Kazakhstan, 114th in the Fifa rankings and all in yellow, represented a banana skin on an artificial surface in Astana. Their last World Cup qualifying victory was almost 12 years ago, a narrow success over the Faroe Islands, but this was anything but a straightforward win for Wales.
By the end the chances were totting up, Craig Bellamy’s side clinging on with the Kazakhstan substitute Serikzhan Muzhikov cracking the bar with the final action, a 95th-minute free-kick. The visitors were ultimately grateful for Kieffer Moore’s first-half strike, which was sufficient to earn a victory that keeps alive their hopes of automatic qualification from Group J.
