That was the definition of a routine win for Croatia, with Modric sealing victory with that ice-cool second-half penalty. Straightforward stuff but Nigeria were desperately mediocre; food for thought for Gernot Rohr. Croatia will certainly have to up the ante against a team like Argentina (on Thursday) but, as they say, you can only beat what’s in front of you and they are a classy, professional side. Nigeria take on Iceland on Friday, with anything other than victory bound to end their journey in Russia. Thanks for your company at the end of a jam-packed Super Saturday. Shaun Walker’s report from Kaliningrad will be here shortly:
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Full-time: Croatia 2-0 Nigeria
Croatia go top of Group D after breezing beyond Nigeria in Kaliningrad. That was pretty uneventful, but they cannot all be Friday-night good, can they?
90+4 min: “If Nigeria play like this on their next couple of games as well I don’t think that shirt that their supporters queued for for so long will become as fondly remembered as the one it was designed to commemorate,” emails David Wall.
90+2 min: Kovacic has a golden opportunity to add the gloss on a decent evening, but instead of squaring for Perisic, he shoots straight at Uzoho, the Nigeria goalkeeper.
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90 min: There will be four minutes added time, four minutes.
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88 min: It’s very nearly job done for Croatia. They’ve sucked the life out of Nigeria and, while not at their best, they’ve been pretty competent.
86 min: A neat one-two between Etebo and Musa ends with the former taking a touch on the edge of the box, glancing at goal ... and blazing way over. And then Moses shoots wide.
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85 min: Mandzukic is replaced by Pjaca, his Juventus team-mate.
82 min: Croatia are going through the motions, knocking the ball about nicely. For them, the only sour note has just been and gone, a clumsy elbow by Shehu on Perisic leaving the Internazionale forward in a heap. Nigeria, unfortunately, cannot even claim to have laid a glove on their Group D opponents here.
80 min: Hang on a minute, Iheanacho and Musa combine, with Strinic doing brilliantly to intervene, just as Musa looks to pull the trigger for Nigeria. Moments like that are as good as its got.
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78 min: Kovacic, of Real Madrid, replaces Rebic. Croatia are cruising.
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If you say that someone is on cruise control in a contest, you mean that they are winning the contest easily and without needing to make a lot of effort.
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76 min: Nigeria are on their knees, which is even more galling when considering that Croatia’s only effort on target to date has been Modric’s penalty.
75 min: Kelechi Iheanacho replaces Odion Ighalo for Nigeria.
72 min: As it stands, Croatia are going top of Group D. They face Argentina on Friday and Nigeria have it all to do. Barring a miracle, they’re facing defeat in Kaliningrad this evening. And now Rebic wins Croatia another corner ...
GOAL! Croatia 2-0 Nigeria (Modric pen, 71)
Make that four out of six. The Croatia captain doubles their lead, sending Francis Uzoho, the teenage goalkeeper, the wrong way.
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70 min: Modric will take. Three out five penalties in Russia have been scored so far.
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69 min: Penalty to Croatia! ... Mandzukic is fouled by Troost-Ekong, who wraps his arms around the striker and fells him in the box as he rises to meet Modric’s corner.
66 min: Reluctant to speak too soon but Nigeria seem to have run out of ideas. Ighalo is painfully isolated, and seemingly a little disinterested. It’s all bit a lethargic, from both teams. The vuvuzelas are still going strong, though.
64 min: Šime Vrsaljko and Ante Rebic get their wires crossed, bumping into each other on the edge of the box. The former throws his hands into the air. They’re comfortable but, with Nigeria there for the taking, they have lacked any real conviction going forward or killer instinct.
63 min: Modric floats a searching ball into the box, with Troost-Ekong geeing up the troops as Nigeria concede a corner, from which Mandzukic heads wide for Croatia. The game is danger of getting away from them.
61 min: A roll of the dice for Nigeria, with Ahmed Musa replacing Alex Iwobi, who has been pretty anonymous.
58 min: Ighalo has half a chance but fails to properly connect, while another former forward, Ivica Olic, now the Croatia assistant manager, is dishing out a few instructions on the touchline. The impressive Kramaric is withdrawn, with Marcelo Brozovic on.
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57 min: Nigeria navigate down the right flank through Moses but his cross is tame, and straight down Danijel Subašić’s throat. That’s too easy for Croatia.
54 min: A big miss by Rebic! A superb raking ball by Rakitic into Perisic, who plays a delightful ball himself. He bends a left-footed cross into Rebic – but the Frankfurt forward cannot send the net bulging, instead firing high and wide. Huge chance.
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53 min: Good news for Nigeria? Leicester’s esteemed double-act, Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho, are warming up.
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52 min: Iwobi is busy, bustling in and around the box before Ighalo fouls Strinic. They’re trying but Nigeria do not seem to have any real plan of attack.
50 min: Rakitic lets fly from 30 yards out. It flies over.
48 min: Nigeria win three consecutive early corners, but each one is batted away. Leon Balogun, now of Brighton, had a header deflected wide but that was about as good as it got. Back Nigeria come down the right flank through Victor Moses, but his surging run, after bypassing Strinic, comes to nothing.
