National Teams

The match could have been settled earlier

Croatia's victorious
opening: "The whole
team was good"

06.05.2015.
Croatia's victorious opening: "The whole team was good"
photo by: UEFA / Sportsfile
  • Match report
  • Match Centre
  • Preview

Croatia U-17 opened its European Championship account against the host nation Bulgaria in Stara Zagora.

U-17: BULGARIA - CROATIA 0:2 (0:1)
European Championships, Group A.
Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.

Referee: P. Raczkowski (Poland)

Goalscorers: 0:1 - Babić (24'), 0:2 - Blečić (80+3')

Yellow cards: Đurasek (30'), Sosa (64'), Moro (77'), Halilović (79')

Bulgaria: Naumov, Savov, Slavov, Stamatov, Hristov, Golovodov, Dimitrov (69' Kovachev), Stefanov, Chandarov (47' Yanev), Rusev, Yordanov (68' Yoskov). Head coach: A. Dimitrov.

Croatia: Šemper, Sosa, Erlić, Kalaica, Soldo, Gjira (80' Blečić), Brekalo, Đurasek (73' Halilović), Moro, Majić, Babić (60' Lovren). Head coach: D. Bašić.


Croatia U-17 beats Bulgaria 2:0 and takes the lead in the European Championships Group A. Dario Bašić's men scored the opener in 24th minute, when Babić found the net after Sosa assist.

One-goal advantage was held until the added time, when Blečić confirmed the victory just three minutes after coming off the bench, after Brekalo set-up.

Young Croatians put in quality performance, with Šemper stopping only two Bulgarian attempts. On Saturday, Croatia will play Austria, who managed a draw against Spain.

"As expected, it was a tough match at the opening of the tournament, in front of 10.000 people. The pressure was on both teams, we were both nervous. In the first half an hour, we showed some quality football, and in the second half we missed a lot of chances, which allowed Bulgaria to show some initiative. Our mistakes gave them that opportunity", said Croatia head coach Dario Bašić.

"In the end, the result depended on us. We could have won this earlier, and some little things need to be better against Austria. Austria is a tough, disciplined team who came back against Spain, even though Spaniards dominated the match. Austrians had a chance to surprise with a victory, they have talent and quality in their team", he continued.

The entire Croatian team earned head coach's praise.

"The whole team was good, and that gives me plenty of joy. We did not allow our opponent major chances, and that is the key for attacking play. We have lacked just sam calmness in the opponent's box", concluded Bašić.

Group A:
1. Croatia 3
2. Austria 1
3. Spain 1
4. Bulgaria 0

06.05.2015., ,
Referees: Raczkowski Pawel (POL), Klaasen Sten (EST), Koskiniemi Ville (FIN)
Fourth referee: Reinshreiber Roi (ISR)
Bulgaria
0
Croatia
2
1Daniel Naumov1Adrian Šemper
2Dimitar Savov3Borna Sosa
64'
4Radoslav Dimitrov
69'		4Martin Erlić
5Kristiyan Slavov5Branimir Kalaica
6Georgi Rusev6Vinko Soldo
10Iliyan Stefanov7Josip Brekalo
13Asen Chandarov
47'		8Neven Đurasek
30'
73'
14Mateo Stamatov9Karlo Igor Majić
15Petko Hristov10Nikola Moro
77'
17Pavel Golovodov16Marko Đira
81'
18Tonislav Yordanov
68'		17Matko Babić
24'
60'
Bench
12Dimitar Sheytanov12Ivan Nevistić
3Danail Ivanov11Davor Lovren
60'
7Aleks Borimirov13Mihael Briški
8Georgi Yanev
47'		14Dino Halilović
79'
73'
9Valentin Yoskov
68'		15Saša Urošević
11Svetoslav Kovachev
69'		18Adrian Blečić
83'
81'
16Georgi Chukalov
Coaches
Aleksandar Dimitrov ((BUL))Dario Bašić

On Wednesday, Croatia U-17 starts with European Championship adventure. The first opponent is the hosts, Bulgaria, and head coach Dario Bašić believes his team can achieve much, provided the excellent qualifying performance is repeated.

Croatia U-17s secured the EURO 2015 berth against Kazakhstan (8:1), Israel (0:0) and Hungary (2:1) in the first qualifying round in October 2014, and against Azerbaijan (4:0), Serbia (3:0) and Portugal (1:0) in the Elite Round in March, without conceding a single goal. This suggests that Croatia can go far in the final tournament.

"We are ready for our opening match, which is always difficult, especially against the hosts. It is not is to get a real sense of Bulgaria's strengths, since they were automatically qualified, but my players love to perform in front of full crowd and they are prepared for some pressure. If we play well, the crowd will surely appreciate that", says Croatia head coach Dario Bašić to journalists before the first day of the tournament, convinced that home support should not be a problem.

In Group A, Croatia will face Bulgaria (6 May in Stara Zagora), Austria (9 May in Sozopol) and Spain (12 May in Sliven).

"We have a certain strategy and I hope my players will repeat the qualifying performances to get a positive result. We'll play match by match, with a goal to reach the second round, and then we'll see what's next. I hope my players will learn something, present quality football and become better players and better persons", says Bašić.

Are there new Luka Modrić and Mario Mandžukić in Croatia's squad?

"We have some players with a great future in front of them, but it is still to early to speak of a new Modrić or a new Mandžukić", answers head coach, who succeeded Luka Pavlović at the helm, and has a strong coaching staff behind him.

"I have a certain experience from Croatian club football, but I also have experienced Ilija Lončarević, a former Dinamo Zagreb coach, in my staff. There are two Croatian internationals from France '98 as well, Petar Krpan and Marjan Mrmić", he emphasizes.

Six best European teams will make it to the FIFA World Cup in Chile, and in Bulgaria Croatia will be represented by Adrian Šemper (Dinamo), Matej Hudećek (Dinamo), Matko Babić (Lokomotiva), Branimir Kalaica (Dinamo), Martin Erlić (Parma), Vinko Soldo (Dinamo), Josip Brekalo (Dinamo), Neven Đurasek (Varaždin), Karlo Igor Majić (Dinamo), Nikola Moro (Dinamo), Davor Lovren (Dinamo), Ivan Nevistić (Osijek), Mihael Briški (Dinamo), Marko Gjira (Dinamo), Saša Urošević (Istra 1961), Dino Halilović (Barcelona), Borna Sosa (Dinamo) and Adrian Blečić (Dinamo).