Croatia shine in impressive performance against Ukraine

A key moment occurred when Luka Vušković struck the post from a free kick, and in the 53rd minute Leon Grgić reacted quickest, sending the rebound into an empty net for the decisive 1–0.

In the closing stages of the first half, Croatia created several excellent chances — Barišić, Jagušić, and Grgić all came close, but Ukraine’s defence and goalkeeper held firm.

Early in the second half, Šimun Hrgović delivered a clever set-piece to find Jagušić, whose shot was denied by the Ukrainian goalkeeper. Moments later, Prpić set up Grgić, but his attempt failed to hit the target.

In the final minutes, Katić released Jagušić on the edge of the box, but his powerful strike went over the crossbar.

Croatia’s U-21 team will regroup in a month:

• 13 November they host Lithuania,

• 18 November they visit Hungary.

The match was attended by Croatia’s senior national team coach Zlatko Dalić, assistants Vedran Ćorluka and Dražen Ladić, as well as HNS representatives: Tomislav Svetina (HNS General Secretary), Nikola Jurčević (Technical Advisor for Youth Teams), and Stjepan Merkaš (Advisor to the HNS President).

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