Croatia and Belgium met in Rijeka tonight for their first World Cup friendly match, which Belgium won 2-0.
Coach Zlatko Dalić got his first real look at the team after the end of the club season, but also an opportunity to test out three in the back, which he is planning to play against England.
Belgium, ranked 9th in the world, arrived in Rijeka led by Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, along with a new generation of players including Jeremy Doku.
Before the match, Croatia and Belgium confirmed ten substitutions during the friendly.
“We will use them all; the plan is for everyone to get minutes,” said assistant coach Dražen Ladić. “Modrić, Kovačić, Gvardiol will each play 50 minutes.”
Lineups
CROATIA (3-4-2-1): Livaković – Šutalo, Vušković, Gvardiol – Stanišić, Modrić, Kovačić, Perišić – Baturina, P. Sučić – Musa
BELGIUM (3-4-2-1): Courtois – Ngoy, Raskin, Theate – Saelemaekers, Onana, Tielemans, De Cuyper – De Bruyne, Doku, De Keteleare
Match report
The friendly at Rujevica got underway under the watch of Slovenian referee Rade Obrenovič, with Belgium drawing first blood in what was a fairly even opening 45 minutes.
Croatia had the better of the early chances. Modrić found Musa on the edge of the box in the 11th minute, but the striker’s effort sailed over the bar. A well-worked Croatian move in the 19th minute then saw the ball reach Stanišić on the edge of the penalty area, but his attempt to cut it back into the middle was blocked by the Belgian defence.
Belgium had their own moments. Doku tested Livaković from the edge of the box as early as the 7th minute, though the shot went straight into the keeper’s hands. A free-kick from Cuyper on the edge of the area in the 31st minute also failed to trouble Livaković, going comfortably over the bar.
The decisive moment came in the 38th minute when Belgium broke the deadlock. Tielemans was in the right place at the right time to poke home a rebound and give the visitors the lead. Croatia responded immediately, and Modrić got a shot away within minutes, but Courtois was equal to it. Belgium then had a chance to double their advantage as Doku fired again, only for Livaković to come to Croatia’s rescue.
Martin Baturina picked up the game’s first yellow card in the 43rd minute, and four minutes of stoppage time were played before the referee brought the first half to a close.
Belgium led 1-0 at the break.
The second half got underway with both sides unchanged, though the cards continued to fly early. De Ketelaere picked up a yellow for Belgium in the 49th minute, while De Bruyne tested his luck from distance in the 53rd minute, only to send his effort well wide.
The game’s first major tactical shift came in the 60th minute when Croatia made six changes in one go — Musa, Modrić, Stanišić, Gvardiol, Kovačić and Livaković all made way for Luka Sučić, Mario and Marco Pašalić, Pongračić, Budimir and Kotarski. Almost immediately, Croatia came close to leveling. From a corner, Sučić picked up the ball and delivered a cross that Budimir met with his head, only to see it crash off the crossbar in the 61st minute. Budimir then took a further turn when he was shown a yellow card just moments after coming on in the 63rd minute.
Belgium responded with five changes of their own in the 67th minute, with De Bruyne, Saelemaekers, Onana, Ngoy and De Cuyper all withdrawn in favor of Mechele, Vanaken, Seys, De Winter and Meunier. De Winter had barely touched the pitch before he too was booked in the 70th minute.
Croatia then made their final wave of substitutions in the 71st minute, with Šutalo, Perišić, Petar Sučić and Baturina replaced by Vlašić, Kramarić, Moro and Jakić. Belgium also made further changes a couple of minutes later, bringing on Lukaku and Fernandez-Pardo for De Ketelaere and Doku.
The closest either side came to a goal in this period was in the 74th minute, not for Croatia, but for Belgium, as Vanaken’s header rattled the Croatian crossbar.
The closing minutes offered little in the way of genuine quality, though there were nervy moments at both ends.
Belgium made one final change in the 80th minute, with Witsel coming on to replace Raskin. Three minutes later, Croatia nearly gifted their opponents a second as Pongračić played a careless ball back towards Kotarski that almost crept into his own net, with the keeper scrambling to deal with it just in time.
Croatia’s best — and last — chance to salvage an equalizer came in the 88th minute, when Marco Pašalić shot from the edge of the box, only to drift wide of the post. Six minutes of extra time were added.
In the final minute, Lukaku found himself one-on-one with Kotarski and scored for 0-2, which was the final result.
Croatia’s next friendly is against Slovenia on Sunday in Varaždin.
