Wales beat Kazakhstan in opening World Cup Qualifier

Wales secured a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium, overcoming a first-half scare to begin their campaign with three points. The performance, however, was far from convincing, raising questions about their ability to dominate supposedly weaker opposition.

Daniel James gave Wales an early lead in the ninth minute. After a poorly executed short corner routine, Liam Cullen regained possession, and Ben Davies laid the ball off to James, whose low shot took a deflection and looped past Kazakhstan goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy.

Despite the early goal, Wales struggled to assert their dominance. Joe Rodon headed over, and James had a penalty appeal rejected. Kazakhstan, ranked 110th in the world and on a 12-match winless run prior to beating Curacao in a friendly, equalized in the [Insert minute – Not provided in the original] minute. Connor Roberts was penalized for handball after turning away from Islam Chesnokov’s cross, and captain Askhat Tagybergen converted the resulting penalty, despite Karl Darlow almost saving it.

The home crowd, recalling a previous embarrassing 4-2 home defeat to Armenia in Euro 2024 qualifying, grew increasingly anxious. However, captain Ben Davies eased the tension a minute into the second half, heading into an empty net after Zarutskiy failed to gather a Sorba Thomas corner.

Wales continued to create chances but lacked a clinical edge. Substitute Jordan James was denied by a spectacular save from Zarutskiy, who also saved a Neco Williams free-kick.

Substitute Rabbi Matondo finally sealed the victory in added time, sweeping home a low cross from Sorba Thomas for his first international goal.

Bellamy’s Wales Show Resilience, But Questions Remain

Craig Bellamy, unbeaten in his first six games as Wales manager, had led the team to promotion to the top tier of the Nations League. However, the ultimate goal is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and improve upon their group-stage exit in 2022.

While the victory provides a winning start, the performance against Kazakhstan highlighted areas for improvement. Wales struggled to break down a defensively organized opponent and were vulnerable to counter-attacks.

Wales’ next qualifier is an away match against North Macedonia on Tuesday. North Macedonia began their campaign with a 3-0 win over Group J’s bottom seeds, Liechtenstein, making them a challenging opponent. Wales will need a significantly improved performance to secure a second victory and maintain their momentum in the qualifying campaign.