Holland 2-4 Croatia (AET): Bruno Petkovic and Luka Modric strike in extra time as Zlatko Dalic’s men win THRILLER in Rotterdam and reach the Nations League final
- Noa Lang equalized in the 96th minute to take the match to extra time
- Bruno Petkovic scored the winner with a nice goal from outside the penalty area
- Luka Modric then scored from the spot to put the dramatic semi-final to bed
Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in the Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday’s tiebreaker.
Croatia will face either Italy or Spain, who will battle for a first major title in the second semi-final in Enschede on Thursday, as they continue their form from last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where they finished third.
Substitute Bruno Petkovic curled in a stunning shot from the edge of the box eight minutes into extra time to get them started.
And Luka Modric secured Croatia’s triumph with a late penalty, their second of the match.
Luka Modric celebrates after scoring Croatia’s fourth goal against the Netherlands on Wednesday
Modric scored from the spot in the closing stages of stoppage time to put the semi-final to bed
Bruno Petkovic restored Croatia’s lead midway through the first half of extra time
Petkovic found the net with a fine shot from 20 yards to put his side back in front
The Dutch, hosts of the four-country tournament, had forced extra time with a last-gasp equalizer to ensure it finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, despite being largely outplayed in front of their home fans at the Feyenoord Stadium.
Donyell Malen gave the hosts a 34th minute lead before Andrej Kramaric equalized from the penalty spot after 10 minutes into the second half.
Croatia then went ahead through Mario Pasalic in the 73rd minute before Noa Lang flicked the ball sideways into the roof of the net to equalize six minutes into stoppage time.
Mario Pasalic thought he had scored the winning goal for Croatia in normal time
Noa Lang qualified in the sixth minute of extra time to take the semi-final to extra time