Cruz Quebrada (Portugal), June 9 (IANS) Luka Modric stepped up for Croatia, converting a penalty to help his team defeat Portugal 2-1 at the Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor Stadium in a friendly ahead of the European Championship.
This served as Croatia’s final tune-up before their tournament opener against Spain on June 15.
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez opted to rest Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently joined the squad after his season with Al-Nassr. The 39-year-old legend is set to become the first player to feature in six European Championships.
Modric wasted no time, putting Croatia ahead from the penalty spot in the eighth minute after a foul on Mateo Kovacic. Portugal responded after halftime with a quickfire equalizer from Liverpool’s Diogo Jota, assisted by Nelson Semedo.
However, Croatia wouldn’t be denied. Ante Budimir restored their lead in the 56th minute, heading home the rebound of Mario Pasalic’s effort.
Portugal could have been at the wrong end of a routing if it hadn’t been for goalkeeper Diogo Costa who made two key saves to deny Nikola Vlasic and keep the 2016 winners in the game.
The finalists of the 2018 World Cup surely have their work cut out for them as they find themselves in the same group as Spain, who they will play in their opening game, Albania followed by defending champions Italy as the four teams are drawn together into Group B.
Portugal, on the other hand, can fix their mistakes from Saturday as they face relatively easy opposition in Group F — Turkiye, Georgia and Czech Republic.
–IANS
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