Croatia have beaten Iceland 2-0 to gain qualification to next year's World Cup in Brazil, following goals from Mario Mandzukic and Darijo Srna either side of half time.
Going into the game Iceland held hopes of reaching the finals having kept Croatia to a goalless draw in the first leg of their encounter in Reykjavik.
However, Croatia turned on the style at home as they outplayed their opponents with a superb display of passing football, which allowed for a comfortable victory despite a first-half sending off of Mandzukic, who scored and was then dismissed all in the space of 10 minutes.
Read how it all unfolded in our minute-by minute live commentary below.
Hello everyone! We're just under an hour away from kickoff this evening as Croatia host Iceland in the second leg of the sides' World Cup qualifying playoff. The visitors are just one good result away from reaching their first major tournament in recent history.
Croatia were unlucky not to grab an important away goal against a 10-man Iceland side in the first leg. However, Croatia coach Niko Kovac is confident his side are capable of getting a win on home soil tonight.
Here's what he told reporters recently: "The impression remains that we are the better team and have a better overall repertoire. They play very simple football with a lot of vertical switching and that's always risky.
"I am confident that we will repeat our dominant display in Zagreb and will ultimately get to Brazil."
Iceland head into tonight's encounter knowing that they will be without injured Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, who picked up an ankle knock during the first leg. Former Chelsea man Eidur Gudjohnsen may come in to replace him in attack.
The visitors will also be without the talismanic Olafur Skulason who was sent off during last Friday's clash, with reports in the press suggesting that Eggert Jonsson could feature as his replacement.
We're currently waiting on official team news for both sides. In the meantime, here's Iceland boss Lars Lagerback on his side's chances tonight: "I always try to find solutions to problems rather than lament over them. We are in a win-win situation because we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
"We have to make changes but we'll try to stick to our own style as much as possible."
Fascinating stat ahead of the game tonight: Iceland are unbeaten in their last five games on the road having scored 17 goals in 10 trips away from home.
Croatia, however, will fancy their chances with Luka Modric expected to pull the strings from midfield. The home nation also boast the attacking talents of Mario Mandzukic, Ivica Olic, Ivan Perisic and Eduardo.
CROATIA STARTING XI: Pletikosa; Simunic, Perisic, Corluka, Rakitic, Modric, Srna, Mandzukic, Olic, Kovacic, Pranjic
ICELAND STARTING XI: Halldorsson; Saevarsson, R. Sigurdsson, Gudmundsson, Bjarnason, G. Sigurdsson, Finnbogason, Arnason, Gunnarsson, GudJohnsen, Skulason
Just under 15 minutes until we get underway at the Maksimir Stadium and it seems hard to look past Croatia given the display of attacking talent in their starting XI.
However, it's also hard to ignore Iceland's impressive away record of late.
As expected, Eidur Gudjohnsen comes in to take the place of the injured Kolbeinn Sigthorsson.
PREDICTION! As much as a giant killing would make for interesting news, it would be a shame for next year's tournament to miss out on the creative talent of this current Croatia side. Going forward it looks as though the hosts may have too much for Iceland. I'm backing a 2-0 win for Kovac's men.
KICKOFF! Croatia get us underway here, kicking from right to left.
Croatia dominating the opening stages here as the home side look to play in their attacking midfielders down the flanks with balls in behind the visitor's defence.
YELLOW CARD! Ivica Olic is shown a yellow card for a poor challenge after trying to close down Iceland's defence.
Croatia's creativity showing already here as Olic combines with Modric, but the midfielder's pass is collected by the Icelandic goalkeeper with ease.
Iceland finding it hard to keep hold of the ball as Croatia continue to press with a high line. Olic commits another foul on the left hand side of the pitch as he attempts to close the ball down.
Things are looking ominous already for Iceland as Croatia begin to work the ball in neat triangles around the visitor's box.
Iceland produce the game's first real piece of attacking intent as Saevarsson breaks down the right, but his ball into the box is cleared.
Modric earns Croatia a corner after the ball breaks to him inside the box before the midfielder crashes a cross against the defender.
PENALTY SHOUT! Croatia are shouting for a penalty as Modric's long-range shot hits Skulason, though the referee is not interested and waves play on.
SAVE! Croatia earn a free kick, which is taken by Srna. The home side's captain bends the ball over the wall towards the top corner, but Halldorsson gets across to tip the ball wide.
All Croatia here as Modric weaves his way through the Icelandic defence before eventually being crowded out.
More invention here from Croatia as Simunic slides the ball into Pranjic whose cross is cleared at the front post.
GOAL! Croatia 1 - 0 Iceland (Mario Mandzukic) The Icelandic door finally opens following good work from Rakitic whose delayed cross evades the defence and finds Mandzukic free at the back post to prod home.
CHANCE! Olic should put Croatia two ahead here, but he heads over from close-range having pulled away from his marker with ease.
The home side are camped inside Iceland's half. The visitors just can't keep hold of the ball when they do win it back, allowing Croatia to exert further pressure.
Good work from Saevarsson as he gets across to keep out Corluka's cross-field ball just as it looks headed for Pranjic on the left hand side of the box.
