It was an entertaining affair in Saint Etienne, but the match was marred by another case of football hooliganism, as both sides played out a dramatic 2-2 draw.
The Croatians were painfully superior right from the start, pressing the Czechs deep into their half and denying them any meaningful attempt at goal. They were lucky to only concede once in the first 45 minutes after Ivan Perisic drilled a clinical finish to the bottom right corner.
Pavel Vrba’s half-time team talk must have hit the right note as his side started the 2nd half in a more convincing manner. They recorded their first shot on target after Ladislav Krejci’s overhead kick was comfortably gathered by Danijel Subasic, but they were reminded of Croatia’s dominance minutes later. Roman Hubnik carelessly lost possession in his own half, and Ivan Rakitic capitalised on it by coolly dinking the ball over the hapless Petr Cech. It looked to be game, set and match, but the Czechs weren’t ready to give in after Milan Skoda heads in Tomas Rosicky’s cross to set up a thrilling finale. The epic comeback was completed when Tomas Necid smashes in a 94th minute penalty.
Here are the 3 most impressive players on the night:
Luka Modric
It was another sensational display from the Real Madrid midfield maestro. Modric’s distributions were mostly spot-on to help Croatia making the switch from defense to offense. He could have easily gotten an assist with his exceptional link-up play, if not for the attackers’ lack of incisiveness in front of goal.
Darijo Srna
The Croatian skipper has just received the news of his father’s death 5 days prior to the match, and he wouldn’t be blamed if he decides to pull out from the tournament. He chose to stay and showed no sign of negative effect as he bossed the right flank from the get-go. Srna was also effective in defense, but would have been extremely disappointed to see his side denied a win.
Tomas Rosicky
The Czechs were relying on their playmaker to create a spark in their attacking play, but the former Arsenal midfielder was mostly ineffective with his inaccurate passing. He redeemed himself in the 2nd half by sending in a perfect cross for Skoda to head in the goal, resulting in an unlikely comeback from his side to share the spoils with the dominant Croatians.
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