46 min: We’re back under way, with Nigeria presumably a bit more revved-up. They’ve had a hopefully-motivating team huddle at half-time and everything. Also, another nice email, courtesy of Charles Antaki. “This is a reassuringly dull game, just the kind of bland fare a tournament needs after the spicy stuff of Portugal-Spain and Argentina-Iceland,” he says. “And while Nigeria are fairly toothless, they’re clearly not in the Saudi Arabia basement-bin league, so no-one’s pride is likely to be seriously dented. A pleasing interlude.”
Arguably the standout player of a fairly tepid first half (no shots on target from either side) was Zagreb-born Andrej Kramaric, formerly Leicester City’s forgotten man. He’s been inspired since joining Hoffenheim permanently, though:
Half-time: Croatia 1-0 Nigeria
A slender lead at the interval, but once Oghenekaro Etebo diverted Mario Mandzukic’s diving header home, Croatia have controlled everything. Not a classic but a few glimpses of quality. The second half will be upon us in no time.
45 min: And Lovren makes a timely block from Alex Iwobi’s driven effort, after the ball dropped on the edge of the box. Nigeria need some kind of spark, after being flattened by that opener. Ighalo and Moses have hidden since the goal. The Nigeria supporters, meanwhile, are still ecstatic in the stands.
44 min: Moses wins a foul down the right flank ...
42 min: Perisic does brilliantly to get goal side of Troost-Ekong, allowing Croatia to pour a few bodies forward. The ball is helped out wide, where a marauding Šime Vrsaljko sends an ambitious effort horribly wide. Still, nice buildup.
39 min: Modric plays a wondrous raking crossfield ball to Rebic before Kramaric heads over from a pinpoint Rakitic pass. Another slick move and Croatia’s tails are up now.
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35 min: Ah, that’s knocked the stuffing out of Nigeria. Suddenly Croatia, who though not dreadful seemed a little out of sorts, look pretty comfortable. Saying that, every time Nigeria hustle, the Croatia backline seems precarious.
34 min: Inside the Kaliningrad Stadium, the goal was awarded to Kramaric but Etebo’s reaction tells you all you need to know. He’s been hastily deflated.
GOAL! Croatia 1-0 Nigeria (Etebo own goal, 32)
They have chiselled out an opener. After more good work by Andrej Kramaric, it all stemmed from Ante Rebic’s deflected effort wide and, from the resulting corner, Mario Mandzukic’s diving header is helped home by Etebo, signed by Stoke City this week.
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30 min: Rakitic scythes down an advancing Moses and he goes into the book. After a few plucky fouls, that’s a yellow card and the Barcelona man has looked off the pace thus far.
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28 min: Croatia pump the ball up to Mandzukic but that’s easy for Nigeria to gobble up. Gernot Rohr may well be the happier manager so far, despite Perisic having arguably the best glimpse of goal after almost half an hour.
27 min: Perisic’s searching cross from the left looks dangerous for a moment but Rebic, in the box, is penalised for a push on the Nigeria defender. We go again.
25 min: Nigeria are knocking it around nicely when they have it but it’s getting snuffed out in the final third. This time Moses starts the move, they spread the ball from right-to-left, with Idowu doing well before Ighalo runs into a red-and-white roadblock. Neither have really got into their groove just yet.
23 min: Rakitic is again guilty of giving away a free-kick on halfway, gifting Nigeria the chance to get bodies forward. They don’t really gain any ground, though, with Croatia soon seizing possession once more. It’s been that kind of start.
21 min: Nigeria break through Ighalo but it’s a half-hearted effort, from an acute angle before Etebo has a go from distance. They’re trying to up the ante at least.
19 min: A training ground set-piece ends in disappointment for Croatia, with Modric whipping in a deep cross, with Perisic arriving late. But it’s all a bit predictable and Nigeria are wise to it. Moses drives forward, claiming a foul that wasn’t and they are forced back into defence. The sound of vuvuzelas rules at the moment.
17 min: Modric picks out Rebic with a cute crossfield ball. He then finds Perisic, who wins Croatia another corner. Lovren and Vida, the centre-backs are up for it but Ighalo, the Nigeria striker, hoofs a lukewarm cross clear. And now Croatia look to build again, patiently prying, waiting to find that killer pass.
15 min: Both teams are just beginning to suss each other out a little more, and now Andrej Kramaric sends an effort flying past Uzoho’s post. It’s hotting up.
13 min: Croatia get their first sighting of goal, with Ivan Perisic sending a shot on goal. It’s a lovely, first-time effort after a swift counterattacking move, after Nigeria pressed forward, winning a third free-kick in quick succession. That was half a chance.
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10 min: Croatia sit off Troost-Ekong, inviting the Nigeria defender to hang on to the ball before pumping it long in search of Victor Moses. He almost gets there, but doesn’t. And now Nigeria play a quick free-kick after Etebo is fouled. The ball comes down the left-hand side, with Mikel, of all people, hooking a cross into the box but it’s straight down the goalkeeper’s throat. And that’s that.
