Then Gareth Bale finished the job with two second-half goals to take his Welsh tally to 24, moving him into second place on the all-time list and just four behind record holder Ian Rush.
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Wales bookended a late matchday two defeat against England with victories against Slovakia and Russian Federation in order to top their finals group and saw-off Northern Ireland and Belgium en route to a narrow semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual champions Portugal.
Coleman knows that much tougher tests await, in particular in Vienna next month, where Wales take on Austria in a game that should give a much clearer indication of their prospects in Group D. For the moment, though, the Wales manager will just be pleased to see three points on the board.
Under manager Chris Coleman, Wales lost to eventual winners Portugal in the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in their first major tournament appearance since 1958.
He said: “I’d like to think the move can extend my career”.
“I know he’s capable of nearly anything and I think Madrid are very excited about the future with “Baleo”. It was a freaky pass and Bale was not going to turn down the invitation to get his name on the scoresheet as he confronted Cebanu, who was left horribly exposed, and clipped the ball over the Moldova keeper and into the net. Along with that incredible ability he’s got that first-class mentality as well. However, with several players having had limited game time after being eased back into club duty following their Euro 2016 exploits and Aaron Ramsey missing through injury, there was a lack of fluency in the home side’s play.
Wales should have made a dream start inside seven minutes when Chris Gunter was brought down in the area by Alexandru Dedov following nice link-up play between Bale and Andy King.
“We have closed the Euros a little bit and set out our stall for the World Cup campaign so the gaffer has already addressed that”, added Everton stopper Williams.
Huws lost out on the final midfield spot to David Vaughan, who has since retired from global football, while Lawrence could not shift striker Simon Church from the squad.
“We have had to modify the workload of one or two”, said Coleman. “Emyr was disappointed not to make the [Euro] squad and it was really close for him”.
“I want some more campaign football and I want some more tournament football”. But there is nothing as a player you can do about that.
“Other countries would love to have what we have, they’ll be wondering how to replicate it”.
Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey is expected to start despite missing Palace’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth last weekend due to a leg problem.
But Fon Williams says it has been business as usual after England manager Sam Allardyce persuaded goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson to leave Wales and join his backroom staff.
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“Everyone always said “if Wales ever qualified we’ll all be in France”, but when you actually sit down and work it out it’s actually harder than you think”. We need to feel like that.
