Croatia seal final-eight spot after comeback draw against rotated Portugal
With top spot in the group already secured, Portugal boss Roberto Martinez rang the changes, replacing seven of the starting XI that had thrashed Poland 5-1 on Friday.
That placed extra responsibility on the shoulders of Rafael Leao, and the forward showed a glimpse of his threat with the first clear sight of goal as he cut in from the left and fired at Dominik Livakovic on the quarter-hour, with Otavio’s rebound deflected over by Martin Baturina.
Leao was a lone beacon of star quality in an attritional contest, with his driving run into the Croatian box providing Nelson Semedo a chance to let fly at the near post, but he blazed high and wide.
The hosts were under serious pressure, and with Scotland taking an early lead against Poland in the group’s other fixture, they knew falling behind would see them provisionally fall out of the top two.
Yet, that’s exactly what happened when a sumptuous ball over the top from Vitinha was taken perfectly in stride by Joao Felix, who made no mistake in powering his shot through Livakovic to give Portugal the lead.
Croatia responded in kind, flying forwards in search of a leveller with only the width of the post denying Andrej Kramaric in his efforts to restore parity.
Zlatko Dalic’s men needed a response after the break, and they were immediately buoyed in the form of a Polish equaliser against Scotland.
That gave them breathing space before a Josko Gvardiol strike drew them level on the night in Split. Kristijan Jakic’s looping ball to the back post was bundled home by the Manchester City defender - moments after he’d had another strike disallowed for a marginal offside.
Yet parity shouldn’t have lasted longer than a few minutes, as Nuno Mendes inexplicably failed to convert from point-blank range after receiving Francisco Conceicao’s cross.
Livakovic provided an immaculate save on that occasion, while opposite number Jose Sa provided similar heroics to keep the visitors on level terms soon after. Having saved Luka Sucic’s effort, the Portugal goalkeeper scrambled to tip Ante Budimir’s rebound onto the roof of the net and to safety.
The Croatian striker then rifled an effort against the post in stoppage time, with that reprieve ensuring Portugal held on for a draw that extends their unbeaten run since the Euros to six matches, while Croatia did all that was required of them on the night to progress, despite Scotland netting a late winner against Poland.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Vitinha (Portugal)