Wales vs Kazakhstan LIVE: Ben Davies restores Welsh lead with quickfire second half objective
Wales begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign tonight as they face Kazakhstan at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Craig Bellamy’s side managed to turn around the disappointment of failing to qualify for Euro 2024 and even finished top of Nations League Group B4 last year, surpassing Turkey on the final matchday.
Former Wales captain Bellamy received plenty of plaudits for that turnaround, though he will undoubtedly feel that his first real test is to secure a place at the next World Cup.
The fact that the 2026 is the first expanded tournament means that Bellamy should have a somewhat easier job task in securing qualification, though Group J still pits Wales against Belgium, North Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Follow all the latest build-up, team news and updates from the Cardiff City Stadium below:
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
75 mins: Wales want a third goal. There’s 15 minutes left to play in this match and Bellamy’s men are hunting.
One more and they’ll absolutely take the points but while they only have a one-goal advantage they are vulnerable.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
71 mins: Wales want another penalty after bursting down the right side.
James sends the ball to Harris who passes to Cullen.
He goes down under a tackle and the referee waves away the appeals again.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
68 mins: Save! A trick free kick is rolled to Neco Williams by Liam Cullen.
Williams shoots low but the goalkeeper punches it away.
There’s a pinball in the box but the visitors hook it out of play for a corner.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
66 mins: That’s a massive moment for Kazakhstan.
If that goal goes in then the match is effectively over but they’re still in this fight.
Wales are pushing them deeper and win themselves a free kick just outside the box,
Opportunity to score again here…
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
63 mins: Save! Dan James receives the ball on the right wing.
He drills a low pass into the area and picks out substitute Jordan James.
He shoots first time and hits it well only for Aleksandr Zarvtskiy to leap to the right and push it away!
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
59 mins: Kazakhstan have been good value tonight. They fly forward on a quick break with Samorodov driving the move.
He lays it off to Vorogovskiy who shoots from range only for Brooks to deflect the effort into the hands of Karl Darlow.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
56 mins: Wales seem to have their confidence back but they’ll need to be wary.
A long ball down the left wing is collected by Samorodov who spins into the box and pulls it back to Chesnokov.
He shoots but scuffs it well wide of the target.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
53 mins: Some slick one-touch passes almost see Brennan Johnson clear on the left side of the box but he can’t collect the final ball and Kazakhstan clear their lines.
Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan
50 mins: Wales deserve to be in front and they’ve started both halves quickly.
Craig Bellamy will know that things could change quickly so he’ll want a third goal to give his team a cushion.
GOAL! Wales 2-1 Kazakhstan (Ben Davies, 47′)
What a start!
Wales win a corner with pretty much their first attack of the second half.
The corner is whipped over to the back post as goalkeeper Aleksandr Zarutskiy totally misreads the flight.
He flaps wide of the ball which drops on the head of Ben Davies who guides it home!
