Croatia 2-0 France: Hosts take two-goal advantage into second leg

Croatia bounced back from missing an early penalty to score two first-half goals in a stunning 2-0 victory over France in their Nations League quarter-final first leg in Split.

Match in brief: Croatia claim memorable win

Croatia had an opportunity to take an early lead when Ibrahima Konaté conceded a penalty. Andrej Kramarić sent his spot kick down the middle, but France goalkeeper Mike Maignan executed a superb save with his foot to deny the No9.

Both goalkeepers were kept busy during an entertaining opening 20 minutes, with France's Kylian Mbappé testing Dominik Livaković from a tight angle inside the box and Croatia's Joško Gvardiol striking a powerful shot from distance to force another stop from Maignan.

The deadlock was broken midway through the first half, when Ivan Perišić received a long ball on the left wing and curled in an inviting cross, which found the head of Ante Budimir.

Maignan initially got a block on Budimir's effort, but the deflected ball span away from the France goalkeeper and crossed the goal line to put the hosts ahead.

Buoyed by their goal, Croatia extended their lead just before half-time when Perišić got a goal of his own after assisting the first.

The Croatia No14 reacted first to the rebound from William Saliba's block and sent a magnificent first-time strike beyond Maignan to make it 2-0.

Croatia continued to dominate, defending resiliently as France attempted to get themselves back into contention, with Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola both shooting wide.

The outstanding Livaković once again demonstrated his agility in the 81st minute, getting his fingertips to a fierce shot from Mbappé, as France pushed for a late goal.

But the Croatia defence stood firm and soaked up the pressure to hold out for a memorable win.

Elvir Islamovic, match reporter

I’ve watched many great matches and historic victories for Croatia over the years and this is undoubtedly one of the best. Not just for the impressive win over a powerful France, but for the performance itself - from the team and each player individually. The discipline, tactical and technical execution, and also coach Zlatko Dalić’s preparation were outstanding. Croatia played one of their best games in recent years, deserving the standing ovation at Stadion Poljud. With Mbappé back, more was expected from France. They pushed late in the game, but it wasn’t enough. They’ll have a chance to respond on Sunday, but they’ll need a much better performance than this.

Reaction

Ante Budimir, Croatia forward: "It was a really big win, an important victory ahead of Sunday. We were truly at a high level, and it's hard for me to single anyone out.

"Sunday will be a completely different game. It's only half-time. We need to stay fully focused, compact, strong and aggressive, just like today. We were dangerous up front every time, our centre-backs were solid and decisive at the back — just like Livaković."

Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "We were compact and disciplined. Even after missing a penalty, we didn't stop; we stayed strong. We created a lot of good opportunities, held our defensive shape, and stayed behind the ball.

"If you give France space they will punish you. We made substitutions at the right time to keep up the intensity. They had some chances and, in the second half, we were maybe a bit on the back foot. It's a big win, but in three days another game awaits us.

"It will be very difficult on Sunday. I hope we will be smart and have a good tactical approach. We talked about this game for three days, and the players executed it perfectly. It won't be easy, but I believe we can reach the Nations League final; that is a big dream."

Didier Deschamps, France coach: "We had some good attempts at the start but there were too many technical mistakes. Even though Maignan saved the penalty, we couldn't capitalise on it. Croatia were very organised.

"We were better in the second half than in the first. The approach was not good, and quality opponents punished us. Maybe I could have made different changes, but we improved after the break. Everything started with a first half full of mistakes, and then fatigue caught up with us. The result was essentially decided in the first half."

Key stats

• Before this victory, Croatia had won only one of their previous ten matches against France (D3 L6).
• This is only the second time France had lost in their last 12 UEFA Nations League matches played outside of France (W8 D2).
• Excluding penalty shoot-outs, Croatia have lost only two of their last 14 UEFA Nations League matches (W8 D4).
• Croatia are unbeaten in their last six UEFA Nations League matches in Croatia (W4 D2).
• This was the first international tournament knockout tie between these teams since France defeated Croatia 4-2 in the final of the 2018 World Cup.

Line-ups

Croatia: Livaković; Stanišić, Ćaleta-Car, Šutalo, Gvardiol; Modrić, Kovačić; Perišić (Vlašić 70), Butarina (Pašalić 60), Kramarić (Sučić 84); Budimir (Ivanović 60)

France: Maignan; Koundé, Konaté (Upamecano 46), Saliba, Digne; Guendouzi (Koné 84), Tchouaméni, Rabiot (Camavinga 64); Dembele (Olise 84); Kolo Muani (Barcola 64), Mbappé

How do the Nations League quarter-finals work?

Getty Images

The group winners and runners-up from League A have reached the quarter-final stage of the Nations League.

Ties will take place across two legs, each side playing home and away, with the winners progressing to the Final Four in June.

The semi-finals will be played on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 June to decide who contests the final and the third-place match on Sunday 8 June.