Croatia defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 in the first round of group 3 in the elite tier of the Nations League. The match at the Fortuna Arena, attended by 15,000 spectators, was the return debut of Slaven Bilic on the Croatian bench, 14 years after he left the role.
Bilic opened his second term with a victory, succeeding Zlatko Dalic. The match began at 20:45, with Italian referee Simone Sozza in charge. Croatia dominated possession, holding 60 per cent of the ball and registering nine shots on goal, while the Czechs managed none.
Luka Modric scored in the 47th minute, his 30th goal in a national team shirt. The Czechs equalised in the 54th minute: Coufa delivered a cross, Hlousek advanced down the right and crossed, and Adam Karabec, left unmarked, scored from close range to make it 1-1. Prior to that, in the 42nd minute, Matej Kovač had found Petar Sučić, who was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper but failed to score.
Bil brought on Ante Budimir, Mario Pašalić and Marko Pašalić in the 64th minute, replacing Matanović, Luka Sučić and Ivanović. In the 77th minute, Perišić delivered a cross, and Pašalić headed home to make it 2-1. The Czechs levelled in the 79th minute through Matej Radosta, but the goal was disallowed by VAR due to an offside position for Adam Hlousek in the build-up. In the 71st minute, Hlousek’s action had ended with a low cross for Radosta, who shot over the bar from seven or eight metres out.
Croatia’s starting lineup did not include Šutec, Budimir or Batur, with Bili leaving Pongrač, Musa, Batur and Batur on the bench. A virus restricted the play of Coma. Bili chose Matan, Ivan, Petar Su, while Modri started. Croatia played in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Livaković – Stani, Vuk, Gvid, Peri – Mod, Kova – L. Su, P. Su, Iva – Mat. Czech Republic: Hor – Cou, Hra, Cal, Cha – Sad, Sla – Amb, Kar, Šu – Ho.
In the 88th minute, P. Sučić was replaced by Vlašić. In the 83rd minute, Slama and Šulc were replaced by Sejk and Zmrzly. In the 76th minute, Mod was replaced by Mi.
