Wales will be without Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter, and Jonny Williams as they begin their Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia. These players have retired since the World Cup, leaving Robert Page to test out new faces in his team. The Dragons will face Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia, who still have Luka Modric in their squad after he decided not to retire following the tournament in Qatar. The match will take place on March 25 at the Stadion Poljud in Split and will be broadcast live on Viaplay Sports.
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey is excited to see how the new-look Dragons perform on their journey to Euro 2024. He believes that although they are a young squad, there are a lot of young players with high numbers of caps already. Ramsey also commented on the players who have retired from the Welsh team, saying that they have contributed greatly to their success and that there are now opportunities for other players.
Croatia’s squad includes Dominik Livakovic, Ivica Ivusic, Nediljko Labrovic as goalkeepers, and Domagoj Vida, Borna Barisic, Josip Juranovic, Josko Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Josip Stanisic, Martin Erlic, and Josip Sutalo as defenders. Their midfielders are Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic Mario Pasalic, Nikola Vlasic, Lovro Majer, Luka Ivanusec, and Luka Sucic. Their forwards are Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Marko Livaja, Bruno Petkovic, Mislav Orsic, and Petar Musa.
Wales’ squad includes Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Sheffield United), Tom King (Northampton Town) as goalkeepers, and Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Oliver Cooper (Swansea City), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town), Joe Rodon (Rennes), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Ethan Ampadu (Spezia- On loan from Chelsea), Connor Roberts (Burnley), and Morgan Fox (Stoke) as defenders. Their midfielders are Sorba Thomas (Blackburn Rovers), Jordan James (Birmingham City), Nathan Broadhead (Ipswich Town), Wesley Burns (Ipswich Town), Aaron Ramsey (OGC Nice), Joe Morrell (Portsmouth), Harry Wilson (Fulham), and Daniel James (Fulham). Their forwards are Kieffer Moore (AFC Bournemouth), Luke Harris (Fulham), Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest), Tom Bradshaw (Millwall), Liam Cullen (Swansea City), and Mark Harris (Cardiff City).
Overall, Wales will be looking to see how their new faces perform in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia without their retired players. Meanwhile, Croatia will be led by Luka Modric as they aim to secure a place in the European Championship.