Wales 2 Austria 1 - Highlights

A brilliant double from Gareth Bale took Wales to the brink of a first World Cup since 1958 thanks to a 2-1 win over Austria in Cardiff on Thursday.

Robert Page's men will face Scotland or Ukraine for a place in Qatar later this year after Bale rolled back the years to again produce his best form for his country.

Bale's stunning free-kick and strike into the top corner either side of half-time gave the home side a two-goal advantage.

A Ben Davies own goal halved Austria's arrears, but Wales saw out a tense final quarter to move one match away from ending the 64-year wait to reach the biggest stage in football.

Bale has been nearly a non-existent figure during the final year of his contract at Real Madrid.

The 32-year-old has played just 77 minutes at club level since the last international break in November and irked his critics in the Spanish capital by declaring himself unfit for Madrid's 4-0 defeat to Barcelona last weekend.

There was never any doubt about Bale making himself available for possibly his last shot at leading his country to a World Cup.

Once again the four-time Champions League winner stood up to produce the moments of quality his nation needed.

Wales were lucky just to be on level terms by the time Bale took aim to open the scoring midway through the first half.

Austria finished fourth in a disappointing qualifying campaign, but made it into the playoffs courtesy of their Nations League performance.

The visitors had a glorious early chance to quieten the raucous Cardiff crowd when Christoph Baumgartner was played through on goal, but Neco Williams got back to deflect his effort onto the crossbar.

A lack of club football for both Bale and Wales' other star name Aaron Ramsey looked to be taking its toll in the