Wales began their Euro 2020 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their Group A opener at the Olympic Stadium in Baku.

The Swiss took the lead through Breel Embolo in the 49th minute only to see Kieffer Moore equalize with a header in the 74th minute to earn a point for the Dragons, who were largely outplayed for much of the match. 

  • Story of the game

The Swiss were on the attack eight minutes into the match as Kevin Mbabu sent a deflected header wide while Granit Xhaka fired into teammate Haris Seferovic.

Moore was first to test Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer on 15 minutes, forcing a fine save after getting on the end of a Daniel James cross. That was the only quality chance the 2016 semifinalists had as Switzerland soon were on the attack.

Welsh keeper Danny Ward was alert to keep out Fabian Schar's deft flick while Xhaka and Seferovic went just wide. It was the latter who had the best chance for Nati just before halftime as he took a brilliant layoff from Breel Embolo and sent it over the bar.

Embolo would soon put the Swiss four minutes after the restart ahead as after he forced Ward into another fine save, the resulting corner, delivered by Xherdan Shaqiri, found the head of the Borussia Monchengladbach forward, who headed past Ward to make it 1-0.

Embed from Getty Images

Mbabu then fired wide from the edge of the area while Embolo bent one also just wide on the hour mark. Wales had a chance from a corner from James that Ben Davies was nowhere close with, but 16 minutes from time they were level.

A short corner gave Joe Morrell the opportunity to send in an inviting cross that was met by the head of Moore, who peeled away from his defender and headed past Sommer to bring the Dragons on equal terms.

Embed from Getty Images

Embolo was denied a late winner by Ward and VAR correctly ruled out what could have been a match-winner by Mario Gavranovic as the Swiss will feel they let two points slip away after being by far the better side.

  • Takeaways from the match

Swiss wasted mostly dominant performance

Despite having the majority of the chances with Embolo proving to be a danger man throughout, Switzerland were forced to settle for a point after a late defensive lapse on a set piece allowed Wales to equalize.

Mbabu and Seferovic were active and Xhaka was also involved in some of the Swiss chances, but in a group with Italy, today would have been three very valuable points that could be the difference between progression or going home after the group stages.

  • Man of the Match: Kieffer Moore

The Cardiff City striker was on hand to rescue his team after they had produced a mostly lackluster performance. Having been the talk of the pre-match buildup for the decision by manager Robert Page to lead the line, Moore justified the decision with a goal that could prove to be vital as the competition moves along.