With a 3-1 victory over Austria in Vienna, Croatia secures their spot in the UEFA Nations League Finals and sends the Austrians to League A.
In a 3-1 victory over Austria in Vienna, goals by Luka Modric, Marko Livaja, and Dejan Lovren secured Croatia’s spot in the Nations League Finals. With 13 points,
Zlatko Dalic’s team won League A Group 1, ahead of second-place Denmark’s 12 points. France,
the defending champions who were defeated 2-0 by Denmark, finish third with five points, while Austria is demoted.
When Nikola Vlasic got space in the inside right channel and passed it back to Luka Modric,
the visitors quickly took the lead. With a stunning first touch,
Modric made one defender vanish before slamming his shot beyond Heinz Linder.
Austria retaliated nearly right away. Christoph Baumgartner
eased a low cross into the goal with a stooping header after Marcel Sabitzer cut back onto his right foot.
From from point on, the match was close until Marcelo Brozovic hobbled off with a knee injury.
At that point, the home team created a tonne of opportunities
and definitely ought to have led at halftime.
Everything for Croatia shifted in the second half thanks to two truly exceptional moments.
First, Marko Livaja, a replacement, received a cross from Ivan Perisic,
who headed it back across the goal to retake the lead for the visitors.
Four minutes later, they increased their lead when a short corner utterly disoriented Austria’s defence, allowing Dejan Lovren to head in Lovro Majer’s cross unimpeded.
Prior to Livaja’s score,
the home team had appeared to be in control, but beyond that point,
they crumbled and showed no signs of getting themselves back together.
Given the absence of Marcelo Brozovic, the visitors needed some motivation from one of their famous players.
Perisic was reliable in the first half, but he truly stood out in the second. Perisic contributed to the third goal and produced a crucial pass for Livaja to score Croatia’s second goal,
which was crucial.
Despite his advanced age and heavy exertion,
he maintained his impressive performance throughout the entire half.
He had three shots and completed six dribbles at the end of the game. Both scores were the highest received by any Croatian athlete.
Perisic was charging into the Austrian box even in stoppage time to very almost score a fourth goal for the visitors. After a game-changing performance, his attempt flew over the bar and clipped the bar, but it would have been a well-deserved goal.
1-3 Austria Marko Livaja and Dejan Lovren score for Croatia, advancing them to the semifinals of the Nations League after Christoph Baumgartner erased Luka Modric’s first-half goal.
Croatia defeated Austria 3-1 to go to the Nations League semifinals.
Dejan Lovren and Marko Livaja scored goals in the second half to advance the team.
After Luka Modric’s early goal was cancelled out by Christoph Baumgartner, Croatia needed to match or surpass Denmark’s result against France in order to advance.
Croatia beat demoted Austria 3-1 on Sunday in Vienna to go to the Nations League semi-finals. Defender Dejan Lovren celebrated his return to the team by scoring a rare goal in the match.
Despite the fact that the Danes defeated the world champions 2-0, Marko Livaja and Lovren’s goals in the second half insured that Zlatko Dalic’s team would be in the running for the championship in June of the following year.
As they battled to penetrate the staunch home defence, Croatia appeared to be in danger of failing to qualify.
The third goal was scored by Lovren, who was participating in his first international match in almost a year. The visitors finished first in League A Group 1 with 13 points from six games, one point ahead of second-place Denmark.
Even though his team lost, Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic had a memorable night as he earned a record-breaking 104th international cap.
He surpassed Andreas Herzog in the country’s list of most appearances as a result.
Croatia beat demoted Austria 3-1 on Sunday in Vienna to go to the Nations League semi-finals. Defender Dejan Lovren celebrated his return to the team by scoring a rare goal in the match.
The third goal was scored by Lovren, who was participating in his first international match in almost a year. The visitors finished first in League A Group 1 with 13 points from six games, one point ahead of second-place Denmark. Austria came in last.
With his 23rd goal for his country, Luka Modric handed Croatia an early advantage. He took a touch to collect Nikola Vlasic’s pass before firing low into the goal.
That happiness was fleeting, though, as Austria equalised three minutes later when Christoph Baumgartner skillfully headed Marcel Sabitzer’s cross into the goal.
But midway through the second half, Croatia scored twice in three minutes to secure the victory. Marko Livaja headed in at the back post from an Ivan Perisic cross,
and Lovren headed in from Lovro Majer’s cross after the home defence had left him unmarked.Even though his team lost, Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic had a memorable evening because he earned a record-breaking 104th international cap,
passing Andreas Herzog to become the player with the most appearances in the nation.
