Ben Fisher was in Split tonight, and his report has landed. Here it is! Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Nathan Broadhead, a goalscoring hero on his debut for Wales, talks to S4C. “I got a bit overwhelmed to be honest! I got quite emotional. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long! We needed a point. We came here to win the game, but getting a point is also good. We’re made up!”
Ethan Ampadu adds: “We found it tough. But our message was to stay in it. We’ll always create a chance. Everyone’s buzzing for Nathan. We’ll enjoy this one tonight then go back home and work on the next one [Latvia on Tuesday].”
What a dramatic end to the start of the post-Bale era! Croatia outclassed Wales in the first half, but Rob Page’s side gave as good as they got in the second half. Ivan Perisic may have hit the bar with a spectacular effort, but down the other end, Daniel James should have scored when set up by Harry Wilson, then with seconds remaining on the clock, Nathan Broadhead rammed home as the hosts failed to deal with a long Connor Roberts throw. What moxie shown by Wales! They celebrate a precious point away against the third-best team at the last World Cup. A textbook demonstration of the importance in hanging on in there, and never giving up!
FULL TIME: Croatia 1-1 Wales
Pêl-droed, eh? Uffern waedlyd!
90 min +4: Bedlam as Wales cavort in front of their supporters. Then the restart. Juranovic drives his way down the right and cuts back for Perisic, who drives a shot straight at Ward. The keeper claims.
Updated
GOAL! Croatia 1-1 Wales (Broadhead 90+3)
What drama here! Roberts flings in from the right touchline. Mepham rises highest to flick on towards the far post. Broadhead nips in ahead of Juranovic, and pokes home from a tight angle!
Updated
90 min +2: Morrell is replaced by Jordan James, who makes his debut. On the other end of the scale, Modric’s 163rd international appearance ends as he makes way for Majer.
90 min +1: The first of three additional minutes. Croatia play the free kick short. The ball’s eventually pumped into the Wales box. It’s half cleared. Perisic goes for the spectacular again, but his dipping volley towards the bottom right isn’t fierce enough and easily snaffled by Ward.
Updated
90 min: Modric dribbles hard down the inside-right channel and draws a foul from Morrell. A free kick, 35 yards out. Modric doesn’t rush in getting back up to take it.
89 min: Croatia play some more keep-ball, with the clock on their side.
88 min: Croatia advance up the field and spend some time in the Welsh half. So much for that short burst of Welsh pressure.
86 min: Wales fans will understandably demur, but what a shame that Perisic effort didn’t go in. It would have been a goal from the ages. But as it is, Wales are still in this, and now they press Croatia back into their final third. Another long Roberts throw. Some more head tennis. Croatia manage to clear, but the home fans are getting a tad nervous.
84 min: … so was that a deliberate shot or a mishit cross? Let’s go with the former: there were no other Croatians around, or in the middle, so there’s a good chance Perisic decided to buy a ticket to the raffle and go for the spectacular. It would have been one hell of a goal!
82 min: Modric sends a looping diagonal pass towards Perisic, six yards from the byline to the left of goal, just outside the box. Perisic volleys first time, and sends a screaming, dipping swerver over Ward’s head and off the crossbar!
Updated
80 min: Modric dinks a clever pass down the right and nearly releases Juranovic. Rodon is alive to the danger and races across to knock out for a corner. Modric delivers a shorter one this time, and it’s claimed by Ward.
79 min: Modric hits long again, but Mepham is on point at the far post to head away from the danger zone.
78 min: Sosa probes down the left, forcing Roberts to hoick out for a corner. Modric hits it long. Gvardiol rises at the far stick and his header clanks off Ampadu and out for a corner on the right.
76 min: Kovacic and Kramaric make way for Vlasic and Pasalic.
75 min: Croatia, by contrast, have been disappointing in this second half, after a fine showing during the opening 45. As a result, they’re preparing to make some changes.
73 min: Another Roberts long throw from the right. Some head tennis in the Croatia box. The ball’s only half cleared and drops to Williams, who creams a decent first-time shot over the bar from the edge of the D. Wales have been much better in this second half.
72 min: Space for Sosa down the left. His low cross is met by Kramaric, who skies his attempt to sweep home.
70 min: Moore makes way for Bradshaw.
68 min: Modric sprays a lovely diagonal pass towards Juranovic out on the right. Juranovic drops a shoulder to jink between two white shirts, but then runs out of road in his bid to enter the box and is forced to turn back. What a ball from Modric, though.
