Croatia back to winning ways

Croatia bounced back from defeat in Albania on Saturday with a 3-2 victory against Azerbaijan in Group 1 in qualifying for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Tadić strike
Croatia started well and raced into a 3-1 first-half lead, goals from Josip Tadić (13) and Ivo Iličević (20) putting the home side in control early on. Nodar Mammadov pulled one back for Azerbaijan on 34 minutes but Tomislav Bušić restored Croatia's two-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time. Croatia eased off after the break and Mammadov brought Azerbaijan back into the match when he struck his second of the night on 63 minutes. That, though, was as close as Azerbaijan came as Croatia held on for a victory that takes them level at the top of the section with Italy, though they have played a game more. The two sides meet in Chieti on 12 October.