Spain get the better of Croatia once again
Thursday, October 6, 2011
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Croatia 0-2 Spain
Koke and Rodrigo were on target as the visitors, who beat Croatia 12 months ago in the play-offs, chalked up a third consecutive Group 5 win.
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Holders Spain recorded their third win in as many UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group 5 qualifiers thanks to a 2-0 victory in Croatia.
Spain booked their place at the 2011 finals by eliminating Croatia in the play-offs 12 months ago but would have been behind early on in their return to the country had Ante Vukušić beaten David de Gea with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Instead, Koke punished confusion in the Croatia defence after 18 minutes with a simple finish from close range. With the visitors dominating − they had almost 70% of possession at one stage in the first half − Rodrigo made the points safe 12 minutes into the second period, applying the finish to match a fantastic assist from Isco.