Croatia Week
Home » Sport » 10-man Croatia go down to Scotland

10-man Croatia go down to Scotland

10-man Croatia has lost 1-0 to Scotland on a wet night at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Zlatko Dalić made five changes to the starting lineup that played against Poland last month and decided to start with a back four for the first time since the Euros in the summer.

Mateo Kovačić also returned to the midfield after missing the last two matches. Martin Baturina, Petar, and Luka Sučić supported striker Andrej Kramarić

Croatia dominated most of the first half and had some half chances to go ahead. Luka Sučić went close first, before Kramarić had a couple of chances.

Scotland could only muster one shot on target in the half, coming from Scott McTominay.

The match turned just before the break when Petar Sučić was sent off after being shown a second yellow card, leaving Croatia to play the second half with just 10 men.

As expected, Scotland would enjoy more of the ball in the second half, but they could not create any clear cut chances.

Despite having ten men, Croatia also had patches in the half where they would control possession and threaten Scotland’s goal.

Their best chance would fall to substitute Mario Pašalić, but he could only flick the ball wide of goal after being left one-on-one with the Scotland keeper. 

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn would finally break the deadlock, drilling home from inside the box following a clearance to make it 1-0. Croatia could not find a way back and Scotland have not kept their chances of finishing second alive.

Portugal are top of the group with 13 points. Croatia is in second place with 7 points, whilst Poland and Scotland have 4 points. 

Croatia now face Portugal on Monday in Split in their final group match, whilst Scotland will face Poland. A win or a draw will be enough for Croatia. 

If Poland beat Scotland then Croatia will qualify for the quarterfinals regardless of their result against Portugal as they have the higher number of points in their two matches.

If Scotland win, and Croatia lose, then it will come down to the better goal difference between the two. Currently, Croatia is on 0 and Scotland -2. A draw or win will see Croatia secure their spot in the quarterfinals.

 

Sign up to receive the Croatia Week Newsletter

Related Posts