February 18, 2021 - Dinamo Zagreb tops Krasnodar in the first match of the Europa League round of 32. 

Dinamo and Krasnodar met for game one of the Europa League round of 32 in the Russian city of Krasnodar on Thursday evening. 

The Croatian champion arrived in a snowy Russia on Wednesday, where temperatures were around -10 degrees Celsius. The temperature during the match was expected to drop to -11 and even -13, though commentators said it was -6 in the first five minutes of the match. 

Recall, Krasnodar finished third in the Champions League group behind Chelsea and Sevilla and ahead of Rennes. Dinamo, on the other hand, was undefeated in their Europa League group and finished on top ahead of Wolfsberg, Feyenoord, and CSKA Moscow.

Dinamo entered this match without any surprises in the starting 11, while Krasnodar's starting lineup was without Wanderson, their best player. 

Lineups

Krasnodar: Gorodov, Smolnikov, Kaio, Martinovič, Černov, Olsson, Cabella, Vilhena, Sulejmanov, Berg, Claesson

Dinamo: Livaković, Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Lauritsen, Gvardiol, Majer, Jakić, Ademi, Ivanušec, Oršić, Petković

Krasnodar v Dinamo Recap

Dinamo was fierce at the start of the match, forcing plays up the wings for an early and dangerous corner kick. Without letting Krasnador taste too much of their half, both teams maintained much of the match in the middle of the pitch. 

It didn't take long for Dinamo to find the back of the net. In the 15th minute, Mislav Orsic's cross eventually found the head of Bruno Petkovic for 0:1.

Dinamo couldn't hold onto their lead for too long, and just under 15 minutes later, Krasnador's Berg equalized for 1:1, which was the halftime result. 

Krasnodar welcomed Wanderson to the starting lineup of the second half, though that didn't help their chances much. Eight minutes into the second half, Orsic nailed a corner to Petkovic, who scored his second goal of the match for the Dinamo lead (1:2). 

Krasnodar dominated in the minutes that followed and threatened Dinamo's goal more than a few times. They even scored from offside. 

But Krasnodar's moment finally came in the 69th minute when Claesson equalized for 2:2. 

Dinamo led for the third time of the match in the 74th minute thanks to the fancy footwork of Ivanusec and brilliant goal by Atiemwen (2:3). 

Four minutes were added by the ref at the end of the match, though neither team was able to score. 

Dinamo and Krasnodar will meet in Zagreb next week. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 31, 2020 - A great way to end the year for Dinamo and Rijeka players who made UEFA's Europa League Breakthrough XI!

As we come to the end of the year, which includes the end of last season's competitions, and all the qualifying rounds and the group stage of the new season, UEFA has taken time to reflect on some of the standout footballers that made a splash in 2020. 

Thus, UEFA's experts composed a team of the biggest breakthrough stars in the Europa League season, which included three Croatian footballers! 

And while it is not surprising that two Dinamo players are on the list, few expected Dinamo to be so convincing in the group with CSKA Moscow and Feyenoord. However, it's nice to see that Rijeka's goalkeeper Ivan Nevistić (22) was also recognized for this incredible goalkeeping effort so far. 

"The young custodian played every minute of Rijeka's group stage campaign, making a competition-high 28 saves in the process," said UEFA. 

Nevistić was primarily included in the team by numbers. Because even though he defended the team's goal that finished last in the group, even against much stronger rivals, Ivan amassed 28 saves in six games. Behind him with 23 saves were goalkeeper Hapoel Levitt and Zvezda goalkeeper Borjan.

The two Dinamo players in the breakthrough team are Joško Gvardiol (18) and Lovro Majer (22).

"The prototype of a modern-day centre-back, Gvardiol was key to Dinamo conceding just one goal in the entire group stage," describes UEFA of Joško, who played most of his games as a left-back, even though he is a stopper.