9 min: Croatia play a short corner, despite Mandzukic being among the targets in the box, and their invention fails to come to anything. Rakitic is then penalised for a late foul on the edge of the box. Nigeria will be content with this start, even if they are yet to pull up any trees as such. Mikel and co look comfortable on the ball in midfield in these early stages too.
7 min: It certainly seems a decent atmosphere inside the Kaliningrad Stadium, with Croatia fans up on their feet after winning a corner.
5 min: Nigeria win a foul on the halfway line but it comes to nothing, with Kramaric breaking down the left. He had a torrid time at Leicester City last year but seems to be an influential figure in this Croatia team. Moses, the Nigeria winger, is backtracking early on, with Croatia bombing forward.
4 min: Rakitic’s attempt to play a raking ball is cut out by Troost-Ekong. Plenty of attacking intent from Croatia to begin with in Kaliningrad, while Nigeria seem happy to play second-fiddle, for now at least.
3 min: Croatia get back on the front foot, surging down the left with Perisic lurking in the middle but Bryan Idowu cuts it out.
2 min: A trademark cagey opening, a few strokes from left-to-right across the Croatia defence before a foray forward ends with Kramaric flagged offside.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeep!
And off we go, with Nigeria winning an early free-kick; Lovren clatters Ighalo.
Ah, it seems Nigeria aren’t going to be wearing that kit. Still, as we sail through the national anthems, their garish tracksuits are more than making up for it. Mind you, Croatia’s unmistakable chequerboard strip is a real beauty too. Kick-off is imminent.
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The teams are in the tunnel. Here we go ...
So, after Argentina ambled to a draw against Iceland in Moscow earlier, assuming there’s a winner here, they will top Group D. These two have never played each other before tonight’s meeting in Kaliningrad but Croatia are higher in the Fifa rankings. They’re 20th, Nigeria are down in 48th. As mentioned below, Croatia finished third in France in 1998 but they have since failed to advance beyond the group stage in their past three attempts. As for Nigeria, they were sent packing by France in the first knockout stage four years ago.
“Here in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, the streets have emptied,” emails Frank Chibundu. “It is a must-win for the Super Eagles.” Do get in touch ...
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Here’s a sterling interview with Bryan Idowu, by Nick Ames:
The first time Bryan Idowu heard monkey chants aimed his way inside a Russian stadium, he faced the offenders head on and gestured for them to turn up the volume. “After that they stopped, because they knew,” he says. “For me it’s no problem, it’s just noise and doesn’t bother me. I’ve never taken it personally.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria have had some good strikers in their time. I’ve plumpted for Julius Aghahowa and Nwankwo Kanu below – but what about Yakubu, or Obafemi Martins, or Rashidi Yekini?
Create your own all-time Nigeria XI here:
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The former Croatia manager, Slaven Bilic, has been having his say. “This is the last chance,” he says of his country’s golden generation coming good. “It’s about time, and we want them to do it. On paper they look better than the team that won a bronze medal in 1998.”
The core of the team, Real Madrid’s Luka Modric, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic and Juventus’s Mario Mandzukic are in their 30s and unlikely to feature in four years’ time. “We have players at big clubs, they don’t just play there, they’re the driving forces of those clubs,” Modric says. “It is only right there are great expectations.”
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Earlier on in Group D, Lionel Messi reminded us he is human:
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Essential pre-match reading:
Headline team news: Andrej Kramaric is tasked with playing behind Mario Mandzukic, with Mateo Kovacic on the bench, alongside veteran defender Vedran Corluka. For Nigeria, Odion Ighalo will lead the line, again preferred to the Leicester pair of Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa. Stoke’s new signing, Etebo Karo, also gets the nod.
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The teams!
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic; Rakitić, Modric; Perisic, Kramaric, Rebic; Mandzukic
Subs: Livakovic, Corluka, Kovacic, Brozovic, L Kalinic, Jedvaj, Bradaric, Caleta-Car, N Kalinic, Badelj, Pjaca, Pivaric
Nigeria (4-2-3-1): Uzoho; Idowu, Ekong, Balogun, Shehu; Ndidi, Etebo; Iwobi, Obi Mikel, Moses; Ighalo
Subs: Ezenwa, Echiejile, Musa, Nwankwo, Iheanacho, Obi, Akpeyi, Onazi, Ogu, Awaziem, Ebuehi, Omeruo
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
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Preamble
The final billing of a jam-packed day three. We’ve already had VAR-drama, own goals, preposterous goals and some dodgy goalkeeping. The events of 24 hours ago will take some beating but what exactly will tonight conjure up? One thing’s for sure, we will be able to feast our eyes on Nigeria’s extremely handsome and hipster-friendly kit, a strip that fed an Oxford Street frenzy and that has been allegedly ordered by three million people; it’s in action for the first time tonight in Kaliningrad. In Croatia, they face the seasoned dark horses of these tournaments, a team littered by a couple of wondrous talents, namely Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. Up front, there’s an old-school bully, Mario Mandzukic.
Kick-off: 8pm (BST)
