Overview
- Croatia opened their UEFA Nations League Group A3 campaign with a 2-1 away win over the Czech Republic in Prague on Saturday, Sept. 26, handing Slaven Bilic a winning start in his second spell as manager.
- Luka Modric, 41, scored a superb opening goal two minutes into the second half to register his 30th international goal and set the tone for Croatia’s performance.
- Adam Karabec quickly equalised for the hosts after Croatia failed to clear a chance, forcing the visitors to regroup before the decisive goal.
- Ivan Perisic delivered the cross that Marco Pasalic headed home in the 77th minute for the winner, and a later Czech goal was overturned by VAR after it showed Adam Hlozek was offside in the build-up.
- The result underlined Croatia’s dependence on experienced leaders and gives Bilic momentum ahead of Tuesday’s test in Seville against Spain while earning valuable away points in a group that also features England.