SCOTLAND – CROATIA 1:0 (McGinn 86′)
Scotland: Gordon – Ralston, Souttar, Hanley (McKenna 46′), Robertson – Gilmour, McLean (McGinn 67′) – Doak, McTominay, Christie (Gauld 67′) – Conway (Dykes 67′)
Croatia: Kotarski – Jakić (Pjaca 82′), Ćaleta-Car, Šutalo, Gvardiol – Modrić, Kovačić – L. Sučić (Perišić 65′), P. Sučić, Baturina – Kramarić (Mario Pašalić 65′)
In Glasgow, Croatia lost against the host Scotland. There were no goals in the first half, and the hosts scored toward the end of the game. Let’s mention how Portugal beat Poland at home with a score of 5:1. Although they were defeated, Croatia has a great chance to advance to the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals.
Croatia got into the game excellently and had several chances. However, Croatian players failed to realize their chances, and Croatia failed to take the lead. Scotland also created some opportunities, but Kotarski had great interventions and prevented the host from taking the lead.
Despite the hosts’ counterattacks, Croatia continued dominating the game, but without success. And then, towards the end of the first half, a reckless foul happened by Petr Sučić, who had already received a yellow card. The Israeli referee assessed that this offense was a yellow card, meaning Petar Sučić had to leave the field. Croatia remained without a player.
When the first half ended, coach Dalić did not go to the tunnel but to the Israeli referee, gesturing that he was not satisfied with his decisions. The Israeli just saw him off with a wave of his hand, and then Dražen Ladić came to protest and earned a yellow card during the halftime.
Scotland started the second half well, and by the 60th minute, they had several opportunities, which they did not take. After that, Croatia managed to create several opportunities, but without success. After some time, the hosts and guests had their opportunities, but the result did not change.
Croatia is very lucky that the hosts are not precise and don’t seem skillful with the ball either. It’s all a bit of luck. However, towards the end of the match, Croatia seemed to have lost its way. Scotland scored in the 86th minute to take the lead, and bench substitute McGinn scored.
Does it bother anyone that Croatia is in the narrowest range of European football? Perhaps. But Croatia has been playing without a special system for some time, and creating unused chances and possession of the ball will not bring goals and victory.
