Wales 1-1 Switzerland
Kieffer Moore’s second-half header secured a hard-fought point for Wales in their Euro 2020 opener as they drew 1-1 with Switzerland in Baku.
The Cardiff City forward had already had the best chance of the first half – forcing an acrobatic save from Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer – but Wales rode the wave of Switzerland pressure to go in level at the break.
Shortly after the restart, the Swiss took advantage of their numerous set-pieces as Breel Embolo nodded home from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner.
But Wales began to fashion chances and they scored in somewhat similar fashion as Joe Morrell sent in a cross after a short corner and an inexplicably unmarked Moore glanced a header past Sommer.
There was late drama in Azerbaijan too as VAR ruled out Mario Gavranovic’s late strike for offside, mere seconds after the forward had come on as a substitute.
Switzerland pushed for a winner in the final minutes, but Wales held out for what could be an important point in Group A, which is topped by Italy after their 3-0 victory against Turkey on Friday evening.
Player ratings
Wales: Ward (7), C Roberts (6), Mepham (6), Rodon (7), B Davies (7), Allen (6), Morrell (7), Ramsey (6), Bale (6), Moore (7), James (6).
Subs used: Brooks (6), Ampadu (n/a).
Switzerland: Sommer (7), Elvedi (6), Schar (6), Akanji (6), Mbabu (7), Xhaka (7), Freuler (7), Rodriguez (7), Shaqiri (6), Embolo (8), Seferovic (7).
Subs used: Zakaria (6), Gavranovic (7).
Man of the match: Breel Embolo.
