Ward red-faced but James rescues a point

Wales battled back from conceding a bizarre Danny Ward own goal to keep their World Cup qualifying hopes alive with a 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic in Prague.

The returning Aaron Ramsey gave Wales a 36th-minute lead, although that was quickly wiped out by Jakub Pesek after Ward had failed to gather Filip Novak's shot.

Ward – inset, who had an impressive loan spell at Aberdeen between 2015 and 2016 – was left even more red-faced four minutes after the restart after miscontrolling Ramsey's backpass and getting the final touch on the Czechs' second goal.

However, Daniel James secured the point Wales more than deserved in a thrilling contest.

The draw leaves Wales and the Czech Republic locked on eight points behind runway group leaders Belgium - and the Dragons still have a game in hand on their rivals.

Wales were without talismanic captain Gareth Bale, who had suffered a serious hamstring injury since the last international camp.

Bale, Wales' all-time record goalscorer, was the only player to register in the Dragons' previous five games with a match-winning hattrick against Belarus. But the visitors were bolstered by the return of Kieffer Moore and Ramsey, with the Juventus midfielder taking the armband in Bale's absence.

Cardiff forward Moore was the only player in the Wales starting line-up to score this season - and that was nearly two months ago on August 14.

Wales had beaten the Czechs at home in March to strike a blow in the battle for second place, and knew defeat in Prague would probably leave them relying on their 2020 Nations League results for a place in March's World Cup play-offs, so James’ leveller was vital.