The Croatian youths had an especially prolific first half-time against Qatar and scored all three of their goals within the span of ten minutes. The three goal scorers for the tournament hosts were Cukon (26'), Travaglia (33') abd Zvonarek (36').
foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS
“We’ve started off this tournament in the best possible way – we know the first match of any event brings along an extra dose of pressure to win, especially when it comes to host teams. However, our boys obviously got over any potential fears, and they earned us a nice victory. Though we’re obviously thrilled with the result, this wasn’t an easy match, and I have to commend Qatar on the quality they showed,” says head coach Tomislav Rukavina.
foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS
“We watched our next opponent Montenegro at their match against Bulgaria. They’re obviously a very strong team that’s going to be especially keen to perform well against us. There’s a tough match ahead of us, but our players have shown they have it in them to perform well. They’re still far from their full potential, but I know they’ll be getting better and better with each match,” says Rukavina of Croatia's next match.
Croatia captain Rocco Žiković was similarly happy with the team’s performance.
“We were a lot better than our opponents, and our victory was never in question. I’m happy that this generation has continued the success of the previous one and I believe we’ll also overcome Montenegro and place well at this tournament overall,” said Žiković.
foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS
Croatia’s first match at the tournament was also attended by HNS vice-president Ante Vučemilović Šimunović, advisor to the president Zorislav Srebrić and head instructor Petar Krpan.
The Croatian U-16s’ next match will be against Montenegro. It will be played at NK Elektra Stadium on September 24, with the kick-off time set at 16:45 CET.
OSIJEK - Gradski Vrt Stadium. Referee: Dario Bel. Goals: 1:0 Cukon (26'), 2:0 Travaglia (33'), 3:0 Zvonarek (36').
Croatia: Poznanović, Perković (54' Žlibanović), Majdančić (63' Plavec Marković), Čaić (54' Ivković), Žiković, Prekodravac (75' Krivak), Cukon (46' Kapulica), Zvonarek (46' Kegalj), Travaglia (46' Sekulić), Vrbančić (46' Duduković), Brajković (54' Gec). Head coach: Tomislav Rukavina.
Group A
Matchday 1 results: Bulgaria - Montenegro 1:0, Croatia - Qatar 3:0.
Matchday 2 schedule (September 24): Qatar - Bulgaria (12:15 CET, NK Elektra Stadium), Montenegro - Croatia (16:45 CET, NK Elektra Stadium).
Group B
Matchday 1 results: Bosnia and Herzegovina - Romania 0:0, North Macedonia - Zambia (postponed to September 26.).
Matchday 2 schedule (September 24): Romania – North Macedonia (10:30, NK Grafičar Stadium), Zambia – Bosnia and Herzegovina (17:00 CET, NK Grafičar Stadium).
foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS
foto: Dražen Patarčić/HNS
