Croatia beats Spain to set up Nations showdown with England
Posted November 15, 2018 6:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Croatia crushed England’s World Cup hopes in July. By beating Spain in a thriller on Thursday, the Croats have given Gareth Southgate’s side a chance to advance to the final phase of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Right back Tin Jedvaj scored his second goal three minutes into stoppage time to earn Croatia a 3-2 victory and a first win in a competitive match since defeating England in the World Cup semifinals.
Spain remained top of League A, Group 4 with six points. England and Croatia have four points before they meet at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in the last match.
A win by either side qualifies it for the Final Four in June along with the other three group winners. Spain would go through if England and Croatia draw. The bottom team will be relegated to League B.
While Croatia stunned former world champions Spain, England eased to a 3-0 win over the United States in a friendly marking the farewell appearance of Wayne Rooney.
Elsewhere in the Nations League, Belgium beat Iceland 2-0 to stay on course to reach the finals. In the lower leagues, Bosnia and Herzegovina earned promotion to League A, and Finland earned promotion to League B.
In other friendlies, Germany routed Russia 3-0, the Czech Republic edged Poland 1-0, and Ireland drew 0-0 with Northern Ireland.
The victory by the Croats avenged a 6-0 loss, its worst ever, to Spain in September.
The World Cup runner-up pressed Spain in its area in the final moments and Jedvaj pounced after goalkeeper David de Gea pushed the ball into his path. The Bayer Leverkusen defender had earlier made it 2-1 to the hosts when he was left unmarked to head in a cross by Luka Modric.
Spain twice came from behind to equalize, first through Dani Ceballos cancelling out Andrej Kramaric’s opener and then via a penalty by Sergio Ramos.
Luis Enrique’s side was pressing for a late goal when Croatia produced one last push that paid off with Jedvaj’s second goal.
ROONEY BIDS FAREWELL
Making his 120th and final appearance for England, the 33-year-old Rooney was denied a perfect farewell by Brad Guzan when the US goalkeeper dived to stop his shot in stoppage time.
Recalled after two years away from the international stage, the D.C. United player provided the biggest cheers of the night when he went on as a 58th-minute substitute against the country he now calls home.
England’s goals came from Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum Wilson.
BELGIANS ON COURSE
Michy Batshuayi, replacing the injured Romelu Lukaku in attack, scored twice as Belgium beat Iceland for a third victory in as many matches in the Nations League.
Belgium will have enough with a draw in Switzerland on Sunday to reach the finals. It has nine points from three games in Group 2 of League A, three ahead of Switzerland. Iceland had already been relegated to League B before the match.
France and Portugal are also favoured to reach the finals from their groups in League A.
OTHER GAMES
Bosnia and Herzegovina will join the top 12 teams on the continent for the next Nations League after it won Group 3 of League B. The tiny Balkan nation got the point it needed by drawing 0-0 at Austria and remaining undefeated.
Finland won Group 2 of League C with one match remaining despite losing 1-0 against Greece.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
The Associated Press
