JABAR EKSPRES – Croatia advanced to the UEFA Nations League final after silencing the Netherlands with a score of 4-2 in the semifinal match at De Kuip Stadium, Rotterdam, Thursday (6/15) morning.
Croatia’s victory came thanks to goals from Andrej Kramaric, Mario Pasalic, Bruno Petkovic and Luka Modric, while the Netherlands scored through Donyell Malen and Noah Lang, according to UEFA records.
Furthermore, Croatia will appear in the UEFA Nations League final on Sunday (6/18) against the winner of the other semifinal match between Spain and Italy.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands will compete in the third place match which will be held on Saturday (6/17) at De Grolsch Veste Stadium, Enschede, Netherlands.
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The Netherlands were actually able to create many opportunities in the match by recording 11 kicks, five of which were on target, but Croatia were more effective in maximizing the opportunities they got.
In the first half the Netherlands took the initiative to attack and were able to steal the lead in the 35th minute through a goal scored by Donyell Malen who utilized a pass from Mats Wieffer.
Furthermore, the Netherlands tried to find additional goals in the remaining time of the first half, but until halftime, the score 1-0 for home advantage remained.
In the second half Croatia had a golden opportunity to equalize when Dutch midfielder Cody Gakpo committed a foul in the forbidden box by pulling Luka Modric’s shirt.
Andrej Kramaric who advanced as the executioner successfully carried out his duties after his penalty kick could not be read by Dutch goalkeeper Justin Bijlow so that the score changed to 1-1 in the 55th minute.
Successfully equalizing, Zlatko Dalic’s squad was able to turn superior in the 73rd minute after Mario Pasalic broke into the Dutch goal by utilizing a pass from Luka Ivanusec.