66 min: Nothing comes of the corner.
65 min: Perisic rolls a pass infield from the left. Musa takes a touch to enter the box and scuffs a shot across the face of goal. In fact, there was a deflection, and it’ll be a corner.
64 min: Wales make a triple change. Burns, Thomas and Broadhead come on for Wilson, Ramsey and James. Slightly surprising that Wilson is going off, seeing he’s been the main Welsh creative threat tonight and caused a whole world of bother a couple of minutes ago. But there it is.
62 min: Williams crosses from the left. Roberts tries to get a head on the ball but nearly clatters into Livakovic, who was in the process of catching. The keeper threatens to kick off, over bugger all it has to be said. But Roberts shows no interest in engaging and it all calms down soon enough.
Updated
60 min: Wales should be level! Wilson barrels down the inside-right channel and nearly breaks clear into the box, only to be eased off the ball by Sutalo. Ramsey keeps things going by latching onto the loose ball and pulling back for Wilson, who crosses towards James, free just inside the box on the left! He must score, all alone and one on one with Livakovic, but pulls his close-range shot wide left. What a chance!
59 min: VAR is quite correctly not interested in the penalty shout. The ball hit Sutalo in his personal area.
58 min: Roberts flings a throw into the Croatian box from the right. Moore wins a glancing header, then appeals for a handball by Sutalo. VAR to check.
56 min: A lot of space for Sosa down the left. His low curling cross is met by Perisic, who sidefoots lamely straight at Ward. That’s Croatia’s 11th attempt at goal; Wales have made just one.
54 min: All a bit scrappy, which probably suits Wales more than Croatia right now.
53 min: Nope. He hobbles off and Musa takes his place.
52 min: Livaja is down feeling his hip. On come the physios. It doesn’t look as though he wants, or is able, to continue.
50 min: It should be 2-0. Perisic crosses from the left. Rodon heads clear. Kovacic latches onto the clearance and one-twos down the inside-left channel with Kramaric, whose cushioned touch is delightful and tees up Kovacic beautifully. However poor Kovacic suffers a rush of blood to the noggin and blazes over from six yards. That would have been a lovely goal. Wales breathe again.
Updated
49 min: Williams barges his way down the left touchline before nipping past Sutalo near the corner flag. Sutalo bowls him over from behind, but the referee waves play on. That’s a poor decision, one that denies Wales what would have effectively been a corner.
47 min: James races down the left and crosses into an empty box. Goal kick.
46 min: Perisic is immediately sent skittering down the inside-left channel. He reaches the edge of the box and prepares to curl one towards the top right, only to be hunted down by Mepham.
Wales get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time entertainment. Wilson has landed!
HALF TIME: Croatia 1-0 Wales
No more than Croatia, high on their World Cup exploits and full of confidence, deserve. They’ve been the better side by some distance. But Wales are still in this game. Big half-time team-talk coming up!
45 min: Williams gifts Kramaric with a careless square pass in from the Wales left. Kramaric advances on the Welsh box. A simple ball down the inside-left channel would tee Perisic up inside the area … but Kramaric blooters wildly over instead. A poor decision, and one that earns him the severe displeasure of his team-mate.
43 min: Wilson takes, and aims a curler over the wall and towards the top-left corner. It might have been heading in, you know, but we’ll never know for sure as the ball flicks off Perisic’s lid. Wales are incensed, correctly so, when the referee awards Croatia a goal kick. For all Croatia’s dominance, Wales came very close to levelling there.
Updated
42 min: Wilson prepares to shield a left-wing cross on the edge of the Croatia D. Gvardiol comes clumsily barrelling in and skittles him from behind. A free kick in a very dangerous position. One for Gareth Ba… ah.
41 min: Juranovic curls yet another cross in from the right. Roberts takes a fresh-air swipe in an attempt to clear, and is fortunate that the nearby Perisic had assumed the task would be completed. Had Perisic gambled on Roberts missing the ball, he’d have been shooting from six yards with only Ward to beat.
40 min: Croatia knock it back and forth across their defensive line, taking a wee breather.
38 min: Kovacic, who suddenly looks very lively, dribbles down the middle and tees up Sosa to his left. Sosa tries to curl towards the top-right corner, but can’t get any power behind the shot. An easy claim for Ward.
