With a 4-2 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday, Bruno Petkovic and Luka Modric put Croatia into the Nations League championship.
The team led by Zlatko Dalic, who also led his team to a World Cup semifinal appearance the previous year, made progress toward winning their first-ever trophy and once more proved they are experts in extra time.
Donyell Malen had given the Dutch the lead before Andrej Kramaric and Mario Pasalic scored in the second half. However, Noa Lang salvaged an equalizer in the 96th minute to force an extra 30 minutes of play.
But eight minutes into extra time, Petkovic outran Frenkie de Jong and blasted home from outside the box to give Croatia a decisive lead. Modric then sealed the victory with a penalty.
For Croatia’s senior citizens, like Real Madrid star Luka Modric, the Nations League is one of their final opportunities to experience international success.
In their last 16 games, Croatia has only lost once, against World Cup champions Argentina, which prevented the Netherlands from winning their first competition since the 1988 European Championship.
In the first Nations League matchup against the hosts Portugal in 2019, Ronald Koeman’s team came in second, while France won in 2021.
Malen was chosen by the coach to play on the right of the attack, with Xavi Simons, an intriguing young player making his fourth appearance for the Netherlands, playing on the left.
After 30 minutes, the Oranje sprung into life, scoring the opening goal alongside Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo.
Despite Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk insisting his squad needed to play with great intensity, the match got off to a slow start in the afternoon heat, with both sets of players worn out from a lengthy season with the World Cup sandwiched in the midst.
In the 31st minute, Teun Koopmeiners just missed as Koeman’s team threatened, and Malen scored the game’s first goal three minutes later.
After a well-executed team move, Feyenoord’s Mats Wieffer, who was playing in the club’s stadium De Kuip, feed Malen, who beat Croatia’s World Cup hero Dominik Livakovic to finish third in Qatar.
The Borussia Dortmund forward has five goals for the Netherlands thus far. He had a strong finish to the Bundesliga season.