Gareth Bale scores twice - the first being one of the best goals of his career - to earn Wales a place in the World Cup playoff final with a 2-1 victory against Austria.
Having put Rob Page's side ahead with a magnificent set piece, Bale's second proved decisive as Wales recovered from seeing Austria get back into the contest through a fortuitous effort from Marcel Sabitzer.
Wales will now play host to either Scotland or Ukraine, whose tie was postponed several weeks ago due to Russia's military invasion of the latter.
After a rousing national anthem, Wales attempted to seize the early initiative, but Austria came agonisingly close to going ahead with five minutes on the clock as Christoph Baumgartner hit the crossbar after being played through on goal.
As the first quarter reached a close, both teams would have been satisfied with their performances, although neither could have predicted the manner in which Wales went in front.
Bale, so often the hero in national team colours, lined up his free kick around 25 yards out before finding the top corner with a trademark swerving strike, the ball clipping the crossbar on its way into the net.
Given the circumstances, it was a dream-like moment for the home side, and Aaron Ramsey almost doubled the advantage shortly before half time, only for Heinz Lindner to pull off a stunning save to divert the ball past his near post.
However, six minutes after the break, Bale produced another piece of magic, the ball falling invitingly for him inside the penalty area to lash home a pinpoint strike in the far top corner.
Wales had further chances to score, most notably through Bale, but Austria halved the deficit in the 64th minute when Sabitzer's low shot deflected off Ben Davies and found the bottom corner.
The nerves at both ends of the pitch were shredded, Dan James squandering at least one opportunity to put the game to bed and Austria continuously knocking on the door.
Nevertheless, Wales, backed by the relentless noise of their supporters, were able to come through the closing stages and nearly five minutes of added-on time to move to the brink of a first World Cup appearance since 1958. body check tags ::
