Derek Cornelius’s spectacular free kick lifted Canada to a 1-0 win over Wales in a men’s international soccer friendly Tuesday.

The Glasgow Rangers defender sent a curling delivery over the Welsh wall, eluding the outstretched hands of diving goalkeeper Adam Davies, and into the top corner for his first goal in 37 Canadian appearances. 

Canada had twice come close earlier on a damp evening at the 21,000-capacity Swansea.com Stadium.

Midfielder Ismael Kone hit the post in the ninth minute after a nifty layoff from stand-in captain Jonathan David. Centre back Luc de Fougerolles, with a stylish flick off a corner, then hit the crossbar in the 39th.

English referee Robert Jones handed out six yellow cards in the first half, with three going to Canada including coach Jesse Marsch. 

He handed out two more cautions after the break, one to Wales and the other to Canada’s Jayden Nelson.

Canada had chances to add to its lead in the second half, but lacked clinical finishing. And Wales started to come on.

De Fougerolles’s goal-line clearance saved Canada in the 53rd minute as he blocked Mark Harris’ acrobatic bicycle kick. Cornelius and Richie Laryea also made crucial second-half blocks to extinguish Welsh attacks.

Wales rallied late and had a great chance to pull even in the 90th minute but Harris shot just wide.

The 28th-ranked Canadians were coming off an impressive performance in a 3-0 win over No. 48 Romania on Friday in Bucharest. Two wins and two clean sheets in Europe are encouraging signposts en route to the World Cup.

The last time Canada won consecutive games on European soil was in 2005-06, with victories over Luxembourg (1-0) and Austria (2-0) although there was a scoreless draw with the United States in San Diego in-between.

Wales, ranked 31st in the world, defeated No. 114 Kazakhstan 1-0 in World Cup qualifying play Thursday. The Welsh currently stand third in their qualifying group at 3-1-1 behind No. 8 Belgium (3-0-1) and No. 62 North Macedonia (3-0-2). 

The Welsh face No. 4 England next in an Oct. 9 friendly at Wembley before returning to World Cup qualifying play against Belgium on Oct. 13

The Canadian men host No. 24 Australia next, at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium on Oct. 10, before facing No. 14 Colombia in Harrison, N.J., four days later.

Marsch made just two changes to his starting lineup with Dayne St. Clair taking over in goal, as previously announced, and Nathan Saliba replacing the injured Stephen Eustaquio in midfield. Goalkeepers Jayden Hibbert and Tom McGill were both on the bench, with Max Crepeau going though concussion protocols after taking a ball to the face in Bucharest.

The Canadian starting 11 that went into the match with a combined 330 caps, down from 374 for the Romania contest.

Wales gave 18-year-old Cardiff City defender Ronan Kpakio his senior debut while midfielder Charles Crew, on loan at Doncaster Rovers from Leeds United, made his first start.

The Welsh starting 11 featured five players from the English Premier League, four from the second-tier Championship and one from the third-tier League 2.

While Wales had 62 per cent possession in the first half, part of that came from laboured attempts to break the Canadian press. Canada outshot Wales 7-1 in the first 45 minutes, although each team managed just one shot on target with Cornelius making the most of it.

Canada appealed for a penalty in the third minute when Laryea went down in the Welsh penalty box but the referee waved play on. There was no video review on the night.

Junior Hoilett, Jacob Shaffelburg, Theo Bair, Nelson and Mathieu Choiniere came on for Canada in the second half.

Canada was also missing the injured Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito, Alistair Johnston, Sam Adekugbe, and Daniel Jebbison. Forward Cyle Larin wasn’t called into the squad because his wife was due to give birth while Liam Millar has just returned to training with England’s Hull City after recovering from knee surgery.

The Canadians evened their record to 2-2-0 against Wales, which won 1-0 the last time they met in May 2004 in Wrexham. Current Wales coach Craig Bellamy, a former forward who played for Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham among other clubs, was a starter that day, delivering the cross that Paul Parry headed home past goalkeeper Pat Onstad for the winner.

Canada’s lone previous win, a 2-0 decision, came at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium in May 1986 in the first of two meetings ahead of the World Cup. That match marked the first time that Canada had defeated a European nation in a senior international. Wales won the second meeting 3-0 in Vancouver.

Canada improved to 6-1-3 this year, with two of those draws turning into penalty shootout losses.