Euro 2024 qualifying: Croatia 1-1 Wales – reaction to late Wales goal
Nathan Broadhead scored a stoppage-time equaliser to steal Wales a 1-1 draw with Croatia as they kicked off their new era without Gareth Bale with a big result.
Andrej Kramaric opened the scoring before the break, taking advantage of some lacklustre Welsh defending in a one-sided game in Split. However, Croatia couldn’t finish Wales off, with Mateo Kovacic missing a sitter and Ivan Perisic hitting the crossbar.
So, as we all confidently predicted beforehand, Wales leave Croatia with a point on the board.
Okay, okay, at no stage were we expecting that – which is what makes it a fairly joyous night for Robert Page’s team.
They struggled to cope with Croatia at times, but were never over-run and stayed in the game until the end.
Nathan Broadhead’s memorable debut goal means Wales are off and running in their bid to reach Euro 2024 having taken a point from what, on paper, is the hardest fixture they will face in this qualifying campaign.
And so to Tuesday night, when Latvia – who are ranked 133rd in the world – come to Cardiff.
Wales must build on this draw by winning that game.
In the first round of qualifying for Euro 2024, the Croatian national team will face the Welsh national team at home. The Balkans in the pair are quoted as notable favorites, and it is difficult to argue with the lineup for the game, given the recent results of the opponents.
Croatia
Once again, the Croatians had tremendous success at the World Cup, winning bronze medals in Qatar—a fantastic success for the Balkan team, which is currently experiencing a generational change. Remember that the Knights played seven matches in Qatar and lost only in the semifinals to Argentina, which subsequently won the Mundial. We haven’t seen the Croats since their third-place game against Morocco on December 17. But we doubt anything will change much in the team’s playing style because Zlatko Dalic is still in his position, which means the game concept won’t change.
Wales
The Welsh also participated in the Mundial in Qatar, but their performance at the tournament was extremely weak. In three games, the Dragons got one point against the Americans, then lost to Iran 0:2 and England 0:3. Before that, the Brits failed in the Nations League, scoring only one point in six games in Group 4 of League A and dropping out of League B. Overall, the Welsh team has an eight-match winless streak, with only two draws and six defeats.
