Sweden 2-1 Croatia: “We were not aggressive and they outran us”
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
SOLNA, 14 November 2020 – Sweden has beaten a disappointing Croatia 2-1 at the Friends Arena in Solna, Stockholm tonight to keep their hopes of staying amongst the elite of the Nations League alive.
A win or draw tonight would have secured Croatia’s place in League A for next season but now they will need a better result than Sweden in the last round next week to stay up.
It has been over a year since Croatia has managed to keep a clean sheet and their defensive frailties were once again exposed by Sweden.
Juventus player Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring after collecting a pass inside the box and shrugging off Mateo Kovačić before coolly slotting his left-footed shot through the legs of a Croatian defender and past player Dominik Livaković.
The hosts doubled their head on the stroke of halftime when Larsson’s corner was met by Dalian Pro who headed into the far corner of the net.
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— HNS (@HNS_CFF) November 14, 2020
⏸️ The teams take a break, with the hosts having a two-goal advantage.#NationsLeague #SWECRO #Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/7QXRSPsaIF
Croatia failed to create any real chances in the first half and it was much the same in the second half until the 80th minute when an Ivan Perišić header was deflected into his own net by Danielson.
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⏹️ All over in Sweden. Congratulations to @svenskfotboll, and the relegation battle continues – #Croatia takes on Portugal on Tuesday.#NationsLeague #SWECRO #Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/1umoDjW4uE— HNS (@HNS_CFF) November 14, 2020
Croatia meets Portugal in Split in the last round whilst Sweden travels to France.
“We lost the first half, we were not aggressive and they outran us. They scored twice in the first half, again from a set-piece. The second half was better but Sweden was the better side and that is our reality. We missed 7-8 players today. We need to win against Portugal, we will give it our best and try to get points,” Dalić said after the match.
“The first half was not good, we were not aggressive but the second half was a lot better and we created some chances. We will try our best against Portugal, we playing at home give it our all and go for the win,” Livaković added.
