Croatia secure place at the European Championship!

After their victory over Hungary, Croatia had to wait for the result of the Ukraine–Türkiye match, which kicked off at 18:00 on Saturday, to confirm their place at the European Championship.

Türkiye took a 2-0 lead, but Ukraine managed to come back in the second half and level the score at 2-2. The result remained unchanged until the final whistle, meaning that Croatia, thanks to the points collected against Hungary and the result of the Ukraine–Türkiye match, secured top spot in the group and qualification for next year’s European Championship in Albania and Serbia.

Croatia produced a very good first-half performance against Hungary in Varaždin and went into the break with a 1-0 lead.

For much of the opening 45 minutes, Croatia controlled the game and created several chances, threatening the Hungarian goal on a number of occasions. Ivica Olić’s young Vatreni took the lead in the 25th minute following an excellent combination between Šotiček and Jagušić.

Šotiček did well to get away from Tercza on the right and delivered a cross into the penalty area. Jagušić controlled the ball on his chest before producing an acrobatic bicycle-kick finish to put Croatia ahead.

Šotiček and Jagušić were highly active in combination play down the right flank, and their understanding produced Croatia’s opening goal in the 25th minute. Hungary only managed to threaten the Croatian goal occasionally during the first half.

Hungary equalised in the 49th minute from the penalty spot. Following a cross from the left, Prpić and Kovacz challenged for the ball inside the penalty area, with the Hungarian forward going down following the contact. Estonian referee Karl Koppel pointed to the spot, and Tuboly confidently converted to make it 1-1.

Croatia regained the lead in the 60th minute, with Jagušić again finding the back of the net. Zvonarek launched a counter-attack and played the ball to Šotiček, who saw his shot saved by the Hungarian goalkeeper once again. The rebound fell to Jagušić, who struck on the volley and found the net via the post to make it 2-1.

In the 85th minute, Jagušić completed his hat-trick, with the combination between Šotiček and Jagušić once again playing a key role. Šotiček carried the ball for around ten metres before finding Jagušić with a cut-back. The Croatian international took the shot first time, without any additional preparation, and unleashed a powerful effort into the top corner to make it 3-1.

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