Højlund penalty earns Denmark 1-0 win over Wales in Cardiff

Rasmus Højlund converted a 75th-minute penalty as Denmark beat Wales 1-0 at Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday in Nations League Group A4. The Football Association of Wales reported that the striker's spot-kick settled the match after Danny Ward fouled Gustav Isaksen, ending Welsh hopes of following Thursday's victory over Norway with another win.

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Craig Bellamy made one change to the team that had beaten Norway 2-1, bringing Brennan Johnson into the starting line-up for Dan James. Denmark made three changes following their 4-2 defeat by Portugal. The visitors then lost captain Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to injury after 10 minutes, but continued to threaten the Welsh defence.

The FAW's match summary described Denmark creating opportunities through Højlund, Isaksen and Morten Hjulmand, with Mohamed Daramy also troubling Wales down the left. Wales had a chance of their own in the 63rd minute when Sorba Thomas found Johnson at the far post, only for his effort to go narrowly over the crossbar.

Ward had already made important saves to keep the scores level. According to Flashscore's match report, he stopped Højlund's attempt from an Andreas Skov Olsen cross after the interval, then diverted an Isaksen header onto the post. At the other end, a Thomas cross struck Lewis Koumas on the back and forced Mads Hermansen into a save.

The decisive sequence began when Ward misplaced a pass inside his own penalty area, giving Isaksen possession. The goalkeeper brought the forward down as he tried to recover. Højlund then sent Ward the wrong way from the spot, putting Denmark ahead after the visitors had repeatedly been frustrated by the Welsh goalkeeper's earlier interventions.

Wales could not find an equaliser, and Flashscore reported that the result left them bottom of Group A4 with two fixtures remaining. Denmark moved into second place and recorded a fifth consecutive win over Wales. For Bellamy's side, the defeat followed the encouragement of the Norway result and left their remaining group matches to determine their final position.