The stage is set for the SuperSport Croatian Cup final, as Slaven Belupo and Rijeka secured their places in the two-legged showdown scheduled for May 14 and 29.
The first ticket to the final was won by Slaven Belupo, who overcame Osijek in a dramatic penalty shootout (4-3) after a tense 120 minutes without goals in Koprivnica. Osijek looked in control early in the shootout, as Dantas, Lima, and Omerović confidently converted their penalties. However, Soldo struck the post, followed by Hernani’s miss over the crossbar.
Slaven Belupo kept their composure. Nestorovski, Lepinjica, and Caimacov all found the net, while Malenica denied Šuto to keep things level. In the decisive moment, Boras stepped up and slotted home, securing Slaven Belupo’s place in the final.
Rijeka booked their spot in the final with a narrow 1-0 victory against Istra 1961. Despite Istra producing the better overall performance and creating more chances, Rijeka found a way to win, as Toni Fruk scored in the 86th minute to seal the deal.
Rijeka will now chase their seventh Croatian Cup title, having previously lifted the trophy six times while finishing as runners-up on three occasions. This is the third time Belupo has reached the final, previously reaching it in the 2006/07 and 2015/16 seasons. Both times, they lost to Dinamo.
The highly anticipated final between Rijeka and Slaven Belupo is set for May 14 and 29.
