Wales pointed to their wastefulness in front of goal as a major factor in their failure to yield victory in their previous two qualifiers but in Estonia they had to be grateful for their opponents’ profligacy, with Kieffer Moore’s first-half tap-in enough to take victory in Tallinn. It was a much-needed win but they lost ground in the race for second spot in World Cup qualifying Group E, which ensures a play-off spot, with the Czech Republic not only beating Belarus but bettering Wales’s win margin. In the end, Wales were fortunate to come away with victory on the Baltic Sea, with the Estonia substitute Vlasiy Sinyavskiy drawing a superb save from Danny Ward late on.
Wales’s previous examination against Estonia did not go to plan and dropping points in Cardiff last month is partly why Robert Page promised to be bold in Tallinn, aware goal difference could yet prove significant. He named a starting lineup that was built to attack, with Sorba Thomas making his first Wales start at left wing-back, nine months on from leaving non-league Boreham Wood for second-tier Huddersfield, and the dependable Connor Roberts rampaged forward on the opposite flank. Estonia carved the first opening, Taijo Teniste taking aim from an acute angle with less than a minute on the clock but the Wales goalkeeper Ward, given a hearty reception from the travelling Wales support during the warmup following his error in Prague on Friday, made a smart save down to his right.
