(Football News) Croatia pulled off an upset as they defeated the Dutch team in the Netherlands. Croatia will now play in the UEFA Nations League final against Spain or Italy. The match was very entertaining and end to end throughout the ninety minutes. Croatia started the game well on top but it was Netherlands who opened the scoring in the 34th minute via Donyell Malen. Croatia were pushing for an equalizer but the Dutch managed to hold on to the 1-0 lead at halftime. In the 55th minute, Luka Modric was fouled by Cody Gakpo and the referee awarded a penalty. Andrej Kramaric stepped up to take the spot kick and equalized.
Croatia continued to dominate the game as they took the lead thanks to Mario Pasalic in the 78th minute. Croatia then stepped off the gas a little bit which led to a flurry of Dutch attacks. Ronald Koeman subbed in Wout Weghorst to get some aerial presence in the attack. The Netherlands finally got the equalizer with the very last kick of normal time via Noa Lang. In extra time, Croatia were once again the better team and they proved it by scoring in the 98th minute via substitute Bruno Petkovic. 18 minutes later Petkovic won a penalty which was converted by captain Luka Modric.
In the end, Koeman put Virgil Van Dijk as a striker to try and sneak in another equalizer but it didn’t work. Modric was subbed off before the final whistle to a standing ovation from the ground. Even Dutch coach Ronald Koeman offered a handshake because of his incredible performance. At the age of almost 38 Modric inspired his country to a stunning victory after a long and tiring season with Real Madrid. After a silver and bronze medal at the World Cup, Modric has a golden opportunity to win Croatia their first-ever major trophy on Sunday.
