June 9, 2022 - The Croatia U21s convincingly beat Estonia away on Wednesday, finishing the 2023 Euro qualifications with 22 points. As Norway still has two games left to play, Croatia's fate at next year's Euros is still uncertain.
In the last round of Group A of the European Championship qualifiers, the Croatia U21 national team outclassed Estonia 4-0 away and thus finished the qualifications at 22 points.
However, it is still unknown whether Igor Bišćan's team will go directly to the Euros as the winners of the group or will finish in second place and have to go to additional qualifications.
Namely, the schedule has been put together so that the last round matches are not all played at the same time. Currently, the situation is such that the biggest threat to the young Croatia side is the third-placed Norway, which still has two more games to play - a visit to Finland and a home match against Azerbaijan.
Since the goal difference is in the standings, the good news is that the young Croatia national team crushed Estonia 4-0 and finished with +15 (25:10). This specifically means that if Finland, who currently has +7 (18:11) beat Norway by any margin of fewer than eight goals, Croatia will finish in the first place and qualify for the European Championship next year.
If the result is a draw or if Norway wins that match, which is played on Friday, June 10, then Norway (especially if they triumph in Finland) will have the advantage at home against Azerbaijan on Tuesday, June 14.
Euro U21 Qualifiers, Group A:
1. Croatia 22, 25:10 (10)
2. Finland 19, 18:11 (9)
3. Norway 18, 22:10 (8)
4. Austria 16, 22: 13 (10)
5. Azerbaijan 7, 11:22 (9)
6. Estonia 0, 0:32 (10)
Match report
Estonia and Croatia met at Rannastaadion in Pärnu, Estonia on Wednesday. Croatia went furiously through the first half and gained a 3-goal lead at halftime. Gabriel Vidović scored in the seventh minute, Mario Vušković in the 14th minute, and Antonio Marin scored in the 41st minute. The final score was set by Toni Fruck in the 55th minute for 0-4 Croatia.
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