"An important cog in the Dinamo machine that performed so well in the group stage, Majer is technically proficient, fast and agile with an eye for goal," UEFA described Lovro Majer.

Dinamo convincingly won their group, secured first place after the penultimate round, and in the end, only Arsenal, Hoffenheim, and Bayer Leverkusen scored more points in the entire Europa League.

The entire Europa League breakthrough XI team includes Nevistić (Rijeka) - Guardiola (Dinamo), Carmo (Braga), Fofana (Leicester), Botman (Lille) - Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Kubo (Villarreal), Majer (Dinamo) - Gouiri (Nice), Nunez (Benfica), Malen (PSV).

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 14, 2020 - Dinamo Zagreb meets Krasnodar in the last 32 of the Europa League competition. 

The Europa League round of 32 draw was held in Nyon on Monday, in which Dinamo drew Russian club Krasnodar as its opponent in the knockout phase of the competition.

As the winner of Group K, Dinamo had the seeded-status along with the other 11 group winners and the four best third-placed teams from the Champions League. As a seeded team, the Croatian champion will have the home-field-advantage so that the first match will be played in Russia on February 18, and the return match on February 25 at Maksimir Stadium.

Krasnodar is currently the eighth-ranked club in the Russian league. Krasnodar found a spot in the Europea League's round of 32 by finishing third in Group E of the Champions League, behind Chelsea and Sevilla, and ahead of Rennes. They won five points in that group, which was not enough for them to be seeded in today's draw.

This season's Europa League final is on May 26 in Gdansk.

Seeded Clubs: Roma, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Rangers, PSV, Napoli, Leicester City, Milan, Villarreal, Tottenham, DINAMO, Hoffenheim te Manchester United, Club Brugge, Shahktar, Ajax

Un-seeded clubs: Young Boys, Molde, Slavia, Benfica, Granada, Real Sociedad, Braga, Lille, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Royal Antwerp, Wolfsberger, Crvena zvezda te Krasnodar, RB Salzburg, Dynamo Kijev, Olympiakos

Round of 32 draw:

Wolfsberger - Tottenham
Dinamo Kijev - Club Brugge
Real Sociedad - Manchester United
Benfica - Arsenal
Crvena Zvezda - Milan
Royal Antwerp - Rangers
Slavia Prag - Leicester
Red Bull Salzburg - Villarreal
Braga - Roma
Krasnodar - Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys - Bayern Leverkusen
Molde - Hoffenheim
Granada - Napoli
Maccabi Tel Aviv - Šahtar
Lille - Ajax
Olympiacos - PSV

Source: UEFA

To read more about coronavirus in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 10, 2020 - Rijeka closed out their Europa League campaign this season with a win against AZ Alkmaar, while Dinamo topped CSKA Moscow 3:1 at home and made European history. 

In the final 6th round of the Europa League on Thursday, Rijeka defeated AZ Alkmaar 2-1 (0-0) at Rujevica in Group F.

Rijeka took the lead with a goal by Menalo in the 52nd minute, but five minutes later, Wijndal equalized. Rijeka sealed their victory with a goal by Tomečak in the third minute of added time. The club bid farewell to the European competition until next season after finishing last in the group. 

Although the match was much more important for the Dutch club, whose victory ensured their passage to the next round, Rijeka was equally motivated on the pitch, even though they had long known that this would be the end.

In the second match of this group, Napoli and Real Sociedad played 1-1 (1-0) at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Napoli led with a goal by Zielinski (35), and Willian Jose equalized in the second minute of added time. 

Napoli won first place in Group F with 11 points; Real Sociedad finished in second place with nine, AZ Alkmaar remained third with eight points, while Rijeka was last with four points.

In the later match on Thursday, Dinamo, who already won first place in Group K before the final round, defeated CSKA Moscow at Maksimir thanks to goals by Joško Gvardiol in the 28th minute, Mislav Orsic in the 41st, and Lirim Kastrati in the 74th. 