37 min: Williams tries to release James down the left but is block-tackled with no little force by … Modric. Is there anything this man can’t do?
Updated
35 min: A long pass down the middle is headed down by Perisic on the edge of the Wales box. Modric attempts a spectacular diagonal looper towards the top-left corner, but gets it all wrong. Goal kick.
34 min: Moore goes down having taken a Kovacic pass in the breadbasket. Play stops as he gathers himself. Then play restarts.
32 min: Juranovic is booked for shoulder barging into James, then flapping an arm in the general direction of his face. Wilson swings the resulting free kick in from the left flank. Livakovic plucks it from the sky without fuss.
31 min: Perisic tears down the left and loops in a cross. Livaja competes for a header, six yards out, but loses out to Rodon. Then the whistle goes, the striker having shoved the defender in the back.
30 min: That was Croatia’s third attempt on target. It feels like they’ve taken more.
GOAL! Croatia 1-0 Wales (Kramaric 28)
It’s fair to say this had been coming. A ball bounces down the middle. Kramaric snaffles the ball away from a confused Williams, 25 yards from goal. He shifts into a pocket of space just outside the Welsh box, and steers a shot into the bottom right. Ward had no chance.
Updated
26 min: Modric wedges in again. Some head tennis. Perisic shoots again, and this time finds the net. But it won’t count, because Gvardiol was in an offside position during the build-up and was interfering with play. There might also have been an infringement on the edge of the box. Take your pick: either way, the goal is disallowed.
25 min: Ampadu is booked this time, for a cynical tug on Modric’s shoulder. Another free kick out on the left. Another row of players on the edge of the Wales box.
24 min: Sosa is skittled by Roberts out on the Croatian left. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Wales D. The free kick’s wedged into the mixer by Modric, and the ball drops to Perisic, 12 yards out, just to the left of centre. Perisic aims for the top right and sends a vicious rising shot inches wide and high. But it wouldn’t have counted anyway, as the flag pops up for offside.
22 min: Wales do a good job of slowing things down a bit. Ampadu and Williams take their sweet time over a free kick in the middle of the park, much to the irritation of the home crowd and, eventually, the referee. For a second it looks as though he’s going to book Ampadu, but he settles for a volley of useful advice instead.
20 min: Perisic looks to have run the ball out for a goal kick down the left, but somehow reaches it and stands up a cross. Juranovic shapes to volley but ends up swishing fresh air as Rodon heads clear just in the nick of time.
18 min: Croatia continue to ping the ball about with the confidence of a team who have just finished third at a World Cup.
16 min: Brozovic shanks a wild shot out for a goal kick. It’s beginning to feel like the opening goal is coming sooner rather than later.
15 min: Krameric is teed up 25 yards out by Perisic’s knockdown and Kovacic’s flick. He creams a shot towards the bottom right. Ward does just enough to keep the ball out, and the resulting corner is a waste of time. Croatia clearly fancy testing the Wales keeper at every opportunity.
Updated
14 min: Roberts busies himself down the right and wins a corner off Perisic. Nothing comes of it, but that’ll give Wales some much-needed succour.
13 min: James gifts the ball to Modric, of all the people to do that to, in the centre circle. Modric sends Juranovic belting down the right. Another dangerous cross evades Livaja in the middle, and also Perisic, coming in from the other flank. Wales need to get a handle on Juranovic quicksmart.
11 min: Juranovic curls in dangerously from the right. Ward hesitates, and is somewhat fortunate that Livaja, coming in at the far post, doesn’t do so with any great conviction. Croatia come again through Juranovic down the same flank. His cross deflects off Morrell and back into the arms of Ward.
10 min: Ampadu drives purposefully down the inside-left channel and lays off to James on the wing, but Wales are soon swarmed and forced to turn tail. That’s better from Wales, who may end up deciding that attack is the better form of defence.
8 min: Wales have been a little bit sloppy at the back during these early stages. On another day, they could easily have been punished once or twice. It’s been a lively start from the hosts.
6 min: Ward gives Roberts something of a hospital pass out to the right touchline, and Perisic nips in to steal the ball and cross. Livaja heads goalwards. A deflection, and another corner. Again Modric’s delivery isn’t up to his usual standard.
5 min: Modric is stripped of possession in the centre circle by Ampadu, and Ramsey prepares to launch a counter with Croatia short at the back. But the referee spots Ampadu’s clip on Modric’s knee, and the whistle goes.
