September 16, 2021 -  In the first round of the Europa League group stage, West Ham beats Dinamo 2:0 at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. 

Dinamo and West Ham met in the first round of the Europa League group stage on Thursday at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb. Although the Croatian champion has much more experience in European competitions, West Ham's status as a solid Premier League club made them the favorite going into this match. 

Croatia national team player (and former Hajduk star) Nikola Vlašić was in West Ham's starting 11, while Bruno Petković and Mislav Oršić led Dinamo's attack. There were 12,344 spectators at the stadium, of which 859 were West Ham supporters. 

Lineups: 

Dinamo: Livaković - Šutalo, Lauritsen, Theophile-Catherine - Ristovski, Ademi, Mišić, Franjić - Ivanušec - Petković, Oršić

West Ham: Fabianski - Fredericks, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell - Rice, Souček - Vlašić, Lanzini, Fornals - Antonio

The first half was one to forget for the Croatian club and perhaps one of the worst halves they've played in Europe in the last few years. An unrecognizable Dinamo succumbed to West Ham's pressure and gave up two corners in the first 3 minutes of play. 

Dinamo's first attack didn't come until the 11th minute, and Petković and Ademi could not get past Fabianski. An Oršić shot from 30 meters out in the 20th minute almost gave Dinamo the lead, though a catastrophic mistake by Theophile-Catherine put West Ham in the lead instead. Theophile-Catherine weakly passed back to Livaković without realizing Antonio was there to score for 0:1. Livaković had to save Dinamo from another close encounter 3 minutes later. 

Dinamo struggled to find their game, and Vlašić nearly had a few chances for West Ham in the remainder of the half, but the match luckily ended 0:1 for West Ham at halftime. 

Dinamo picked up their pace at the start of the second half with an attacking play immediately in the first minute. But West Ham was quicker to increase their lead, and Declan Rice scored for 0:2 in the 51st minute.

Dinamo had a good chance 3 minutes later when Ivanušec's shot went out for a corner, and another chance again in the 60th, which just missed the goal. 

West Ham subbed out Vlašić for Bowen in the 69th minute.

Dinamo was lucky not to concede another goal in the 79th minute. Tolić pulled a counter-attack with Jurić in the 87th minute, though it was no tough task for Fabianski. 

Three minutes of injury time were added to the end of the match, which was not enough for Dinamo to get back a goal. The match ended 0:2 for West Ham. 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

October 2, 2020 - In the Europa League draw held in Nyon on Friday, Dinamo and Rijeka learned their group stage opponents. 

Dinamo and Rijeka have qualified for the group stage of the Europa League after defeating Flora and Copenhagen on Thursday night in the final qualifying round. Thus, for the first time since 2017, Croatia will have two representatives in the group stage of European competitions. Their opponents were learned at a draw in Nyon on Friday afternoon.

Dinamo will play against Nikola Vlasic's CSKA Moscow, Feyenoord and Wolsberg, and Rijeka against Napoli, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar.

Dinamo earned 2.6 million euro to enter the Europa League group, and can still earn quite a bit of money in the group stage. A draw in the Europa League group brings 190 thousand euro, and a win 570 thousand euro.

Furthermore, first place in the group is worth another million euro, and second place half a million euro. Passing the group stage brings you to the first knockout round, which is another half a million euro. Placement in the second elimination round is worth 1.1 million euro, and the quarterfinal 1.5 million.

The semifinal brings another 2.4 million euro, a defeat in the final 4.5 million euro, and winning the Europa League 8.5 million euro.

All matches between Dinamo and Rijeka in the Europa League will be broadcast by Arenasport, and the first round will be played in three weeks. Matches will be played at 7 pm or 9:05 pm.

Europa League match schedule:

Round 1 - October 22

Round 2 - October 29

Round 3 - November 5

Round 4 - November 26

Round 5 - December 3

Round 6 - December 10

Recall, Dinamo secured a spot in the Europa League after beating Estonian club Flora 3:1 in the final qualifying round at Maksimir Stadium. Ademi scored twice for Dinamo in the 26th and 87th minutes, and the first goal of the match was scored by Gavranovic in the 11th. Sinavskij scored for Flora in the 65th. 

In the second match on Thursday, Rijeka also secured a spot in the Europa League group stage thanks to a 1:0 (1-0) away win against Copenhagen. Rijeka reached the victory thanks to an own goal by Ankersen in the 20th minute.

Source: Index.hr

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

When will we see the battle between Rijeka and AC Milan at Rujevica? See the full schedule below!