Croatia’s qualification path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup just became that much smoother.
And Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić praised his players for a near perfect June international window, hoping they would not again leave it to the last-minute to qualify.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing against a dogged Czechia on Tuesday morning, despite the “Vatreni” running out 5-1 winners in the pair’s crucial qualifier in Osijek.
While the scoreboard might suggest this was a walk in the park, Croatian hearts were palpitating after an hour with Czechia having just scored a deserved equaliser.
That header meant that, for a time, the Group L standings had reverted back to what they were pre-match – with the 39th-ranked Czechs sitting six points clear of Croatia on top of the table.
While Croatia has two games in hand by virtue of not having played any qualifiers in the March international window, this was leaving things too close for comfort ahead of a return match between these two teams in Czechia in October.
But then came the 13-minute blitz that will live long in Croatian football history.
The brilliant Luka Modrić restored Croatia’s one-goal advantage from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute, before Ivan Perišić made it a two-goal lead with a well-taken finish in the 68th minute.
It was 4-1 when Ante Budimir slotted Croatia’s second penalty of the match in the 72nd minute, before Andrej Kramarić completed his brace in the 75th minute, leaving Czech heads spinning and the Croatian crowd in ecstasy.
Dalić, who has led the team since 2017, hoped to end Croatia’s history of 11th hour major tournament qualification.
“This is a small step toward the World Cup, but nothing is over yet. There are six matches left, and we have to be at this level in every one of them. Nothing is decided, there’s no room for relaxing. It’s about time we qualify before the final match for once,” Dalić said.
“In September we face the Faroe Islands. We have to show the same approach and everything will be fine.”
While the three points were ultimately deserved, the four-goal margin was harsh on Czechia, who, outside of that nightmare 15-minute period, made their highly-ranked opponents work hard for their victory.
Earlier, Kramarić’s headed opener in the 42nd minute gave Croatia a 1-0 half-time lead, before Tomáš Souček equalised from a header of his own in the 58th.
June fixtures have traditionally been tricky at the end of a long European season.
But this win, combined with the 7-0 rout of Gibraltar in Friday’s first game of this qualifying window, leaves Croatia perfectly placed to secure a direct qualification berth for next year’s showpiece event in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Czechia still leads the group on nine points. But Croatia has now jumped to second on six points, ahead of Montenegro on goal difference. And, crucially, Croatia has two games in hand on the Czechs and has played one game less than Montenegro.
With September games against Faroe Islands (away) and Montenegro (home) to come, Croatia should be well placed going into the decisive away clash against Czechia in October.
Dalić paid tribute to the players for a near perfect camp, in a period which has often proved tricky for Croatia, after long club seasons.
“Congratulations to the boys on a big win, but also on these ten days of commitment to the national team – and it paid off. It was ten days of excellent training, great atmosphere, and that’s what keeps us going, and will keep going, all the way to America,” Dalić said.
“At the end of the season, when the holidays are near, they play two matches like this. That shows dedication, that’s love for Croatia. The players have emotion, that’s the national team culture. Once again, they showed character, especially after it was 1-1, when they scored four goals.
“The most important thing was to win six points from these two matches. It turned out great, we scored a lot of goals, many different scorers. I can praise the forwards, but the centre-backs were excellent too, bringing the ball out, and (Domimik) Livaković barely had anything to do.
“This was one of the better performances by the Croatian national team. I’m more than satisfied — everyone got at least a few minutes in this cycle, Luka Vušković made his debut, and the only thing I regret is that Toni Fruk didn’t get a chance.”
Watch Vjesnik staff analyse the win: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EL9m8Hm1N/