Dinamo was not without motive tonight, as they could have entered European football history as the first team to finish a Europa League group or a Champions League group without conceding a goal. Unfortunately, a late goal by CSKA's Bistrovic (74') cut their dream short.

However, Dinamo still made history tonight for going the longest in the Champions League or Europa League group stages without conceding a goal. Namely, Dinamo did not concede a goal for 527 minutes this season. Manchester United was the last club to hold the record, going 482 minutes without conceding a goal in the 2010/11 Champions League group stage.

In the second match of Group K, Wolfsberger AC defeated Feyenoord 1-0. 

Dinamo thus finished at the top of Group K, Wolfsberger finished in second, Feyenoord in third, and CSKA Moscow in the last place. 

The UEFA Europa League draw for the next round will be held in just a few days, on December 14.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 4, 2020 - The 5th round of the Europa League was played on Thursday evening. With a 2:0 win against Feyenoord, Dinamo moves into the last 32, and Rijeka secures their first point with a 2:2 draw against Real Sociedad. 

Dinamo has moved into the final 32 teams of the Europa League after winning first place in Group K. In the penultimate 5th round, the Zagreb club topped Feyenoord 2:0 in Rotterdam.

Bruno Petkovic scored for Dinamo from a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the first half and Lovro Majer secured their victory with a goal in the 53rd minute.

Dinamo arrived in Rotterdam as the only club in the Europa League that did not concede a goal this season. In the first four rounds, Dinamo booked eight points with a goal differential of 4:0. They also managed to keep their net clean in the Netherlands, so after 350 minutes of play, the Croatian champion had a goal differential of 6:0 and 11 points.

?????????????????#dinamozagreb #UEL pic.twitter.com/zsji6Wvicc

— GNK Dinamo (@gnkdinamo) December 3, 2020

In the second match of Group K, Wolfsberger defeated CSKA away in Moscow 1:0 with a great goal by the young Croatia national team player Dario Vizinger, who beat Akinfeyev with a shot from more than 20 meters in the 22nd minute.

Dinamo secured first place with 11 points one round before the end. In second place is Wolfsberger with seven points, followed by Feyenoord in third with five points, and CSKA in last with only three points.

In the final round next week, Dinamo will host CSKA at Maksimir in a match where the result has no importance, while Wolfsberger and Feyenoord will simultaneously play a match in Klagenfurt for second place in the group, which also leads to the last 32. A point is enough for the Austrian team to pass, while the Dutch giant needs a victory.

In the second match on Thursday, Rijeka reached their first point in the 5th round of Group F, playing 2:2 (1:0) away against the leading team of the Spanish championship, Real Sociedad, in San Sebastian.

Rijeka led twice with goals from Darko Velkovski (37) and Stjepan Lončar (73), and the home team equalized through Jon Bautista (69) and Nach Montreal (79).

As has been the case in all Rijeka's matches in the group so far, coach Simon Rožman decided to play a better opponent with a stronger defense and only one player on top. Therefore, Real Sociedad only sporadically threatened goalkeeper Nevistić.

In the second match of Group F, AZ Alkmaar and Napoli played 1:1 (0:1). Napoli took the lead through Mertens (6), Martins Indi (54) equalized, and Koopmeiners missed a penalty for the home team in the 60th minute.

One round before the end of the group stage, Napoli leads the table with 10 points, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar have eight points each, while Rijeka is last with one point. 

In one week, Rijeka and AZ Alkmaar and Napoli and Real Sociedad will meet in the last round. The first two teams from the group will make it to the last 32. 

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 27, 2020 - In the 4th round of the Europa League on Thursday, Dinamo tops Wolfsberger AC and Rijeka falls to Napoli. 

Dinamo Zagreb is one step closer to placing in the Europa League round of 16. In the 4th round match of Group K as guests in Klagenfurt, they defeated Austrian club Wolfsberger 0:3 and thus stand out at the top of the table.

