MX23RW : Thursday, July 4 08:09:34| >> :120:39753:39753:
[monks data]
Croatia national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Mar 28, 2015 at 5pm UK
 
Norway national football team

5-1

Brozovic (30'), Perisic (54'), Olic (65'), Schildenfeld (87'), Pranjic (94')
Corluka (74')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Tettey (81')

Croatia move clear in Group H with Norway battering

Croatia move three points clear at the top of Euro 2016 qualifying Group H with a convincing 5-1 win over Norway in Zagreb.

Croatia moved further clear at the top of Euro 2016 qualifying Group H with a 5-1 demolition of Norway in Zagreb this evening.

Norway's forward Martin Linnes (L) vies with Croatia's midfielder Luka Modric during the Euro 2016 qualifying football match between Croatia and Norway on March 28, 2015© Getty Images

Real Madrid teenager Martin Odegaard became the youngest ever European to start a non-friendly international match in history, but failed to make an impact as both sides felt each other out in the early stages.

Norway's hopes of producing a shock declined further when they had to substitute captain Per Ciljan Skjelbred after just a quarter of an hour because of injury.

Croatia took the lead on the half-hour mark through Marcelo Brozovic, who curled a low shot just inside the near post after a free-flowing team move by the home side.

Their lead was doubled not long into the second half and again it was a well-taken goal by the Croats as Ivan Perisic picked out the far corner from the edge of the box after a neat one-two with Ivan Rakitic.

Ten minutes later, it was three as Ivica Olic stabbed home from close range, leaving Norway with no chance of mounting a late fightback.

The visitors were given a glimmer of hope when they were awarded a penalty minutes later, but Tarik Elyounossi struck the post from 12 yards.

Vedran Corluka was yellow carded for his challenge that led to the penalty and five minutes later he was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Norway took advantage of having more men on the field when Alexander Tettey pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, but they capitulated in the final stages.

Gordon Schildenfeld and Danijel Pranjic added further goals in the closing stages as Croatia ran out handsome winners to move three points clear and put the pressure on Italy, who play Bulgaria later tonight.

ID:213898: cacheID:213898:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4408:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Croatia's defender Dejan Lovren takes part in a training session in preperation for the FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil on May 23, 2014
Read Next:
Lovren injured on Croatia duty
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
 
8pm
Quarter-Finals
Portugal
vs.
France
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!