George Thomas, is therefore one point behind number two Czech Republic and has played one game less.
The match was played behind closed doors in Kazan. Due to the unstable political situation in Belarus, the team plays home matches in Russia. In the fifth minute Bale was allowed to moor for the first time from eleven meters. The attacker was torpedoed in the box by goalkeeper Sergey Chernik and successfully sought out the right corner. After 28 minutes, Wales also received a penalty from referee Giorgi Kruashvili, this time after Chris Gunter’s dangerous play in a duel with Nikolai Zolotov. Welsh goalkeeper Danny Ward ducked in the right direction, but couldn’t prevent Vitali Lisakovich from hitting.
Again Gareth Bale! It’s 2-3 in stoppage time ?? Wales drags victory at the gates of hell in Belarus ??#ZiggoSport #WCQ2022 #BELWAL pic.twitter.com/U7Sn7nGnCC
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 5, 2021
The Lokomotiv Moscow attacker also provided the assist for Belarus’ 2-1 two minutes later. Escaping the attention of the unwary James Lawrence, he was able to serve Pavel Sedko to his left. Sedko could easily shoot in from close range. Wales came alongside midway through the second half, when Bale found the right corner from a penalty kick. The penalty was awarded after Max Ebong ran into Ben Davies in the eyes of the referee. Two minutes before the end, Bale shot wide from a free kick, causing Wales to lose points.
Deep into stoppage time, however, Bale scored the winning goal. Substitute Mark Harris missed a great opportunity and bumped into the keeper from close by, after which Belarus took the ball off the line. In the end, however, the leather ended up with Bale, who found the corner; goalkeeper Chernik got his hand against the ball, but was just not decisive enough. As a result, Wales dragged victory from the gates of hell and the World Cup is one step closer. Wales will play against Estonia at the bottom in Cardiff on Wednesday and will again have to take three points.
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