Wales Draw Against Croatia
Wales managed to keep their dreams alive of reaching the Euro 2020 tournament by maintaining a 1-1 draw against Croatia. Gareth Bale was the star for Wales when he cancelled out an early goal from Nikola Vlasic for Croatia in the Group E qualifier game that took place on Sunday. After the match, it left Croatia at the top of Group E with a total of 14 points from only seven games. This is two more points than Hungary who managed to claim a sensational 1-0 victory against Azerbaijan earlier on in the day.
Slovakia has a total of 10 points, leaving them in third place in the group standings from only six games, while Wales is now in fourth place with 8 points from a total of 6 games. Azerbaijan has 1 point from 6 games. Ryan Giggs, the head coach for the Wales national team, was extremely pleased with the performance from his squad and thought that the concentration was truly spectacular, especially against a more superior team like Croatia.
Croatia vs Wales
Vlasic managed to get Croatia in the lead during the 9th minute following the junking run from Josip Brekalo that allowed Bruno Petkovic to provide the perfect ball for the midfielder that managed to beat the goalkeeper thanks to a lovely low shot that went in after hitting the post. Wayne Hennessey, the goalkeeper for Wales, managed to keep the team afloat after making a superb save to deny Ivan Perisic before Gareth Bale capitalizing on fantastic work from Ben Davies during stoppage time during the first half to score a sensational goal for Wales.
The equalizer occurred following a chilling moment halfway through the first half of the game when Daniel Hames, the winger for Wales, suffered a severe concussion that resulted in a reckless tackle that was made by Domagoj Vida, the centre back for Croatia. Daniel James stated that the team knew it was going to be a difficult match. Both sides started very well, and although a goal was conceded for Wales, they managed to get it together and work as a team to deliver the equalizer to keep their dreams alive. There were a couple of tackles flying in during the match, but that’s precisely what everyone expected in a game like this. Thankfully, Daniel James wasn’t knocked out and was able to continue playing.
Second Half of the Match
Early on during the second half, Ethan Ampadu, the midfielder for Wales, had to be assisted off the field by team doctors after a horrible aerial challenge took place with Petkovic that saw him being replaced by Joseff Morrell. Livakovic managed to smother a shot from Daniel James before a dangerous raid from Wales that left three players lying on the pitch from either side after a series of collisions that left Modric unable to play the rest of the match. Thankfully, Wales can breathe again as their Euro 2020 dream is still alive!