Wales start for Rotherham United's Will Vaulks in Euro 2020 qualifier in Croatia

Vaulks played 65 minutes of the 2-1 defeat in Osijek in place of AFC Bournemouth and former Sheffield United man David Brooks.

Substitute Brooks replaced the Millers midfielder and gave the Welsh hope with a 77th-minute reply after an early own goal from James Lawrence and a 48th-minute strike from Ivan Perisic had put the hosts in control in sweltering conditions.

It was still a great experience for Vaulks, taking his place in a line-up containing Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. Croatia, last year’s World Cup finalists, were captained by Bale’s Madrid teammate Luca Modric, the 2018 FIFA Footballer of the Year.

The result leaves Vaulks and his teammates with three points from their opening two qualifiers ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Hungary.