Gareth Bale and Wales hosted Luka Modric and Croatia in a group E clash which saw both sides share the points in Cardiff.
Nikola Vlasic provided the go-ahead goal for Croatia, just ten minutes into the the match. The young CSKA midfielder is one of the emerging talents for Croatia and he did well to win possession in midfield, offload the ball, and then make a late arriving run on the edge of the area, and drove his shot off the post and into the net.
It would be Gareth Bale who would bring Wales back into the game with a crucial goal just before half. Ben Davies worked his way through the Croatian lines and fed Bale with a threaded ball eight yards from goal that Bale clinically finished into the bottom corner with his left foot.
Wales had been sitting deep looking to absorb pressure for much of the match, only retaining 15% possession, but with Bale and Daniel James providing pace on the counter, Wales were a constant threat.
The dying minutes of that match were spoiled for any Madridista watching, both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale went down with injuries. It’s unclear on the severity of each injury, but both may be doubts heading into the crucial match-ups against Galatasroy and Barcelona at the tail end of October. The club will be looking to get both players back in Madrid as soon as possible to treat their injuries.
With the points being shared, Modric’s Croatia still sit in first place with 14 points in group E. Hungary are two points behind in second and Slovakia are in third with 10 points. Wales are in fourth position with 8 points.
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