Croatia 0-0 England
Two of Europe’s best sides cancelled each other out tonight as Croatia and England shared the spoils in the first UEFA Nations League fixture to be played in an empty ground.
It was an eerie atmosphere behind closed doors at the NHK Rijeka Stadium and it took the two teams a good while to get going, but in the end, neither could break the deadlock.
Hitting the woodwork twice, Jadon Sancho’s England debut, and a successful move to a back four were some of the bright points for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad. While for Croatia, Ivan Perisic looked just as dangerous as he did at Russia 2018.
The UEFA Nations League betting odds for Group A4 will heavily back Spain to come out on top, but these two are off the mark and now have a chance to test the leaders.
Highlights of the game
Gareth Southgate has been searching far and wide to find the right balance for his team and to unearth the best talent. Leicester City wing-back, Ben Chilwell, made his first competitive appearance for England after featuring in the friendly against Switzerland. He made a bright start, raiding down the left flank and sending a wicked low cross in for Raheem Sterling but Josip Pivaric made a last-ditch tackle to keep the scores level.
Ivan Perisic had Croatia’s first attempt on the 19th minute after a clever corner routine, but his shot was well blocked by Eric Dier. Chances were at a premium in a cagey first half and we hardly had a sight of Harry Kane. In fact, the first real opening came on 37 minutes when Perisic, England’s chief tormentor in Russia, started a move which gave Andrej Kramaric a sharp chance, but Jordan Pickford saved well.
But then, having been quiet for much of the opening half, England came within a whisker of going ahead when Eric Dier headed Jordan Henderson’s cross onto the post.
The second half started at a quicker tempo, and Perisic again forced Pickford into action with a 20-yard snapshot. That seemed to spark England as Henderson fired in a free-kick which Kane met and his header crashed back off the crossbar.
Ross Barkley made his first appearance for Gareth Southgate after a good start to the season for Chelsea, and he came alive with a bursting run into the box before falling under a challenge from Ante Rebic, but the referee waved England’s penalty appeals away.
As England kept up the pressure, Marcus Rashford fluffed his shot from six yards, when he should have scored, and was then denied by the keeper when he had another presentable chance. Croatia began to get back into their stride, Rebic beating Henderson before curling a 25-yard effort wide.
England had the ball in the net on 75 minutes after good work from Barkley and Henderson, but Kane was flagged offside. And then, England’s youngest new debutant, Jadon Sancho, came on to replace Sterling.
He could be a big star in England’s future, but the Borussia Dortmund winger didn’t have much time to impress. He did make two good jinking runs and crosses which Croatia were stretched to clear.
Key statistics
Make no mistake… this game meant a lot to both sides. Croatia were still hurting from a recent 6-0 spanking at the hands of Spain, but England wouldn’t care about that. In their last meeting with Zlatko Dalic’s team, the Three Lions were just 22 minutes away from a World Cup final when Croatia took that dream away.
The pre-match SBOBET odds were at 3.00 for a draw, and while it was a close fought encounter, Gareth Southgate may feel his side did enough to win…almost.
England had the lion’s share of the possession and used the ball better than their hosts, with passing accuracy of 83 per cent compared to Croatia’s 79 per cent. And it was a quiet night for the keepers with only five shots on target, three for Croatia and two for England as the visitors were twice denied by the woodwork.
It’s the first draw between England and Croatia since 1996, and the Three Lions still edge the head to heads by four to three.
What’s next?
After two rounds of UEFA Nations League results in Group A4, England and Croatia now have a single point each. This was a good result for Spain.
England faces Spain next. They won’t need to ask Croatia for any tips before taking on Luis Enrique’s team, which was highly impressive in last week’s 1-4 win against Wales, Paco Alcacer continuing his club form with a brilliantly taken double.
Meanwhile, Croatia has a home friendly against Jordan, and then it’s back to the Nations League in November when they’ll be determined to put up a show against Spain and England.
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