4 min: The corner comes to nothing.
3 min: Wales afford Modric far too much time and space, 25 yards out. Croatia’s captain pearls a shot towards the bottom left, and Ward does very well to parry out for a corner. That was heading in.
2 min: A fairly quiet start … if you factor out the noise pouring down from the stands at the Stadion Poljud in Split. A fine atmosphere!
Aaron Ramsey’s first act as Wales captain is to call the coin toss. He wins it, and after some pondering, requests the teams swap ends. Then a period of reflection in memory of Croatian legends Miroslav Blažević, who took Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup, and former Hajduk Split boss Petar Nadoveza, who both recently passed. Then the hosts get the ball rolling.
The teams are out! Croatia wear their second-choice navy and light blue checkerboard, forced out of their famous red and white chequy because Wales only have red and white shirts to choose from. Wales are in all white this evening. Before the game, the anthems … plus a presentation of memorabilia to erstwhile players Ivan Strinić and Dejan Lovren for their service to the Croatian national team. Kick off very soon!
Updated
Sianel Pedwar Cymru also have a quick word with Luka Modric. “There is always huge expectation, especially from our fans … but even more because of recent results at the World Cup in Russia and the last World Cup in Qatar … it is important for us to start well because Wales and our next opponents Turkey are the biggest rivals in the group … it will be crucial for us to get three points … it is not going to be easy … Wales may be struggling with form but they are always a dangerous team … they have young players coming up with new energy … Gareth Bale was important but now players will have to give more, without Gareth there to resolve everything … every player should give more.”
Rob Page speaks to S4C: “It’s the start of something new for us, a new campaign … I’ve picked the strongest team I can … we have to have one eye on Tuesday, of course we do … it’s about the performance for me tonight, a consistent level across the board … it starts tonight … the disappointing thing over recent months is that we’ve been a little bit inconsistent … I want to get back to what we did against Holland and Belgium, the top teams … others are not here through injury or retirement, but it gives others an opportunity to step up … Croatia are the third best team in the world … the atmosphere will be incredible, that why we’re in the game, we want to experience moments like this … we want to give it our very best … of course it’s a challenge … we have to be prepared to suffer without the ball, but when we have it, we have a plan … as long as the players stick to the plan and trust it, we could have some joy as well … Croatia will be expecting to win so the pressure is off … but we want to win every game we go into.”
Elsewhere in Group D today, Turkey came from a goal behind to beat Armenia 2-1 in the Armenian capital Yerevan. The hosts took a tenth-minute lead through an Ozan Kabak own goal, but Orkun Kökcü levelled on 34 minutes before Kerem Aktürkoglu completed the turnaround midway through the second half. You can find the match stats here.
Croatia make three changes to the XI that started the 2-1 win over Morocco in the World Cup third-place play-off. Marcelo Brozović, Borna Sosa and Josip Juranović come in for Lovro Majer, Josip Stanišić and Mislav Oršić, who all drop to the bench.
Wales make three changes to the starting XI beaten 3-0 by England in Qatar. Gareth Bale and Joe Allen have retired from international football, while Ben Davies is hamstrung. In their stead come Harry Wilson, Connor Roberts and Joe Morrell. Aaron Ramsey takes over from Bale as his country’s captain.
The teams
Croatia: Livaković, Juranović, Šutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa, Brozović, Modrić, Kovačić, Kramarić, Perišić, Livaja.
Subs: Grbić, Labrović, Stanišić, Barišić, Erlić, Majer, Vlašić, Pašalić, Ivanušec, Musa, Oršić, Vida.
Wales: Ward, C Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, N Williams, Ampadu, Wilson, Ramsey, Morrell, James, Moore.
Subs: King, A Davies, Fox, Cabango, Cooper, Bradshaw, Harris, JA James, Lockyer, Burns, Thomas, Broadhead
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal).
Here is #Croatia starting lineup! 🥁 #CROWAL 🇭🇷🏴#EURO2024 #Family #Vatreni❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/uP9mr40Lix
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) March 25, 2023
CYMRU XI 🇭🇷🏴
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) March 25, 2023
A new chapter begins.#CROWAL | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/mvtsov0fbs
Updated
Preamble
The post Gareth Bale (and Jonny Williams, Chris Gunter and Joe Allen) era begins here. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT. Mae ymlaen!
