Wales 2-1 Austria: Gareth Bale strikes twice to fire hosts into World Cup play-off final
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Wales beat Israel in a play-off to reach the 1958 World Cup
Gareth Bale scored two brilliant goals in a vintage individual performance to take Wales a step closer to qualifying for their first World Cup since 1958 with victory over Austria in their play-off semi-final.
Austria's Christoph Baumgartner hit the crossbar in the fifth minute before Bale's majestic free-kick sparked ecstatic celebrations for an already thunderous home crowd in Cardiff.
Wales' captain struck again early in the second half, shooting beautifully on the turn from a short corner.
Marcel Sabitzer's deflected shot brought Austria back into the game and, although the visitors exerted sustained pressure, Wales stood up to the challenge with a stoic defensive display.
Wales will now face Scotland or Ukraine in their play-off final, a one-off tie which was meant to be played next Tuesday, but which has been postponed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Scotland and Ukraine's fixture is expected to be played in June, with the play-off final set to follow later the same month.
The details of that one-legged final are yet to be confirmed but, for now, Wales can savour this win in the knowledge that they are one victory away from ending their 64-year absence from World Cups.
Bale's genius lifts Wales on a night of high emotion
Cardiff City Stadium heaved with emotion in a highly charged build-up to the game, with Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan leading a rendition of his song Yma o Hyd before the crowd took over to bellow the national anthem with even greater passion than usual.
The fervent atmosphere helped Wales start the game at a blistering pace, pressing Austria high up the pitch and unsettling the visitors. With only 80 seconds gone, Connor Roberts dispossessed Austria captain David Alaba and combined with Aaron Ramsey to set up Daniel James for a shot which Heinz Lindner held.
It was frenetic at both ends and Austria squandered a golden opportunity when Sabitzer played a fine through ball for Christoph Baumgartner, who had time and Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey to beat, but hit his shot against the crossbar - thanks to a vital deflection from the covering Neco Williams.
That was a warning for Wales, but they continued to pour forward, their attacking line-up - which included Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Daniel James and Harry Wilson all from the start - playing with an admirable sense of adventure.
Then midway through the first half, Bale produced his moment of genius.
The 32-year-old has only played two hours of football for Real Madrid in the past six months and the build-up to this game was dominated by conjecture about his fitness, while the captain himself has mentioned that this might be his final World Cup campaign.
But his first goal was the Bale of old. A direct free-kick - the first he had scored for Wales since Euro 2016 - 25 yards out and hit with vintage precision, dipping just enough to clip the bar on its way in to send the Red Wall into raptures.
There were chances to extend Wales' lead before half-time - such as Ramsey's shot well saved by Lindner - and it was Bale again who provided the inspiration after the break.
From a short corner, Williams swung in a low cross which Davies touched into Bale's path and Wales' all-time leading scorer took his tally to 38 with a fierce drive into the top far corner.
As Wales fans sang Don't Take Me Home, the soundtrack of their run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, while they watched a Bale masterclass, it felt like that golden summer in France revisited.
Wales survive anxious second half
This has been the most successful period in Wales' history, with the national team qualifying for back-to-back European Championships and soaring to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Yet despite the record-high world rankings and heroic contributions from Bale, Ramsey and others, World Cups have remained elusive.
The 1958 tournament in Sweden is still Wales' only appearance at a World Cup and, since then, they have frequently and painfully fallen at the final hurdle.
When Sabitzer's shot deflected off Ben Davies and bobbled into the Welsh net, a sense of anxiety swept around Cardiff City Stadium as supporters began to wonder if this was to be the latest setback in a history littered with similar tales of anguish, from Scotland in 1977 to Romania in 1993.
Austria seized on that unease to take control of the second half, albeit without creating many clear-cut scoring opportunities against a resolute Welsh defence.
There were still openings for Wales, with James wasting two particularly good chances, just to heighten the sense of nervousness among the home fans.
But this team is not weighed down by the nation's failures of the past.
Most of these players are too young to remember the bad old days and have instead been brought up in an era of regular qualification and winning at home, where they have now not lost in 17 games.
Robert Page's men still have one more game to navigate, but this victory will strengthen their belief that they will be the team to end their nation's long wait to play at a World Cup.
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