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In Cardiff, Wales dominated over Finland with a 4-1 victory, earning them a spot in the Euro 2024 play-off final alongside Poland.
Early goals scored by David Brooks and Neco Williams gave the home team a comfortable lead, bringing relief to the packed crowd at the sold-out Cardiff City Stadium.
At the end of the first half, Teemu Pukki scored his 40th goal for Finland, dismissing any doubts. However, Wales regained their two-goal lead in the second half with a goal from Brennan Johnson, and Daniel James sealed the win with a late goal as a substitute.
On Tuesday, Wales and Poland will meet in Cardiff to determine which team will advance to the Euro 2024 tournament this summer. Poland, who defeated Estonia 5-1 in the other Path A semi-final, will be facing Wales as their opponent.
Robert Lewandowski and his team present a much tougher challenge than the opponents faced on Thursday, as they ranked 60th in the world and were 31 spots lower than Rob Page’s team.
Wales can take solace in Cardiff’s impressive record under Page, as they have only lost three out of 20 games during his time as manager.
Almost two years ago, Wales, motivated by Gareth Bale, defeated Austria in Cardiff, leading them to advance to the final of the World Cup play-offs.
Bale’s decision to retire from football before this qualification campaign presented Wales with a nearly insurmountable void to fill.
However, defeating 2022 World Cup semi-finalist with four points, Croatia, had instilled some hope that there could be success without their influential captain. Despite this, both Wales and Finland had to accept the play-offs as they placed third in their qualifying group.
At 23 years old, Ethan Ampadu played as a midfielder and earned his 50th cap, going head-to-head with Leeds teammate Glen Kamara.
The focal point of Page’s strategy were the three strikers, and the Wales manager chose Brooks, Johnson, and Harry Wilson. Kieffer Moore was left on the bench, alongside Aaron Ramsey who was recovering from a calf injury.
Wales’ opener against Finland is credited to David Brooks.
Neco Williams is elated after scoring the second goal for Wales.
The source of this information is Nick Potts, provided via PA Wire.
In the third minute, Wales got off to a fantastic start with Brooks scoring his fourth goal for the national team.
Hradecky, Finland’s goalkeeper, was able to reject Wilson’s shot, but Brooks skillfully repositioned himself and volleyed in the rebound.
Wales had a promising start, but Finland fought back and controlled more of the possession, occasionally posing a threat.
Daniel Hakans volleyed over from Nikolai Alho’s knock-down and Pukki sent a weak effort at Danny Ward.
At the opposite side of the field, Joel Pohjanpalo had his shot unsuccessful while Wales had limited moments of thrill.
Just after thirty minutes had passed, there was a shift in the game when Wilson took a shot from 25 yards and forced Hradecky to make a diving save.
Johnson was awarded a free-kick near the boundary of the designated area. It seemed that Finland was anticipating a left-footed shot from Wilson towards the right side of Hradecky’s goal. However, instead of shooting, Wilson ran over the ball and passed it to Williams. With a powerful shot to the left side, Williams caught Hradecky off guard and scored.
Finland faced a difficult challenge, but they were able to boost their morale just before halftime.
Pohjanpalo provided a pass to Pukki, who managed to stay in line with the defense. He then moved around Chris Mepham and scored a composed goal past Ward.
The goal’s timing would have angered Page, but Wales scored again two minutes into the second half when Ampadu connected with Wilson’s free kick, sending the ball to the back of the net.
Brooks received the ball in a congested penalty box and his poorly hit shot landed perfectly for Johnson to take.
Wilson curled wide as Wales sought to put the tie to bed and Moore, sent on for Brooks, fired straight at Hradecky after being slipped through by the outstanding Ampadu.
The attempt at a late header by Ben Davies was disallowed after a verification check from VAR. However, substitute Dan James successfully ran past the opposition to score a fourth goal by skillfully evading Hradecky.
Original:
Source: independent.co.uk
Reworded:
Article came from independent.co.uk
