(ANSA) – ROME, JUNE 14 – The first finalist of the Nations League is Croatia, who beat the Netherlands 4-2 after extra time in Rotterdam. On Sunday they will face the winner of tomorrow’s match between Italy and Spain, while the home national team, to the disappointment of their fans, will play for third place. At De Kuip, the match struggled to take off but between the second half and extra time it proved to be exciting and in the end deservedly won by the Croatians. The Netherlands created something more in the first half and found the advantage in the 34th minute thanks to a Simons-Aké-Malen combination successfully concluded by the Dortmund forward. After the disadvantage, Croatia raised their center of gravity and found their lighthouse in Modric. The 38-year-old from Madrid was quick to steal the ball in the box early in the second half, earning a penalty converted by Kramaric. The Netherlands didn’t react and in the 27th minute found themselves 2-1 down thanks to a robbery goal by Atalanta player Pasalic. The Orange went all out in the final, finding an equalizer in full stoppage time with Lang, who had recently replaced Dumfries. In extra time, Croatia overtook an unbalanced Netherlands, first punished by Kramaric and then brought down by Modric, again from the penalty spot for a foul suffered by Petkovic.
(ANSA).
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA