Internationals | Sublime victory for Davies and Wales in Cardiff
Ben Davies and Micky van de Ven were both in action for their respective countries on Thursday evening, as Wales and the Netherlands picked up important UEFA Nations League A points.
Ben skippered Wales to a sensational 2-1 victory over World Cup quarter-finalists Norway on what was his 103rd cap, while our own club captain Micky played his part as the Netherlands recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit in Greece to draw 2-2.
After an even first half in Cardiff, in which a 38th-minute goal from Dan James cancelled out Oscar Bobb’s early opener, the game changed just 20 seconds after the interval when Torbjorn Heggem was sent off for dragging down James just outside the Norway box. Wales made the advantage pay immediately with Neco Williams driving home the resulting free-kick.
Wales were mostly in control for the remainder of the game but whenever Erling Haaland and Norway did threaten, Ben and his defensive colleagues were there to thwart any danger. This was the first time Wales have beaten a team ranked above them under manager Craig Bellamy and also their first-ever Nations League A win at the ninth attempt. They remain bottom of Group 4 but are level on three points with Denmark and Norway, while Portugal lead the way on nine. Wales face Denmark at home on Sunday evening.
Over in Greece, goals from Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras put the home side in a commanding position at half-time, but the Netherlands came storming back to earn a point. Virgil van Dijk halved the deficit while the Dutch thought they were level through Denzel Dumfries shortly after, only for VAR to rule it out for offside. They weren’t to be denied though, as Tijani Reijnders salvaged a point with an 89th minute leveller. Greece top Group 2, with the Netherlands second and they entertain Serbia on Sunday evening.
Ben and Micky both played the full games, however Jan Paul van Hecke didn’t travel with the Dutch squad to Greece. Meanwhile, Kevin Danso – on loan at Sunderland – was suspended for Austria’s 2-2 draw with Ireland in Dublin.
Earlier in the day, two of our youngsters enjoyed a victory as they played their part in England Under-17s' 1-0 win over Venezuela.
Toju Wellspring and George Jobling both featured for the full 90 minutes as the Young Lions recorded their second successive victory in a four-team tournament in Germany, having beaten Israel in their last game. Brentford's Jai Nwosu scored the only goal of the game in Duisburg. Our goalkeeper Mikel Jack remained an unused substitute.