Czechia v Wales: Late Elise Hughes goal earns point

Wales rescued a dramatic late draw in Miroslava Valenty, with Elise Hughes striking in the third of four added minutes of stoppage time.

The visitors began brightly for the opening five minutes before the Czechs had an early penalty appeal waved away. However, Wales appeared nervous for much of the first half.

Set-pieces proved costly once again. Eva Bartoňová and Jana Žufánková both scored from corners as Wales struggled to deal with deliveries into the box — a recurring issue throughout their 2025 campaign, including the friendlies and their debut tournament at Euro 2025.

Hannah Cain capped a superb team move to bring Wales level before the break. Despite that response, they trailed for much of the second half until Hughes netted her fifth international goal late on, earning Wales a valuable point at the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

Rhian Wilkinson’s reaction

After the match, Rhian Wilkinson admitted: “I don’t think, overall, it was our best performance, but we knew this would be a huge battle against a really top team at home, so we had to show up and deliver.

“There were moments in that game where I didn’t think we were good enough. But what I am proud of is that we stayed in it until the very end, and that goal was important for us to get the draw.”

It was Wales’ first competitive fixture since the international retirement of long-serving midfielder Jess Fishlock, with Wilkinson selecting an experienced starting XI.

The Canadian also praised the impact of her substitutes.

“We’ve got to make sure we keep testing our squad depth and giving players a chance to shine like Elise did today,” she said.

“I thought Mared came on and made a difference, Carrie Jones came in as well, so a lot of those performances were important for us tonight.”

Wales, who are aiming to qualify for their first Women’s World Cup, continue their campaign against Montenegro in Llanelli on Saturday.