Having reached the final of the inaugural Nations League in 2018-2019 and only to be stopped by champions Portugal, the Dutch team has not hidden their determination to be present in the second cup match in 4 years when playing at home this season. However, coach Ronald Koeman does not have many good players for many reasons, so he has to use a relatively inexperienced squad to compete in the semi-finals.
Mario Pasalic fiercely disputes with Nathan Ake
Croatia, meanwhile, still has almost the same squad that won third place at the 2022 World Cup, with the experienced trio Modric - Brozovic - Kovacic guarding the midfield and up front is veteran striker Andrej Kramaric.
Donyell Malen opened the scoring for the home team Netherlands
With home advantage, the Netherlands quickly took control of the ball, even taking the lead in the 34th minute. Mats Wieffer took the ball into the penalty area and passed it to Donyell Malen, who beat goalkeeper Livakovic with a low shot.
Andrej Kramaric scored the winning penalty, equalizing 1-1
Croatia rose strongly in the second half, creating pressure that forced the home team Netherlands to make consecutive mistakes. In the 54th minute, Cody Gakpo, while retreating to defend, was forced to foul Luka Modric in the penalty area. From the penalty spot from 11m away, Andrej Kramaric easily scored the equalizer 1-1 for Croatia.
Mario Pasalic puts Croatia ahead in the second half
The match became more exciting from here. In the 72nd minute, Croatia continued to score and take the lead after Mario Pasalic received the ball from Luka Ivanusec and volleyed it into the penalty area, defeating the Dutch defense. This fragile gap seemed to be maintained until the end of the match, but the home team, the Netherlands, exploded in the 90+6th minute. Teun Koopmeiners kicked the ball into the penalty area and after a few chaotic situations, the ball found the player who had just been substituted, Noa Lang, and the Club Brugge striker quickly finished into the top corner of the goal, tying the score at 2-2.
Noa Lang brought the match back to the starting line in the 90+6 minute
The efforts of the home team in orange seemed to be enough to help them hold on until this point. Entering extra time, the Netherlands continued to concede in the 98th minute after a long-range shot by Bruno Petkovic, who had just come on as a substitute.
Super sub Bruno Petkovic scores
In the 116th minute, Petkovic won a penalty for Croatia when he was fouled by Tyrell Malacia in the Dutch penalty area and Luka Modric scored the winning penalty, sealing a 4-2 victory and sending Croatia to their first Nations League final.
Luka Modric scored a successful penalty kick, sealing a 4-2 victory...
Croatia reach Nations League final for first time
In the early morning of June 16, Spain will face Italy in the second semi-final, competing for a place in the final with Croatia. The "second-place syndrome" is weighing heavily on the Italian football community after losing three European Cup finals and the U20 World Cup final, which could once again cause the Azzurri to stumble against their "jeu" rival Spain.
Italy beat Spain in the semi-finals of EURO 2021 but just three months later, they lost to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2020-2021 Nations League season two. The Azzurri then failed in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, losing the Finalissma Intercontinental Cup to Argentina as European champions...
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