The scorers were Lovro Majer in the 60th minute, Bruno Petković in the 75th, and Luka Ivanušec in the first minute of the referee's added time.

Dinamo has yet to concede a goal, even after four rounds, and with eight points they lead this group. In the other match on Thursday, CSKA and Feyenoord played 0:0 in Moscow.

Nikola Vlašić played the whole match for CSKA, while Kristijan Bistrović entered the game in the 71st minute.

Two rounds before the end of the group competition, Dinamo is at the top of the table with eight points, in second is Feyenoord with five, Wolfsberger has four in third, and in last is CSKA with three.

In a week, Dinamo will play against Feyenoord in Rotterdam, while at the same time, CSKA will host Wolfsberger in Moscow.

Rijeka suffered their fourth defeat in Group F, losing 0-2 (0-1) away to Napoli in Naples.

Napoli came to victory with a goal by Politano in the 41st minute and onel by Hirving Lozano in the 75th minute.

With this defeat in Naples, Rijeka lost its theoretical chances of winning one of the first two places in the group leading in the round of 16 and remains in last without points. Rijeka will remain in last place at the end of the competition.

Rijeka played in Naples the day after the death of the great Diego Maradona, who was most responsible for the club's only two Italian championship titles (1987, 1990). Napoli came out on the pitch adorning the number 10 on their backs to honor the Argentine football legend. 

The second match of Group F between AZ Alkmaar and Real Sociedad ended without goals. Two rounds before the end, Napoli leads with nine points, followed by AZ and Real with seven points each, while Rijeka is last without points.

In the 5th round match in one week, Rijeka will play against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, while AZ and Napoli will play in Alkmaar at the same time.

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 6, 2020 - In the 3rd round of the Europa League, Rijeka falls to Napoli, and Dinamo tops Wolfsberger AC.

It was the battle of the Cup winners on Thursday night, as 2020 Croatian Cup winner Rijeka held their own against the 2020 Italian Cup winner and legendary Italian club Napoli. 

Unfortunately, just like two weeks, Rijeka suffered the same fate as they did against Real Sociedad at Rujevica and was left without points.

Rijeka opened the game brilliantly against the favorites, and with aggressive pressing, they forced Napoli to make poor passes, after which they created good chances to score with quick counterattacks.

Rijeka had the first great opportunity in the 4th minute when Menalo shot well from 20 meters, but Napoli goalkeeper Meret managed to defend. However, even that was not enough to wake up the guests who came into the game quite nonchalantly, and in the 13th minute, there was a new counterattack for Rijeka. Menalo and Kulenović brilliantly combined to find Murić, who nailed the helpless Meret's net with a precise shot from the top of the penalty area for 1:0.

Unfortunately, Robert Murić had to come off due to injury in the 24th minute, an exit which greatly affected the further course of the match. With the departure of Murić, Napoli took control of the pitch, and although they did not create any likely opportunity to score, they equalized at the end of the first half. Demme scored off a Mertens assist for 1:1.

Napoli increased their pressure in the second half, which proved to be too tough for Rijeka to sustain. An own goal in the 63rd minute by Filip Braut gave Napoli the 1:2 victory. 

In the second match of the 3rd round, Real Sociedad defeated AZ Alkmaar 1:0 (0:0) with a goal by Porto (58). Thus, halfway through the competition, AZ Alkmaar, Napoli, and Real Sociedad have six points each, while Rijeka is in last with no points.

In the 4th round in three weeks, Napoli - Rijeka and AZ Alkmaar - Real Sociedad will play.

In the second match on Thursday, Dinamo scored their first goal in the 3rd round of Group K and achieved their first victory, defeating Austrian club Wolfsberger 1:0 with a goal by Atiemwen in the 76th minute, which put them at the top of the group.

