Wales’ Nations League campaign is up and running after Kayleigh Barton’s second-half penalty secured an impressive 1-1 draw against Sweden in Wrexham.
Real Madrid striker Filippa Angeldahl gave Sweden a deserved half-time lead, but Wales, 25 places below their opponents in the FIFA rankings, hit back through Charlton forward Barton to take a hard-earned point.
Wales, who lost their opening Group A4 encounter 1-0 to Italy in Monza on Friday, soaked up plenty of pressure at the Stok Racecourse and a disciplined defensive display left the Euro 2022 semi-finalists frustrated.
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Wales fell behind in the 14th minute when Angeldahl converted a rebound after Leicester goalkeeper Olivia Clark had parried Matilda Vinberg’s cross.
Sweden, who won their opening Nations League match 2-1 in Denmark, dominated first-half possession but were restricted to two shots on target, while Wales pair Ceri Holland and Carrie Jones both saw shots blocked before the interval.
Sweden continued to dominate in the second half and Stina Blackstenius was foiled in the box by Gemma Evans’ last-ditch block before Holland fired Wales’ first real chance over the crossbar just before the hour mark.
Wales were given a let-off when Julia Zigotti Olme’s effort brushed the crossbar and with the home side sitting deeper, Sweden chased a killer second goal.
Blackstenius struck a post when one-on-one with Clark and Sweden were made to pay when defender Emma Kullberg handled in the box, with Barton slamming the resulting 76th-minute penalty into the roof of the net.
Wales almost snatched a winner when Holland’s effort was superbly saved by Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk.
Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson told Match of the Day: "A fantastic performance, a team performance.
"We talked about it hurting, they had big periods of time where we were really under pressure, but we stayed in the game, making our moments count.
"I was really happy with a lot of what I saw tonight.
"If we don't trust our players, what are we learning? We have a very deep team and we have to trust them in these moments
"It's about trusting ourselves against ourselves.
"I'm just sorry for the players that didn't get on the field because everyone has trained really well this camp."
