"Vlatko Marković" Youth Tournament

Matchday 2: Croatia continues its successful run

25.09.2020.

Photo by: Dražen Patarčić/HNS

The Croatian U-16 national team reached its second victory in a row at the 2020 edition of the “Vlatko Marković” International Youth Tournament, held in Osijek.

Head coach Tomislav Rukavina and his players overcame Montenegro in their second match at the tournament and thus came closer to winning the first place in their group and placing in the final match. Croatia took the lead with a successful penalty kick by team captain Žiković in the 8^th minute, while the team’s second goal was scored by Kegalj in the 55^th minute.

"It’s certainly nice to have another strong victory at this tournament. Though the final results might not suggest it, both Qatar and Montenegro were strong opponents. The match with Montenegro was a tough one and we had some mistakes in our game, but we were firm during the defensive phase and that stopped our opponents from having any real chances,” says Croatia assistant coach Elvis Brajković, adding that he expects the Croatian U-16s to continue with their good performances at their final group-stage match against Bulgaria

Foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS

"We now have the chance to win first place in our group and place in the final. Even though the final result was important to us at both of our matches so far, we still fielded a wide number of players. We naturally want to win this tournament, but we’re also doing our best to give every player a chance – we want to see what they’re capable of and get a better idea of which players we’ll be able to rely on in the future. Bulgaria? We watched one half-time of one of their matches – every team that’s at this tournament is a real contender and they all play strong, aggressive football. However, I do believe we’ll approach this match with the right mindset and will once again perform at a high level,” says Brajković.

Croatia will play its final group-stage match on September 25, with the kick-off time set at 16:45 CET.

MONTENEGRO - CROATIA 0:2

OSIJEK, NK Elektra Stadium. Referee: Domagoj Kurtović. Goals: 0:1 Žiković (8'-11m), 0:2 Kegalj (55').

CROATIA: Klarin, Čaić (59' Perković), Žiković, Prekodravac (68' Cvetko), Cukon (68' Sekulić), Zvonarek (59' Kapulica), Travaglia (68' Duduković), Vrbančić (53' Kegalj), Plavec Marković (53' Majdančić), Brajković (41' Gec), Žlibanović (59' Ivković). Head coach: Tomislav Rukavina.

Group A

Matchday 2 results: Qatar - Bulgaria 2:1, Montenegro - Croatia 0:2.

Standings: Croatia 6, Bulgaria 3, Qatar 3, Montenegro 0.

Matchday 3 schedule (September 25): Qatar - Montenegro (12:15 CET, NK Elektra Stadium), Croatia - Bulgaria (16:45 CET, NK Elektra Stadium).

Group B

Matchday 2 results: Romania - North Macedonia 4:2, Zambia – Bosnia and Herzegovina 2:1.

Standings: Romania 4, Zambia 3, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1, North Macedonia 0.

Matchday 3 schedule (September 25): Romania - Zambia (10:30 CET, NK Grafičar Stadium), Bosnia and Herzegovina - North Macedonia (15:00, NK Grafičar Stadium).

Foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS

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