Dinamo played with a man-up throughout the second half but was not particularly dangerous. However, the first victory and a total of five points in the group was secured by Atiemwen only two minutes after he entered the the pitch in the 74th minute.

Both sides had major problems with COVID-19 infected players before the match. Namely, Dinamo had nine infected players, as well as coach Zoran Mamic, who was replaced by Alen Peternac. The Austrian club had slightly less, or only eight infected players.

Dinamo played without Livaković, Petković, Stojanović, Theophile-Catherine, and Ivanušec, while Wolfsberger did not have Liendl, their best player, scorer, and captain.

In the second game of this group, Nikola Vlašić's CSKA Moscow lost 3:1 to Feyenoord.

The home team scored all three goals in just 10 minutes in the middle of the second half - Haps (63), Kokca (71), and Geertruida (72) scored. Senesi (80) reduced the lead with an own goal for the final 3:1 result.

Dinamo leads the group with five points and a goal difference of 1:0, followed by Wolfsberger and Feyenoord with four points each, while CSKA is last with two points.

In the 4th round in three weeks, Wolfsberger - Dinamo and CSKA - Feyenoord will play.

Source: Rezultati, HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 4, 2020 - Coach Zoran Mamic and several Dinamo players test positive for COVID-19 ahead of Europa League on Thursday. 

On Tuesday, GNK Dinamo announced that coach Zoran Mamic and one player had tested positive for COVID-19. 

"GNK Dinamo hereby informs the public that COVID-19 testing resulted in one positive first-team player of GNK Dinamo and two members of the professional staff, including the head coach Zoran Mamic.

They felt mild symptoms upon their return from Russia and were referred for testing, which in their case turned out to be positive," Dinamo said in a statement.

Thus, Dinamo will play against Wolfsberger without coach Mamic on Thursday, and he will not be on the bench on Sunday in the home game match against Istria in the 11th round of the HNL. This is followed by a representative break.

Even before the game against CSKA, Dinamo had one infected player who did not travel with the team. Zoran Mamic noticed his first symptoms and fever on Monday, after which he went for testing and was positive.

Dinamo's coach did not appear at the presentation of Dinamo's "No Surrender" foundation, which was held before the news was announced that he was positive. 

But that's not the end of the bad news for Dinamo ahead of their 3rd round Europa League match on Thursday. 

The team was tested for COVID-19 again on Tuesday, according to the regular UEFA protocol. Thus, before the match against Austrian club Wolfsberger, four more players tested positive, bringing the number to five.

"With four positives from before, GNK Dinamo has a total of nine players on the UEFA list who will not play in the match due to COVID-19."

While assistant coach Damir Krznar should have been on the bench to replace Mamic, there has been a change there as well.

"The test results of several professional staff members are also positive, and Alen Peternac will lead the match from the bench," Dinamo announced.

Dinamo will play against Wolfsberger Thursday at 9 pm at Maksimir.

Source: GNK Dinamo website, HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

October 30, 2020 - The 2nd round of the Europa League was played on Thursday evening, in which Dinamo and CSKA Moscow drew, and Rijeka suffered a tough defeat to AZ Alkmaar. 

In the 2nd round match of Group K, Dinamo played 0-0 against CSKA in Moscow, while in the second match of Group K, Wolfsberger surprised by beating Feyenoord 4-1 in Rotterdam.

A week ago, Dinamo played 0-0 against Feyenoord at Maksimir Stadium, and the Blues' visit to Moscow ended with an identical result.

CSKA completely outplayed Dinamo, but was unable to score. Dinamo had another bland performance and can be happy that they won a point mostly thanks to the excellent Dominik Livaković who had a number of excellent saves in goal. 

How harmless Mamic's side was is shown by the statistics - they had only one shot on goal. 

Even after their second group stage match, Dinamo has a goal difference of 0-0 and with two points takes third place in the standings. CSKA has the same number of points, but with a goal difference of 1-1.

