Kylian Mbappé stabbed home the winner for France in the win in Zagreb.
The Paris Saint-Germain star struck 11 minutes from time slotting in Lucas Digne’s volleyed centre from the left.
Antoine Griezmann scored for the visitors after eight mintues at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb.
Nikola Vlasic levelled for the hosts midway through the second-half. But Mbappé had the last word for the world champions.
"Its difficult for everybody," France boss Didier deschamps told French broadcaster TF1 after his team's second game in four days.
“We played well at the beginning and should have gone 2-0 up. We missed the chance and the Croatians came out a bit stronger in the second-half."
Deschamps added: “We are progressing … its not just because we are world champions that means we will win our matches. We have to work hard to get the wins.”
No Ronaldo, no problem.
At the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal made light of Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence after the 35-year-old fell ill with the coronavirus. His replacement, Diogo Jota, bagged a brace in the 3-0 waltz past Sweden.
Bernardo Silva hit Portugal’s first before the Liverpool forward wrapped up the points for Fernando Santos’s side who, like France, have 10 points.
The two teams meet on 14 November in Portugal in what could be the decider as to who progresses to the next stage of the competition.
