June 14, 2021 - England and Croatia met on Sunday at Wembley Stadium in London to open Group D of EURO 2020. Only one goal decided the winner, which England scored in the 57th minute. But is getting first place in the group really the best option? A look at why second place in Group D is better for Croatia. 

Croatia met host England on Sunday in front of 22,500 fans - 22,000 of which were for England. Croatia was not only up against England's home-pitch advantage, but because of the strict COVID-19 measures still in place in the, only Croatia fans already inside of the UK were able to make it to the game. While there weren't many, they certainly stood out in their red and white checks at Wembley Stadium.

While Croatia's first 15 minutes of play were shaky, with England hitting the far post already in the first few minutes of the match, they found their footing after the 20th minute and moved up with pitch with attacking plays, but were still plagued with the same issue as always - scoring. 

Otherwise, the match between England and Croatia was incredibly even, which you can see displayed in the statistics below. 

But is Croatia's loss to England so bad, after all? When talking about the group stage and crossover in the round of 16 - not at all. 

Since UEFA implemented the current competition format at the 2016 European Championships, in which 16 of the 24 national teams participating advance to the second round, four points are enough for the knockout phase, and maybe even three. In simpler terms, this means a single victory. 

Two national teams advance to the round of 16 from each of the six groups, followed by the top four third-place teams. 

Losing at Wembley is really not such a bad thing, because the team that finishes first in Group D will crossover with the 'group of death,' playing the second-place team of Group F, which includes France, Portugal, Germany, and Hungary.

This draw is far more difficult than getting second place in Group D, which crosses over with the second-placed team from Group E (Spain, Poland, Sweden, Slovakia) in the round of 16. If Croatia finishes third, they will play the winner of Group B (likely Belgium), the winner of Group E (likely Spain), or the winner of Group C (Netherlands). Thus, winning four to six points in the two remaining games will cement the second-place spot. 

Croatia will play next on Friday, June 18, against the Czech Republic in Glasgow. 

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

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

June 13, 2021 - England tops Croatia 1:0 in the EURO 2020 Group D opener at Wembley on Sunday. 

England and Croatia met in the first round match of EURO 2020 Group D at Wembley on Sunday. Around 22,500 fans were said to be in the stands, and not nearly as many Croatia fans as hoped due to the Amber list restrictions in the UK. However, the few present at the stadium were loud - and the red and white checks spiced up the already warm Wembley atmosphere. It was almost 30 degrees Celcius! 

The lineups were released an hour before kickoff, with no real surprises on either side given the coach announcements and training over the last few days. 

Lineups:

England: Pickford - Trippier, Mings, Stones, Walker - Mount, Rice, Phillips - Sterling, Kane, Foden

Croatia: Livaković - Guardiol, Ćaleta-Car, Vida, Vrsaljko - Brozović - Perišić, Kovačić, Modrić, Kramarić - Rebić

The match started promptly at 14:00 GMT.

England pressed a bit in the first few minutes of the match but Croatia worked their way up the pitch in the 4th minute, with brilliant passing between Modric, Kovacic, and Perisic into the box. England had a dangerous chance in the 5th minute which fortunately hit the far post. 

Sterling worked his way into Croatia's box three minutes later. Croatia was lucky it went out for a corner. Livakovic made a stellar save in goal to keep the score equal.

England continued to threaten Croatia's half, with the stadium on their side. An England free kick in the 16th found Kane who was in the offside position. 

England was in Croatia's box for the few minutes that followed. A shaky Croatia defense still managed to clear out anything from England, but barely. 

Croatia began making their way up the pitch from the 22nd minute and maintained good possession. The ref was hesitant to award a foul on Luka Modric. 

Slobodan Kadic 

A Croatia cross into the box was headed out by the England defense, and a Gvardiol cross moments later went out for a goal kick. 

Sterling shot over Croatia's goal in the 25th minute. Another great Croatia attacking play saw Vrsaljko nutmeg the England defense and find Perisic across the box who shot wide. Croatia was looking less nervous and more like a team. 

Mi Hrvati could be heard in the stands. 

A left-footed Vrsaljko cross went across the box and just missed Gvardiol in the 28th minute. England was sloppy in the next few minutes, passing two careless balls out. 

Luka's fancy footwork in the midfield was a joy to watch, as always. 

England finally made it back into Croatia's half in the 33rd minute. A fab Foden touch found Walker but was fortunately miscommunicated. 

Kovacic showed on the pitch his Premier League prowess, masterfully working his way in the Croatia midfield all half. 

England was awarded a free-kick just outside Croatia's box in the 41st minute. Caleta-Car was shown a yellow card. Trippier shot right into Croatia's wall (Perisic's head). 

