Wales' hopes of finishing third in World Cup European Qualifying Group Four were ended in the Olympic Stadium by a 2-1 defeat against Finland.

Captain Craig Bellamy scored a fine first-half goal to make himself Wales' fifth-highest scorer of all time but the Welsh efforts drifted away in a disappointing second period.

Roni Porokara put Finland ahead in the opening minutes before Bellamy's equaliser. But defender Niklas Moisander drove home the winner with 14 minutes left.

And Wales problems for Wednesday's match in Liechtenstein were compounded by yellow cards for Bellamy and Wayne Hennessey that will see them banned.

Wales boss John Toshack said: "We are bitterly disappointed by the result. We wanted to finish in third spot and that is now beyond us.

"We conceded two very sloppy goals with mistakes from experienced defenders.

"With the amount of injury problems we have had, we were only able to name four players on the bench. That in the end denied us any options to be able to change the game.

"Our midfield struggled in the end against experienced players. After conceding an early goal we then scored the best goal of the match through Craig Bellamy.

"There were chances for us to have nicked the result, but it just did not happen for us."

Finland boss Stuart Baxter said: "This is a good day for Finnish football and our future.

"Third place is secured, and we were able to give a few of our younger players some international experience.

"We have to go to face Germany in Hamburg now on Wednesday, so I am happy at the moment and I won't let the thought of playing the Germans next change that feeling. Not for a while, anyway."