It was a memorable evening for Harry Wilson and Wales as the home team claimed a stunning win in front of their fans in their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying clash with Croatia at Cardiff City Stadium. The Dragons have endured a rough qualifying campaign in Group D so far but eased some pressure on boss Rob Page with one of their best performances in recent years. Harry Wilson, the hero of the day, continued his brilliant performance last month against Austria, as he scored a decisive double against Croatia in their 2-1 win to move them ahead of their opposition in the standings.
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Wales 🏴 move up to 2️⃣nd with a BIG win over Croatia 🐉 pic.twitter.com/su8NmTE2BS
— 433 (@433) October 15, 2023
Harry Wilson Keeps Wales Automatic Qualification Hopes Alive on his 50th Cap
Cheered on by a passionate crowd at Cardiff City Stadium, Wales comprehensively dominated the World Cup semi-finalists as their direct approach caught the visitors out time and time again. If not for the two superb saves from Dominik Livakovic against Harry Wilson, the visitor would be trailing at half-time.
However, he was hopeless just 2 minutes after the restart as Harry Wilson scored a beautifully lofted goal after a delicate through ball from David Brooks. It was a beautiful moment for the Fulham winner as he made his 50th appearance for the country – precisely ten years to the day after his debut on October 15th, 2013, against Belgium, when he was 16 and 207 days old.
The day got better for Harry Wilson as he got a second on the hour mark with a brilliant, flicked header, which sparked pandemonium in the stands. However, the joy quickly extinguished, and anxiety quickly lidded when Mario Pasalic headed in a goal for Croatia with 15 minutes remaining, sparking a wave of pressure from the previously indifferent away team. Fortunately for Wales, the Dragons dug deep and held on as they secured another famous victory in their prestigious history.
On this day exactly 🔟 years ago, a boy from Corwen made his Cymru debut.
Tonight, on his 50th cap, he kept our dreams alive ❤️#TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/TDeQTdHQn3
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) October 15, 2023
Harry Wilson’s Official Post-Match Statement: “We Are 100% Behind the Manager”.
For unknowing fans, this match against Croatia was a must-win game for Wales in terms of their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 and alleviating some pressure from Manager Rob Page. Before the match, there was much criticism within the Welsh FA due to their prior results, which the media saw as both surprising and unwelcome. Not only does it not help the players, but it appears to have only served to create a siege mentality among players, coaching members and staff.
To put into perspective, Noel Mooney, the chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, had said earlier in the week that a serious review would take place on Page’s position following the final group games against Armenia and Turkey next month.
Fortunately, the Dragons took the unnecessary backlash as motivation and showcased a performance reminiscent of pre-Bale retirement. After the match, Harry Wilson stated: “It was a big night for me. To represent my country 50 times is something I could not have dreamt of. However, tonight was not about me. It was about the team. We are always confident in the quality we have in the group. We are 100% behind the manager. We know there has been a lot of noise from the outside and some comments that were not helpful for us in our preparation from people we did not really expect the comments to come from, to be honest.”
When reporters questioned Page regarding the unnecessary moves, Page responded: “I am sick and tired of having to keep coming on and talk about my future. Let us just talk about the lads and the performances they have put in. I say it is the best performance (Of his three-year reign), and I am immensely proud. There was unnecessary noise coming into it, with me fighting fires. I did not need any player to speak as I saw the players wanted to play for me. I only want to concentrate on the football as we are two games away from qualifying for another major tournament, a fourth in five, and we believe we can do it.”
What Platform Should You Follow for More Football-Related News?
Besides our own platform, OtherLeague.com, we recommend you follow AsiaSport for live football updates on your favourite teams. Furthermore, the platform provides in-match statistics, live probabilities and post-match highlights when you miss the action live. For example, here is a small clip from the platform regarding Harry Wilson’s first goal.