RED CARD! (Mario Mandzukic) Game changer? Mandzukic looks to continue Croatia's pressing tactics but catches an Icelandic defender late and is shown a straight red card. Perhaps a debatable decision, but Iceland will not mind as they could now have a route back into the game.
Croatia looking a little more cautious now as they try to keep the ball in the last five minutes before the break. Rakitic delivers a free kick into the box but it is headed away by the first defender as Iceland clear their lines.
YELLOW CARD! (Ragnar Sigurdsson) Sigurdsson is booked for a foul on Olic as the Croatian striker looks to have backed into the Icelandic defender just outside of the box.
Gylfi Sigurdsson finds himself with space having been played in by Gudmundsson, but he can't make the most of his right-footed effort as it is blocked by the Croatian defence.
HALF TIME: Croatia 1-0 Iceland
Well, it looked as if Croatia were about to coast through the game following their opener. The second half could prove to be a different affair now, as Mandzukic's red may have given Iceland a route back into the game.
Iceland will want to try and keep the ball a little better in the second half. They looked lost in the opening exchanges as Croatia sought to press with intensity. The visitors may have a little more space to maneuver the ball now that the hosts are down to 10 men.
As was evident from the way things played out in the first half, Croatia have dominated possession by holding 65.9 per cent of the ball.
The players are back out on the pitch and we are waiting to get the second half underway.
KICKOFF Here we go then...
Great play from Modric as he retrieves the ball before playing in Olic down the left hand side of the pitch, but the striker's cross is easily collected by Halldorsson.
GOAL! Croatia 2-0 Iceland (Darijo Srna) Croatia extend their lead as Srna unleashes a powerful strike which evades Halldorsson far too easily. Much credit owed to Kovacic though as his winding run found Srna with space to run into.
YELLOW CARD! Croatia's Simunic picks up a yellow card for a late challenge having tried to retrieve the ball for his side.
Modric dictating terms here for the home side, with plenty of inventive passing on show as he nearly picks out Olic's run in behind the Iceland defence.
Iceland show their first piece of attacking intent in the second half as Finnbogason works the ball on the outside of the box with Bjarnason but their move is thwarted.
CHANCE! Modric again at the centre of things as he pings a ball with the outside of his boot to the left wing, where Perisic whips in an inviting ball which is punched clear by Halldorsson.
OFF THE BAR! Olic rattles the bar with a stunning overhead kick from the centre of the box. The ball was turned in from a corner after Kovacic's run had produced a last-ditch save from Halldorsson who turned the midfielder's shot away with his right foot.
SAVE! Top save from Halldorsson to keep out Perisic's left-footed effort from the centre of the box. The move started with Modric who broke away on the counter before feeding the midfielder, but the Icelandic goalkeeper was onto him in a flash to keep out his low effort.
CHANCE! Iceland exchange more than five or six passes for the first time this evening and their move almost ends up in the back of the net, but Bjarnason is crowded out in the box as he looks to head home from close range.
DANGER! Simunic gets caught in his own box having tried to trick the Icelandic frontline, but Modric steps in to carry the ball away and earn his side a free kick at the other end of the pitch.
SUBSTITUTION: Emil Hallfredsson replaces Aron Gunnarsson.
Croatia still looking the dominant side despite being down to 10 men. It wouldn't be surprising to see them go on to grab another goal or two this evening.
SUBSTITUTION: Ante Rebic replaces Mateo Kovacic for Croatia. Kovacic is given a standing ovation by the crowd. The midfielder has looked menacing all evening and provided the assist for Srna's second-half goal.
SAVE! Iceland have Halldorsson to thank again as he keeps out another great move by Croatia, this time as Pranjic pulls off a one-two with Olic before trying to poke the ball past the advancing keeper.
SUBSTITUTION: Croatia's Nikica Jelavic replaces Ivica Olic in attack. Again the crowd burst into applause in praise of the striker's efforts as he leaves the pitch to be replaced.
ALMOST! Great play from the newly-introduced Jelavic sees the striker exchange passes with a midfielder on the edge of the box, but the ball just evades the Everton player as he looks to latch onto the return pass.
YELLOW CARD Emil Hallfredsson shows his frustration as he clatters into Modric, earning himself a yellow card in the process.
Iceland can't seem to do anything with the ball when they have it. This time the ball is collected in midfield, before being sprayed out wide where the collecting winger fails to control, leaving Croatia to pick up possession again.
Croatia break with Jelavic who tries to delay for as long as possible to allow his teammates to catch up with him, but his forward pass is mopped up by the defence with two other options open to the striker.
SUBSTITUTION Dejan Lovren replaces Luka Modric for Croatia. A defensive decision to add some height in these closing stages, one would imagine...
We're going to have three minutes of added time here at the Maksimir Stadium as Croatia look headed to the World Cup next year.
Rebic should add a third for his side as he is played through by Perisic, but Halldorsson does well to keep out the sub's effort.
FULL TIME: Croatia 2-0 Iceland - Croatia qualify for next year's World Cup in Brazil.
Well, there we have it. Croatia reach the World Cup finals with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Iceland. Despite the sending off, it never really looked like Iceland were prepared to put themselves in a position to win the game. That said, Croatia pressed superbly all night and were bolstered by a creative masterclass from both Modric and Kovacic.
Written by
Christopher Dodd
Christopher Dodd
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