FOOTBALL – Substitute Dan James put the icing on the cake with a second-half solo goal as Wales thrashed Finland 4-1 in Cardiff last night to set up a playoff final with Poland for a place at Euro 2024.
A leaping David Brooks got the hosts off to a dream start in the third minute when Harry Wilson’s shot was saved and rebounded to him for the knock-in.
Neco Williams made it 2-0 in the 38th when he blasted the ball into the top corner off a backheeled free kick by Wilson on the edge of the box, but Finland pulled one back with Teemu Pukki’s 40th international goal on the stroke of halftime.
Brennan Johnson restored the two-goal cushion from close-range in the 47th, after Ethan Ampadu headed on from a free kick, and stand-in captain Ben Davies had a fourth ruled out by VAR in the 79th.
James then made it 4-1 in the 86th when he sprinted clear, dribbled around goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky and slotted the ball into an open goal.
Wales will play Poland, who beat a 10-man Estonia 5-1, at the same Cardiff stadium on Tuesday.
The Poles overwhelmed powerless Estonia who rarely left their own half and had no goal attempt until midfielder Martin Vetkal pulled back a consolation goal in the 78th minute.
Przemyslaw Frankowski put Poland ahead in the 22nd minute, when he received an elegant pass from Jakub Piotrowski to score with a low finish, and Piotr Zielinski doubled the lead after the break, nodding home a cross from Nicola Zalewski.
Piotrowski made it 3-0 with a shot from a distance in the 70th minute, three minutes before Estonia defender Karol Mets gifted Poland their fourth with an own goal, and Sebastian Szymanski bundled in the fifth from close range.
Estonia went down to 10 men in the 27th minute when defender Maksim Paskotsi saw his second yellow card for a challenge on Zalewski.
Poland finished third in qualifying Group E behind Albania and Czech Republic while Estonia were last in Group F but, like the other semi-finalists, they made it to the play-offs via the Uefa Nations League.
Greece thrashed Kazakhstan 5-0, booking a place in one of Tuesday’s three play-off finals and coming close to a qualification berth after 12 years.
Greece struck twice early with captain Anastasios Bakasetas getting a powerful penalty shot in the ninth minute after defender Bagdat Kairov had fouled Dimitrios Pelkas, who six minutes later doubled the lead with a header that set the raucous home crowd cheering.
The struggling visitors failed to find the net and were outplayed again when Giorgios Masouras broke quickly and crossed for Fotis Ioannidis to finish from close range in the 37th minute.
Dimitrios Kourbelis’s header gave the hosts a fourth goal, five minutes before the break, and a late own goal by Alexandr Marochkin made it five for Greece, who will face Georgia on Tuesday.