Leicester City midfielder Jordan James will sit out Wales’ World Cup qualifying clash against North Macedonia after receiving a booking in their win over Liechtenstein.
In what was a mixed experience, James marked his 25th cap with a goal but was also cautioned, earning him a suspension for Tuesday’s encounter.
Wales must win their final match in Cardiff on Tuesday to secure a home semi-final in the March play-offs.
Ethan Ampadu will also be missing through a ban after joining James in picking up a second booking of the tournament.
Reflecting on a dramatic weekend, Foxes ace James said:
“I’ve been waiting for it (the goal) but I have been in sort of goalscoring form (for Leicester), which is nice.
“I work on getting in the box and in the right spaces and I was able to do that.
“It’s disappointing to get booked. You don’t think about it on the pitch, you just play the match. They were on the counter-attack and I had to stop it.
“I think we have enough in the squad to win it on Tuesday. I am disappointed, but I’ll be supporting the lads from the sidelines.”
Ampadu, meanwhile, captained Wales in the absence of Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies in Vaduz, but the Leeds midfielder’s night had a sour ending four minutes from time when cautioned for a foul on Liechtenstein substitute Severin Schlegel.
“I am gutted. If it was a challenge that was a bit reckless or silly I would be frustrated with myself,” Ampadu told BBC Wales.
“It’s annoying because I don’t think it was a yellow. I don’t think I touched the guy and I won the ball.
“To miss the opportunity to represent your country is always hard and I’m really disappointed with that.”
Wales needed to win by a six-goal margin to wipe out North Macedonia’s superior goal difference before their Cardiff clash.
There was never any chance of that happening, but James’ second-half close-range strike ensured Wales drew level on 13 points with second-placed North Macedonia.
Belgium have yet to secure top spot in Group J after drawing 1-1 in Kazakhstan on Saturday.
But that should be a routine task with Belgium’s final game at home to Liechtenstein, who are still waiting for their first point and first goal in qualification.
Ampadu said:
“Our focus before the game was we were expecting to be the team who were dominant with the ball.
“You’d like to score more goals but we got the win. It’s not a lack of desire, it was just we didn’t score the goals.”
“We had to be patient. We had a lot of the ball and a lot of chances.”