Nathan Broadhead’s last-gasp strike rescues draw for Wales in Croatia

So, Wales finally know what life after Gareth Bale looks like and it’s not so bad, after all. Just as the supporters in a lively away end were ready to swallow a slender defeat against World Cup semi-finalists, the substitute and Wales debutant Nathan Broadhead poked in a stoppage-time equaliser to stun Croatia in Split. Cue delirium as the away bench emptied into the technical area. A few hours before kick-off the Wales squad went for a pre-match stroll on a glistening stretch of the Dalmatian coast and by the end of the night they had clinched an unlikely draw to claim a point from their Group D Euro 2024 qualifying opener. Croatia should have been out of sight but Broadhead’s late equaliser cancelled out Andrej Kramaric’s first-half strike.

This match, Wales’s first since exiting the World Cup at the end of November, always had the makings of a tricky opening assignment against a team who finished third in Qatar. Since departing Doha, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny Williams have stepped back from international duty, Bale has been busy wowing seasoned golfers at Pebble Beach after retiring from football altogether and manager Rob Page has added Eric Ramsay, first-team coach at Manchester United, to his staff as part of a reshuffle. That is not to say Wales’s starting lineup in Split was unfamiliar – every player in the XI got minutes in Qatar – but there was room for six uncapped players on the bench.

Wales supporters from Llanfair to Llantrisant made their presence felt on the picturesque promenade, plastering the Ministry of Finance with flags but, as expected, this new iteration of Wales found the going tough. From the moment Danny Ward pushed Luka Modric’s 25-yard shot clear for a corner inside three minutes they were on the back foot. Josip Juranovic had fun picking holes down the right flank and Modric, Croatia’s evergreen 37-year-old captain, masterfully dictated things in midfield. Ward, who recently lost his place for Leicester, made a smart save to deny Kramaric at the end of a sumptuous move on 15 minutes but was exposed and powerless to prevent the lively Croatia forward from potting the ball into the corner of his net approaching the half-hour, two minutes after Ivan Perisic had a goal disallowed owing to an earlier foul. Things opened up invitingly for Kramaric after brushing off Neco Williams and he drove forward before applying the finish. Joe Rodon’s protests at referee João Pinheiro were in vain.

Juranovic, the former Hajduk Split defender back at his old stomping ground, was busy from the off but early on he was left questioning why teammate Marko Livaja did not connect with his fine cross from the byline. Modric was majestic and at one point in the first half he toyed with Kieffer Moore, cheekily teasing the ball from the isolated Wales forward on halfway with the kind of trick that had Croatia fans purring at a sold-out stadium. It was only a matter of time before Croatia struck and while Perisic was apoplectic at his goal being ruled out, Kramaric soon eased the pain. Modric, a master at protecting possession, volleyed wide before the break as Croatia went in search of a second goal and, in truth, it was a minor miracle Wales managed to eke to half-time trailing by just the single goal.

A jubilant Andrej Kramaric celebrates after putting Croatia ahead against Wales. Photograph: Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images

Those Wales supporters who travelled to Croatia arrived with little expectation but hoped to see some green shoots before hosting Latvia in Cardiff on Tuesday. Despite Croatia’s dominance, they stayed in the game. Mateo Kovacic missed a golden chance after the break and Perisic failed to get enough conviction on his volley from the left-back Bomo Sosa’s cross but Wales squandered a brilliant opportunity to equalise against the run of play on the hour. Harry Wilson picked out an unmarked Dan James in the box but James, who had started the attack with a searing run upfield, pulled his shot wide when one on one with Dominik Livakovic. Soon after Page made a triple substitution, withdrawing captain Aaron Ramsey and handing the Ipswich forward Broadhead his debut. Ten minutes later the Millwall striker Tom Bradshaw replaced Moore, five years on from his last call-up.

Wales’s moments in this game were few and far between; there was a free-kick on the edge of the D – prime Bale territory – which Wilson lifted on to the roof of the net with his left foot towards the end of the first half and Connor Roberts’s long throws later caused brief panic in a Croatia defence marshalled impressively by the much vaunted Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol. Williams, who lined up at left-back, prompted a few gasps in the away end after volleying wide late on as Wales continued to plug away.

Croatia had been determined to enjoy the occasion, their supporters keen to make their pride known after living up to their status as serial overachievers by claiming the equivalent of a podium finish at the World Cup, but this was not exactly how they planned on celebrating.