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Kazakhstan are 110th in Fifa's world rankings, 81 places below Wales who are 29th

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales at Cardiff City Stadium

Wales steadied themselves after an unexpected fright against Kazakhstan to make a winning, if unconvincing, start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Wales might have envisaged a comfortable night's work when Daniel James put them in front with a deflected shot in the ninth minute - but they were stunned when Kazakhstan scored their first competitive goal since 2023 to equalise.

The visitors, ranked 110th in the world, were awarded a penalty when Islam Chesnokov's cross hit Connor Roberts' arm, and Kazakh captain Askhat Tagybergen's spot-kick just about dribbled over the line having almost been kept out by Karl Darlow.

If the home crowd were getting edgy with their team level at half-time, captain Ben Davies lanced the growing apprehension a minute after the interval as he headed in from Sorba Thomas' corner to restore the hosts' lead.

Craig Bellamy's side were still unable to properly take control as they missed several chances, with Kazakh goalkeeper Alexandr Zarutskiy making some inspired saves.

But they at least did enough to secure victory even if the performance was lacking, as substitute Rabbi Matondo swept in his first international goal in added time from another Thomas pass.

Next up is Tuesday's trip to North Macedonia, who started their campaign with a 3-0 win over Group J's bottom seeds Liechtenstein.

That was North Macedonia's sixth successive victory and, while Wales may start as slight favourites in Skopje, they will need a vast improvement on this display against Kazakhstan to make it six points from six.

Wales' wobbly start to World Cup quest

World Cup qualifying: Wales 3 - 1 Kazakhstan

Bellamy had made an excellent start to his tenure last year, unbeaten in six games and introducing an enterprising new playing style as he led Wales to promotion to the Nations League's top tier.

His ultimate aim, however, was for Wales to not only qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but to make a more meaningful impact when they get there having meekly exited at the group stage in 2022.

At pains not to get ahead of himself, Bellamy stressed this week that he and his players dared not look beyond this Kazakhstan game.

The visitors had been on a 12-match winless run before beating Curacao in a friendly on Wednesday, though they had won against the likes of Denmark and Northern Ireland in recent years.

Having been embarrassed at home by Armenia in their unsuccessful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, Wales knew that fixtures against lowly opponents were not always straightforward.

James had given Wales a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute before they were humiliated 4-2 on that occasion in 2023 but, when he put them in front in the ninth minute here, few inside Cardiff City Stadium would have sensed such an upset was in the offing.

It was a messy goal, with Wales making a hash of a short corner and Kazakhstan doing an even worse job of clearing it. Liam Cullen did well to regain possession and Davies laid the ball off to James, whose low shot took a deflection and looped in past a wrong-footed Zarutskiy.

The home crowd might have thought the floodgates would open at that point but, with Joe Rodon heading over and James having a penalty appeal rejected, Wales struggled to really assert themselves on the game.

Then, out of nothing, Kazakhstan were level. Roberts had turned away from Chesnokov's cross when it hit his arm and, after a VAR check, Tagybergen scored his penalty to delight the tiny but proud contingent of away fans.

A relaxed atmosphere had suddenly turned edgy, Welsh fans anxiously wondering if this was going to be one of those nights they had hoped were a thing of the past.

Thankfully for them - and the blood pressure of the perpetually pacing, twitchy Bellamy on the touchline - Davies eased those nerves as he nodded into an empty net after Zarutskiy failed to gather Thomas' corner.

Zarutskiy made a spectacular save to deny substitute Jordan James, who brought balance to the Welsh midfield, and the Kazakh keeper also repelled a free-kick from Neco Williams.

Despite the frustration of those missed opportunities, Wales kept their cool and, in added time, Thomas supplied a fine low cross for Matondo, whose first-time finish made victory safe.

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