GROUP D
Croatia 1-0 Czech Republic
Lovren 60'
Michael Grew
Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
Friday 19th June
Saturday evening saw Hampden Park play host to a clash between a Croatia side keen to bounce back after their first match loss, 400 miles away at Wembley, and a Czech team hoping to make Glasgow a home away from home after their last-minute equaliser against Scotland 5 days ago. The stands were packed with a mixture of Czech and Croatian fans, as well as a good number of neutral supporters from the local area. Many of them sunburnt from an afternoon enjoying the uncharacteristically warm weather; they had flocked to the stadium hoping to see another memorable 90 minutes of action, the recent matches in both Rome and Baku fresh in their memory. Unfortunately, the football itself failed to live up to the atmosphere, as a disappointing Croatia side narrowly edged a Czech side high on passion but low on ideas.
The Czechs may have felt a sense of déjà vu in the early exchanges, pegged back in their own half by an energetic foe, without so much as a touch of the elusive Uniforia ball for the opening minutes- it was almost a carbon copy of their experience against Scotland on Monday. They were even defending the same goal. The Croatians seemed on a mission to put Wembley’s disappointment behind them, and early chances for both the captain Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić could easily have led to a two goal cushion being quickly established. As it was, Modrić’s luscious chip clipped the bar and Perišić was also incapable of keeping his effort down, and the Czechs breathed a sigh of relief.
After the early exchanges, Czech coach Jaroslav Šilhavý quickly decided that he’d seen enough. Tomáš Souček, until now deployed as a holding midfielder, was moved back to sit in front of the back four, in an attempt to prevent Modric from having everything his own way in the gap between the Czech defense and midfield. This did shore up what had appeared a shaky back line, but removed the attacking threat which Souček had until that point looked like providing. The half stagnated into stalemate. The Croatians had a lot of the ball, but even Modrić appeared unable to provide any of his stardust for a match which was quickly turning into a bit of a slog for players and fans alike. Mateo Kovačić provided a constant threat with his searching balls forward, and one moment of real quality arrived after an arching 40 yard pass from the Chelsea regular was trapped effortlessly by Modrić, but ultimately the move came to nothing as their opponents dutifully held their positions. It was clear to see that the Czech focus was on drawing the Croatians out and hopefully exploiting the space behind, with Zdenek Ondrasek doing his best to hold up play and distribute the ball out to the wings, but they were also very wary of over-committing and going behind, especially with only a trip to Wembley remaining to add to their points tally.
The remainder of the half played out in a similar way, caution trumping charisma. The fans, seemingly well oiled after a day drinking a mile away in Queen’s Park, amused themselves with chants, songs and even the odd paper aeroplane which made its way down onto the pitch. One of the highlights of the tie occurred as a particularly well crafted plane reached Kovačić, who picked it up and launched it perfectly at the dugouts, where it hit one of his coaching staff on the shoulder. Though the referee was seen having a brief word, few could begrudge the paying public a little merriment.
The second half began in a similarly turgid manner. Euro 2020 has given us many fast-paced, end-to-end contests, but as the mathematics of progressing in the tournament becomes increasingly inflexible, some caginess will inevitably creep into these second round matches. The Czechs did begin to open up slightly, with Sampdoria’s Jakub Jankto beginning to trouble Karlo Bartolec down the left flank. On several occasions the Czech winger got the better of his man and was able to deliver a cross in for Ondrasek, but ‘The Cobra’, as he is known, was unable to trouble Lovre Kalinić in any meaningful way.
It was as the Czechs were beginning to grow into the game that they were dealt the sucker punch which would ultimately decide the result. A quick counter from the Croatians saw Kovačić play the ball out to Perisic, who tried to deliver a first-time ball into the centre, where Andrej Kramarić lay in wait. Pavel Kaderábek did well to block the ball, but couldn’t prevent the corner, despite his attempted sliding clearance.
The resulting 60th minute corner was played into the centre around the edge of the six yard box by Modrić and, despite the close attention of Pavel Kadeřábek, Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren rose highest to nod the ball past Tomáš Vaclík into the net. The Croatian celebrations smacked of relief rather than real jubilation, the game had appeared to be slipping away from them, but the goal put them firmly in control once more.
The Czech team shifted into a more attacking formation, with Souček told to move back up into central midfield, and Jankto and fellow winger Ladislav Krejčí given license to throw everything they had at the Croatian defence. This new attacking approach certainly made for a more entertaining final 30 minutes of the match, and the crowd responded, both sets of supporters cheering their team on, while the locals cheered something approaching a game of football having broken out in front of them. In the 86th minute, their new approach appeared to have paid off, with Krejčí brought down by Rangers’ very own Borna Barisic inside the area. The responsibility fell to the captain, Vladimír Darida, to take the spot kick and surely rescue a point for his team. He clearly opted for power with his penalty, blasting it to Kalinic’s left, but it was at a good height for the keeper, and his powerful hand pushed it around the post. This is hardly Darida’s first rodeo, and he limited himself to a frustrated wince, but he must know that he may be looking back at that miss in a week’s time as the moment he could have saved his team’s tournament.
The remaining few minutes passed without further incident, and the referee’s whistle signalled the end to what will not be remembered as a classic tie of the competition, but will seem no less significant to the red and white chequered-clad Croatians. They had indeed bounced back from defeat in London, and now must wait to see whether England can defeat their old enemy Scotland later on this evening. Anything other than an English victory and the Croatians will surely see themselves as favourites to progress from Group D in first position. The Czech Republic, meanwhile, must now head to Wembley, to face another highly ranked opponent. It will be interesting to see whether they approach that challenge with the same caution as today’s match, or whether necessity and the evidence of the final 30 minutes here will persuade Šilhavý to allow his forward line more freedom in pursuit of the three points that they will unquestionably need to progress in Euro 2020.
Man of the Match: Mateo Kovačić