Croatia booked their spot in the Nations League final with a 4-2 extra-time victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Croatia were very poor in the first half and deservedly fell behind to Donyell Malen’s sweet strike, but an inspired resurgence after the break saw goals from Andrej Kramaric and Mario Pasalic fire the away side ahead.
But Noa Lang’s last-minute strike sent the game to extra-time, where Bruno Petkovic thundered home from range and Luka Modric netted from the penalty spot to finally confirm Croatia’s spot in the Nations League final.
It was a cagey start to the game, with both sides exchanging spells of marginal dominance as they began to feel each other out.
Croatia did have the ball in the back of the net 24 minutes in but play had already been stopped after Pasalic’s overhead kick made more contact with Nathan Ake’s head than with the ball.
There was no denying Malen ten minutes later, however, as the Borussia Dortmund winger drilled home from inside the box to put the hosts ahead.
It was a deserved lead for the Dutch, who accepted a minor disadvantage in the first-half possession battle but were comfortably the more dangerous of the two teams before the interval.
There was a bit more energy from Croatia to start the second half and they were awarded the chance to get back into the game when Modric was dragged down in the box by Cody Gakpo early on.
Up stepped Kramaric, who caressed his effort into the back of the net to tie things up.
To sum up just how cagey this game was, the first save from either goalkeeper did not come until the 68th minute – Gakpo’s low, tame drive causing no problems for Dominik Livakovic.
Justin Bijlow’s wait for a save went on as he had to pick the ball out the back of his net four minutes later. Pasalic stroked home from the six-yard box to put Croatia ahead and complete a well-earned comeback.
Gakpo missed an excellent chance to tie things late on, drilling a half-volley well wide of the target under little pressure but the Dutch refused to lie down and snatched a 96th-minute equaliser as substitute Lang steered home an excellent finish to send the game to extra-time.
Petkovic’s glorious effort from range eight minutes after the restart powered Croatia back ahead in dazzling fashion, before Lang wasted an excellent chance to bag another equaliser as he fired into the side netting in the second half of extra-time.
Pasalic thundered against the bar with five minutes to go but Croatia were allowed to seal the win from the penalty spot soon after when Tyrell Malacia scythed down Petkovic, and Modric made no mistake to finally put this game to bed – but only after Petkovic saw one last goal ruled out for handball.
GK: Justin Bijlow – 5/10 – Didn’t do much wrong but conceded more goals than he made saves.
RB: Denzel Dumfries – 5/10 – Unspectacular at either end of the field and let his side down with some sloppy defending for the second goal.
CB: Lutsharel Geertruida – 5/10 – Stepped up into midfield a lot in an impressive first half but left a little to be desired with his defending under pressure.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 5/10 – Lost Pasalic for the second goal. Ended the game in attack and was unsurprisingly ineffective.
LB: Nathan Ake – 7/10 – Definitely didn’t look like a player who just spent three days partying. Really solid defensively.
DM: Teun Koopmeiners – 5/10 – Began to look really uncomfortable when Croatia grew into the game.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 5/10 – A little clumsy defensively and caught out for the third goal. Lost all composure in extra-time and nearly netted an own goal.
CM: Mats Wieffer – 7/10 – Made a real impact on just his second appearance for the national team. Good awareness to set up the opener.
RW: Donyell Malen – 7/10 – Took his goal well and deserved the reward for a solid showing.
ST: Cody Gakpo – 5/10 – Not really in the game as much as he would have liked but still tried to keep things linked up around him. Sloppy to concede the penalty.
LW: Xavi Simons – 5/10 – Drifted in and out of the game and only offered a few nice glimpses into his potential.
Substitutes
Wout Weghorst (64′ for Simons) – 5/10
Georginio Wijnaldum (74′ for Wieffer) – 5/10
Steven Bergwijn (74′ for Malen) – 5/10
Noa Lang (85′ for Dumfries) – 7/10
Tyrell Malacia (105′ for Ake) – 4/10
Marten de Roon (105′ for Gakpo) – 5/10
Subs not used: Flekken, Noppert, Botman, Timber, Blind, Veerman
Manager
Ronald Koeman – 5/10 – Got things right in the first half but had no answers at all to Croatia’s growing dominance.
GK: Dominik Livakovic – 7/10 – A nice all-round performance from the World Cup favourite. Unfortunate to lose his clean sheet.
RB: Josip Juranovic – 7/10 – Great athleticism to get up and down the pitch. Did well to keep Simons quiet.
CB: Josip Sutalo – 6/10 – Made a wild, but excellent block to deny Koopmeiners in the first half.
CB: Domagoj Vida – 5/10 – Slow and uncomfortable against the speedy Dutch forwards.
LB: Ivan Perisic – 6/10 – Largely uncomfortable as a traditional full-back but made some big blocks late on as Croatia were defending their lead.
DM: Marcelo Brozovic – 7/10 – Stepped up his level after the break to help Croatia get back on top.
CM: Luka Modric – 9/10 – Still defying all logic with his willingness and ability to press high. Flashed his experience to win the penalty and bagged the assist for Petkovic’s strike, before stepping up to convert a penalty of his own.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 7/10 – Felt a bit lost in a deeper role in the first half but assumed more control of the game after the break.
RW: Mario Pasalic – 6/10 – Very little impact aside from his well-taken goal.
ST: Andrej Kramaric – 7/10 – Put in an absolute shift and did well despite the lack of support around him. Deserved his goal.
LW: Luka Ivanusec – 6/10 – Clearly not a natural winger but still managed to make a telling impact with his assist for the second goal.
Substitutes
Nikola Vlasic (79′ for Ivanusec) – 6/10
Josip Stanisic (79′ for Juranovic) – 6/10
Lovro Majer (85′ for Kovacic) – 5/10
Martin Erlic (90′ for Kramaric) – 5/10
Bruno Petkovic (91′ for Sutalo) – 8/10
Borna Barisic (119′ for Modric) – N/A
Subs not used: Labrovic, Ivusic, Erlic, Sosa, Musa, Beljo
Manager
Zlatko Dalic – 7/10 – Set his side up wrong but, without even making any changes, managed to inspire his side back to victory. Whatever he said at half-time definitely worked.
Player of the match – Luka Modric (Croatia)
