Slovenia 1-0 Croatia
Slovenia have made a winning start to their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign as they picked up a surprise 1-0 victory over Croatia in Ljubljana.
Sandi Lovric’s deflected first-half strike was enough to see the Slovenians record their first-ever win against their Balkan neighbours.
The Croatians, who went all the way to the final in the 2018 World Cup, were eager to make a good start in Group H, especially with superstar midfielder Luka Modric in great form for Real Madrid at the moment.
However, the visitors put it a mostly disappointing performance, hardly troubling Slovenia’s star goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Highlights of the game
Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic was able to field a strong starting XI, with a front three of Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic and Niko Vlasic supported by Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic in midfield. They made a bright start to the match and had a couple of good opportunities within the first 10 minutes.
Croatia’s first chance came just seven minutes in. Vlasic was able to pick out Kramaric, who created enough space amid a bunch of Slovenian defenders to get off a shot just inside the box. However, the Hoffenheim striker fired just wide as Oblak dove out to cover his goal.
And three minutes later, they came even closer. Vlasic again was involved as he received the ball inside the box and made a great run along the byline. He attempted a shot despite the tight angle, but Oblak showed why he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world as he made a brilliant save that redirected the ball onto the post.
That save would prove even more crucial as Slovenia would take the lead just five minutes later. Croatia turned the ball over inside their own half, which Slovenia turned into a quick counter-attack. After some good interplay with Josip Ilicic, Andraz Sporar set up Sandi Lovric for a shot which took a big deflection that sent it past Dominik Livakovic.
Slovenia very nearly doubled their advantage with another counter-attack two minutes from half-time. Sporar again released Ilicic, but the Atalanta striker could not find the top corner with his shot from the edge of the box.
In need of a goal, Dalic took off left-back Borna Barisic for attacking midfielder Mislav Orsic to start the second half. The substitute produced Croatia’s first meaningful chance nine minutes into the half, but it was a tame long-range effort that Oblak easily caught.
Croatia would make Oblak work a bit harder later on. Perisic made a good run from the left wing and fired the ball into the box, but Oblak did well to parry it away. Perisic had another shot seven minutes from time, but Oblak was on-hand to smother the ball.
Croatia pushed more men forward in the final minutes, but Oblak commanded his penalty area well and swatted away Croatia’s crosses. And in the end, Slovenia did enough to hang on for a famous first victory over their neighbours.
Key statistics
As expected, Croatia completely dominated possession as they had 69 per cent of the ball. The midfield trio of Kovacic, Modric, and Brozovic completed 96, 95, and 94 passes respectively, with a pass completion percentage of well over 90 per cent.
But despite all that possession, the Croatians could only create 11 shots to Slovenia’s eight. The home side also had more shots on target, 4-3.
In SBOTOP’s preview of this match, Ilicic was expected to create most of Slovenia’s World Cup 2022 highlights. However, it was Sporar who came up with the team’s big contributions in this match.
Aside from setting up the goal, the 27-year-old Sporting striker also had three shots to help Slovenia pick up their first win over Croatia in 10 tries. Croatia had previously won all five of their trips to Slovenia.
Counting their last three Nations League matches, Croatia have now lost their last four competitive fixtures.
What’s next?
Croatia have two more Group H qualifiers coming up in the next few days. Both of those games will be at home, so the World Cup 2022 betting odds should have them heavily favoured in both matches.
First, they host Cyprus, who had a goalless draw at home against Slovakia in their qualifying opener. Then, they take on minnows Malta, who lost 3-1 to Russia in their first Group H assignment.
As for Slovenia, they will be away in their next two matches. They will make the trip to Sochi to take on Russia before travelling to Cyprus.
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