In the second match of this group, Austrian club Wolfsberger surprisingly defeated Feyenoord in Rotterdam 4-1 (2-0) and thus took the lead with four points, while Feyenoord is in last with one point. The triple scorer for Wolfsberger was Liendl (6-11m, 13-11m, 60), and one goal was added by Joveljić (66-11m), while the goal for Feyenoord was scored by Berghuis (54).

Dinamo will host Wolfsberger in the 3rd round in one week.

Rijeka suffered a heavy 1-4 (0-2) defeat away to AZ Alkmaar in their 2nd round match of Group F. 

The scorers for the Dutch team were Koopmeiners (6-11m), Gudmundsson (20, 60) and Karlsson (51), while Rijeka's Kulenović (72) slightly reduced the result. 

Rijeka quickly fell behind in Alkmaar, and after 20 minutes, it was 2-0 for the home team, who then calmly held the advantage. With two more goals at the beginning of the second half, they convincingly reached the victory. 

Kulenović's goal was Rijeka's first goal in the group competition this season. Recall, in the 1st round a week ago at Rujevica, Rijeka lost to Real Sociedad 0-1.

In the second match of this group, Napoli defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 in San Sebastian, and the only scorer was Politano in the 56th minute.

After two rounds, AZ is at the top of the group with a maximum of six points, followed by Napoli and Real Sociedad with three points each, while Rijeka is in last without points.

For the 3rd round match in one week, Rijeka will host Napoli, and at the same time, Real Sociedad will host AZ Alkmaar.

Source: HRT

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

October 23, 2020 - In the first round of the Europa League group stage on Thursday, Rijeka falls to Real Sociedad and Dinamo draws to Feyenoord.

Rijeka opened their performance in Group F of the Europa League with a last-minute defeat at Rujevica stadium against Real Sociedad (0:1). In the second match of this group, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar beat Napoli away with an identical result.

Against the currently leading team of the Spanish Championship, Rijeka played an excellent first half during which they had more chances to score. Still, in the continuation of the second half, they were forced to defend time after time - though they almost managed to hold on. 

In the final minutes of the match, Rijeka could no longer keep possession, and the great pressure from Real Sociedad eventually brought a goal. Veteran David Silva played Merin on the left-wing, who found the middle of the penalty area where Bautista managed to beat Nevistić for 0:1.

In the second match of this group, AZ Alkmaar surprised Napoli away by defeating them 1:0 with a goal by Karlsson (57). Thus, after the first round, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar have three points each, while Rijeka and Napoli are without points.

In the second round, Rijeka will play against AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands in a week, while Real Sociedad will host Napoli.

In the second match of the day, Dinamo Zagreb played 0:0 against Feyenoord in the first round of Group K at Maksimir. However, they had a numerical advantage in the last 20 minutes. In the second match of this group, Wolfsberg and CSKA Moscow played 1:1.

The Croatian champion played a solid game against the Dutch club in which Feyenoord was better in the first half and Dinamo in the second half.

Feyenoord was much more dangerous at the beginning of the match. In the seventh minute, Jakić reacted catastrophically and brought down Diemers in the box, awarding a penalty to Feyenoord. Fortunately, the great Dominik Livaković defended the strike of captain Berghuis to keep the game 0:0. 

Dinamo received an unexpected gift about 20 minutes before the end of the match, playing with an extra player on the pitch. Namely, the second yellow was given to Senesi for fouling Dinamo captain Ademi. Unfortunately, Dinamo was still unable to score, and the match ended 0:0.

In Group K's second match, CSKA took the lead against Wolfsberg in Klagenfurt in the fifth minute with a goal by Gaich on a pass from Nikola Vlašić, and Liendl equalized for 1:1 from a penalty in the 42nd minute.

Thus, after the first round, all four teams in this group have one point. In a week, Dinamo will play against CSKA Moscow in the second round, while Feyenoord will host Wolfsberg.

You can see all of the results HERE.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.