The Croatia U-21 national team played a key match against England in Group D of the European Championship in Koper on Wednesday.
With a Portugal win against Switzerland and a Croatia loss by no more than one goal, Croatia would advance to the quarterfinal round. They played 1:2 against England for a spot in the quarters against Spain!
Lineups
Hrvatska: Kotarski – Bradarić, Franjić, Vušković, Šverko – Bistrović, Babec, Moro – Špikić, Vizinger, Ivanušec
Engleska: Ramsdale – Aarons, Tanganga, Wilmot, Kelly – Gallagher, Skipp, Jones – Eze, Nketiah, McNeil
Recap
90′ + 1′ GOOOAAAL! Fantastic goal by DOMAGOJ BRADARIĆ! The Croatia defender scored an unreal goal from 20 meters for the quarterfinals!!!
90′ Five minutes of injury time
87′ Zaper is booked
86′ Vizinger and Sverko out for Musa and Divkovic
82′ Croatia has been dangerous in a while…
79′ Croatia needs one goal, as losing by only one will put them in the quarters
76′ Majer replaced Bistrovic
74′ Goal! England is on the verge of the quarterfinals after Jones scored for 2:0.
72′ Nketiah and Gallagher subbed off for Brewster and Cantwell
71′ Opportunity for Croatia! Ivanušec pulled a counter and playd Moro who shot diagonally from the right side desperately far post
66′ Portugal has done a great service to Croatia, who now must not lose by two goals to advance to the quarterfinals
65′ Bistrovic shot blocked by the defender
64′ Portugal takes the 3:0 lead
64′ Colina replaced Spikic, and Zaper entered instead of Babec
63′ McNeil hit the post from a free-kick. For the second time, the goal frame saved Croatia
60′ Portugal up 2:0 against Switzerland! As the result stands now, Croatia advances to the quarterfinals
54’Great opportunity for England! Babec lost the ball, Eze played Nketiahu perfectly who shot straight at Kotarski from the top of the penalty area
53′ Jones shot from 20 meters, the ball was blocked and bounced a little over the goal into the corner
50′ Kotarski defended Eze’s free-kick
49′ An opportunity for England! Kotarski desperately received the ball, bounced off his leg towards Eze, but they somehow managed to clear it
46′ The second half began
45’+ 3′ End of the first half. Croatia entered the game poorly but recovered after conceding the goal and played better. Špikić and Ivanušec had great opportunities, which unfortunately were not goals. The good news is that with the current results, Croatia and Portugal, who is leading against Switzerland 1:0, are going to the quarterfinals
45’+ 3′ Bradarić is booked for a handball and received a yellow card for objecting. There was nothing controversial about it
45′ Three minutes of injury time
45′ Kelly was booked and must now be careful not to get a second yellow
38′ Great chance for England! Jones faked Šverko and shot the opposite corner, but the ball went past the goal
37′ Brilliant chance for Croatia! Ivanušec stole the ball from England, rushed towards Ramsdale, but shot at the England goalkeeper
35′ Ivanušec shot from the top of the penalty area, Ramsdale reacted badly, but caught the ball from the second attempt catches the ball.
32′ Great opportunity for Croatia! Moro passed on the left side and sent a sharp ball to the box where Špikić shot high over the goal. It was a great chance, Špikić had to react better
28′ The good news is that Portugal is still leading against Switzerland
27′ Špikić passed nicely on the right and knocked down the England defender
25′ Finally some better play by Croatia, which recovered after receiving the goal
20′ Croatia struggled to clear the ball out, England with 61 percent possession
16′ England completely dominated in the minutes that followed
12′ Goal! England takes the lead as Eze routinely scored the penalty for 1:0
11′ England awarded a questionable penalty. Nketiah fell in a duel with Babec
10′ Huge opportunity for England! Nketiah shot but Kotarski saved
9′ Eze found Jones hitting on the edge of the penalty area but hit the crossbar
9′ A good pass from McNeil to Nketiah, but Vuskovic cleared
4′ Portugal took the lead against Switzerland. If Portugal wins, Croatia can lose to England, but not by more than one goal
Source: Index.hr
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