Azerbaijan 0-2 Wales
The win leaves Wales five points clear in Group Nine
"I'm absolutely delighted," said Hughes. "Given the circumstances leading up to the game it was a difficult match to prepare for.
"We've come here and put in a performance that was fantastic on the evening.
"We had a lot of big players who were missing, but the lads who came in were fantastic.
"That's because of the squad and the team spirit we have and I'm absolutely delighted for every one of them.
Ruud van Nistelrooy came off the bench to strike as Holland beat Germany 3-1 in Gelsenkirchen.
France saw off Yugoslavia 3-0 in Paris.
In Saitama, Argentina beat Japan 2-0
Norway beat Austria 1-0