Photo by Hrach Khachatryan/PIXSELL
September 11, 2023 – Croatia narrowly beat Armenia on Monday night thanks to a Kramarić goal in the 13th minute.
The Croatia national team met Armenia tonight to continue the EURO 2024 qualification cycle. Croatia opened this campaign with a convincing victory against Latvia on Friday (5-0) and hoped for another good result tonight in Yerevan.
Dalić made two changes compared to the match against Latvia. Stanišić and Barišić replaced Juranović and Sosa. Mateo Kovačić felt some problems before the match against Latvia and was not fit enough for this match. Luka Ivanušec played in the middle instead of him, just like against Latvia.
About 200 Croatian fans were in the stands, despite UEFA’s ban.
Lineups
Aremnia: Čančarević, Arutjunian, Calisir, Mkrtčjan, Tiknizjan, Iwu, Dašjan, Bičahčjan, Ranos, Spertsjan, Zelarajan
Croatia: Livaković, Stanišić, Šutalo, Gvardiol, Barišić, Modrić, Brozović, Ivanušec, Perišić, Kramarić, Petković
Match Report
As expected, Croatia positioned themselves dominantly and established a rhythm and control of the game with possession. A great opportunity for Croatia in the 9th minute. Perišić crossed from the left side with his right foot, Petković managed to deflect the ball towards the goal, but it went wide.
But it didn’t take long for Croatia to take the lead. In the 13th minute, the ball reached Kramarić, who was left alone at the far post. At first, it was thought to be offside, but VAR showed that Mkrtchyan touched the ball before it reached Kramarić to score for 1-0.
Croatia dominated with possession, and by the 24th minute, they recorded 65 percent.
A drone with the flag of the Nagorno-Karabakh region flew close to the playing field in the 35th minute, forcing the game to stop. The incident was accompanied by applause from the stands.
Croatia had chances from Barišić and Ivanušec until the end of the half. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Petković passed to the right side for Kramarić, who left the return ball for Perišić. Croatia’s winger shot at first, but the ball went wide. The half ended 1-0 for Croatia.
Dalić made no changes going into the second half.
Modrić and Barišić had chances in the first 10 minutes, but the best came from Perišić in the 56th minute. Perišić played Kramarić with his heel into the box, but Čančarević came out of the goal to save it. This was a great opportunity for Croatia.
Two substitutions for Armenia came in the 59th minute. Iwu and Bichakhchyan came off for Serobyan and Hovhannisyan.
In the 61st minute, Kramarić shot from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot but went wide. One minute later, Perišić missed a great chance. Using space left on the left side, he then moved towards the goal and shot, but Čančarević stretched out to save it. So far, the goalkeeper was the best player for Armenia. There was another attempt for Croatia a few minutes later as Ivanušec’s shot was saved.
In the 69th minute, Kramarić was subbed off for Mario Pašalić and Armenia subbed off Ranos for Briasco.
In the 72nd minute, an excellent defensive reaction by Josip Šutalo prevented Armenia’s counterattack.
Three minutes later, Ivanušec was subbed off for Majer.
A good period of play for Armenia came from the 78th minute as they took more risks and moved into Croatia’s half.
In the 80th minute, Majer found Perišić at the far post, but he shot and missed the goal and was also offside.
In the 85th minute, Petković was subbed off for Musa. Three minutes of stoppage time were added, and the game ended 1-0 for Croatia.
With this win, Croatia has 10 points in Group D. Croatia’s next qualifier is a crucial match against Turkey in Osijek on October 12.
To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
