Croatia vs. Portugal: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 10, 2013

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In an international friendly between two teams hoping to reach the 2014 World Cup, Portugal was able to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia.

Both teams were coming off World Cup qualifying matches on Friday, although the two sides had very different results. Portugal grabbed a much-needed 1-0 victory over Russia to stay on top of Group F, while Croatia had a disappointing 1-0 loss to Scotland to fall behind Belgium in Group A.



Still, they are both immensely talented and used this friendly in Switzerland to showcase their ability.

The first half started with a relatively frenetic pace for these two teams. Each side had a number of opportunities near the net, although the defenses did a good job in the final third to keep the match scoreless for the opening 30 minutes.

However, Portugal was finally able to get on the board when the match's most famous player took advantage of an opportunity. In the 36th minute, Silvio Manuel Pereira made a low cross that was deflected by Silvestre Varela right to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Despite the fact that he did not have a clear view to the goal, Ronaldo had enough room to take the shot he wanted. He fired it low with his left foot beyond the defenders and goalkeeper and into the net to give his side a 1-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half featured a number of solid opportunities, including a shot off the crossbar by Ronaldo, as noted by @FCPortoWorld:



Still, the intermission finally came with only one goal on the scoreboard. Analyst Andy Brassell had good things to say about each side at this point:



In the second half, Croatia had a notable substitute enter the match. Aleksandar Holiga was not alone in his excitement for 16-year-old phenom Alen Halilovic:



The young player came in the 50th minute and played well, which brings plenty of hope for the future of the international team. Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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