Slobodan Kadic

Gvardiol, Perisic, and Rebic were quick to attack the box with a minute to go, but the England defense remained solid. Vrsaljko cleared out their last chance of the half. 

It was an uncertain start but Croatia found their footing for the second part of the first half, which ended 0:0. 

The second half started with no changes for either side. Mateo Kovacic was shown a yellow card three minutes in. 

Kramaric was brilliant back on defense and played a perfect ball to Rebic down the right-wing which went out for a Croatia ball. A killer Modric nutmeg found Rebic again but nothing came of the play. 

Slobodan Kadic

Vrsaljko was hesitant to go into a tackle with Trippier who ran the ball down England's left side. Brozovic was there to end the attack, and Modric was fouled for the Croatia ball. 

Kramaric continued creating chances in the midfield, finding Perisic on the left. Luka took a shot in the 54th minute which was an easy one for Pickford to save. 

A mishap in the Croatia defense saw an England through ball to Sterling who scored for 1:0 in the 57th minute. England maintained possession for the minutes that followed. Another chance for Croatia in the 60th minute went for a corner. 

Croatia had a good chance in the 64th minute but Rebic shot wide of the goal.  

A quick England counter resulted in a Brozovic yellow card and free-kick just outside the Croatia box. Mount hit over the goal. 

A Croatia corner found Brozovic who also shot wide. Dalic subbed on Vlasic for Brozovic and Brekalo for Kramaric. England subbed on Rashford for Foden a the same time.  

Croatia was dangerous in the 72nd minute, but a Vrsaljko cross went out for a goal kick. Dalic subbed on Petkovic for Rebic in the 78th minute. Dalic was after a goal with not much time left. 

Slobodan Kadic

Harry Kane was subbed off for Bellingham in the 81st minute. 

Mateo Kovacic was subbed off for Mario Pasalic in the 85th minute. A Croatia free-kick straight after was played offside. 

Four minutes were added to the end of the match in which Pasalic had a brilliant chance in the final second, but Croatia was unable to score. The match ended 1:0 for England. 

The Czech Republic and Scotland are also in Group D and play their first match on Monday. The first two teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams advance to the round of 16. 

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

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

June 12, 2021 - England and Croatia meet again, this time in the EURO 2020 Group D opener at Wembley Stadium in London. 

The day before the match, Zlatko Dalić and Luka Modrić appeared before the press.

"They are playing in front of their audience, opening the Euro; I expect them to be quite aggressive and challenging, a fighting game. We are ready; we have worked well these seven days; we are preparing," said Luka Modrić.

Was England arrogant at the World Cup?

"That arrogance didn't apply so much to the players and the England team, more to the journalists, commentators, and people around. In the last few days, I haven't dealt with those journalists too much, so we are focused on the game and not on what is being said from the sidelines," Modrić said.

English journalists questioned Modrić about Croatia's tactics, who answered politely:

"What, would you like me to reveal all of our tactics? You will see everything on the field tomorrow," said the Real Madrid midfielder.

About the fans:

"We will miss the fans, and it would be nice if they could come and support us in large numbers because their presence helps us a lot and gives us extra energy. As for the camp and staying in Rovinj, in my opinion, it is not a problem, and we have our peace, even though we are in Croatia." 

Coach Zlatko Dalić pointed out that Croatia will establish possession and play high pressure.

"We are aware that we are playing against a great team and one of the favorites to win the Euros. We have to be compact, aggressive, and combative. We will not just come to defend ourselves; we will try to make a good result and start the championship successfully. We will try to get our chances through possession," Dalić began.

He said that Croatia was ready for both formations that Southgate could use - three at the back or four at the back.

"Whatever system the England coach uses, we will be ready. They have great quality, especially in the attack. We want to be those who will have possession of the ball and the opportunity; we will not just defend. England is always dangerous if they play with four backs and even more dangerous with three. We must resist the pressure. I don't think they can surprise us, nor can we surprise them."

Dalić is likely to start Croatia with Livaković - Vrsaljko, Vida, Ćaleta-Car, Gvardiol - Brozović - Kramarić, Modrić, Kovačić, Perišić - Rebić.

Croatia and England have a vibrant history over the last 15 years. They played last in the Nations League in 2018. England celebrated 2:1, but Croatia knocked them out of the World Cup semifinal just a few months before. 

England is also still trying to get revenge on Croatia for knocking them out of Euro 2008 when Bilić's side won 3:2. However, England won 5:1 in the World Cup qualifiers at Wembley to get Croatia back. 

England is the favorite to win this time around, especially playing at home with mostly England fans in the stands, but if football has taught us anything, it's that anything can happen. 

The Czech Republic and host Scotland meet on Monday. The top two national teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16.

Source Gol.hr

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

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

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