Euro 2020: Croatia vs Czech Republic Match Recap
2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia remained winless after following up their 1-0 defeat to England with a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic in a group stage encounter at Euro 2020.
The build-up to the first goal of the game was controversial and stemmed from a collision between Patrik Schick and Dejan Lovren. A Czech Republic corner led to these two going for the same ball and the Czech striker definitely came off worse of the two.
The VAR review that ensued, viewed the contact between Lovren's elbow and Schick's face as a foul. Consequently, the Czechs were awarded a penalty. Schick recomposed himself to take the spot-kick and coolly slotted it away to give his team the lead.
This was his third goal of the tournament and it saw him take an unlikely lead in the tournament's Golden Boot race following his two-goal performance against Scotland.
Croatia nearly found an instant response when Josip Brekalo found Ante Rebic in a promising position. Rebic, however, blasted his effort over the crossbar with the score remaining at 1-0 at half-time.
Croatia did not do enough to bag three points
Croatia pushed on for an equalizer and it took them just two minutes in the second half to find the back of the net. A quick free-kick by Andrej Kramaric released Ivan Perisic down the left wing who cut inside and blasted a shot towards the far post. Tomas Vaclik in the Czech Republic goal was unable to get to the blistering effort and parity was restored.
Croatia threatened down the left again midway through the second half but failed to capitalize on their chances. A golden opportunity presented itself to Nikola Vlasic, who blazed his effort over the bar. Neither side were able to score a winner in the closing moments and the game finished in a 1-1 draw.
The Czech Republic are now well placed to qualify from the group stage ahead of their next game against England. Croatia, on the other hand, need to beat Scotland in their final game of the group stage and hope for a favorable result in the other group game, if they are to progress in the tournament.
Also Read: Euro 2020: England vs Scotland Match Recap