Croatia successfully subdued the dynamic French duo of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in a 2-0 victory during the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals on Thursday. The match took place in Split, where Croatia demonstrated their defensive prowess.
The scoring opened in the 26th minute when Ante Budimir capitalized on a well-delivered cross from Ivan Periši?. Although French goalkeeper Mike Maignan managed to get partial contact with the ball, it ultimately crossed the line, securing the lead for Croatia. Periši? further increased Croatia’s advantage by scoring during the first-half stoppage time, dampening Mbappé’s much-anticipated return following a six-month hiatus from international play.
Earlier in the match, Andrej Kramari? had the chance to widen Croatia’s lead with a penalty kick in the eighth minute. However, Maignan made an impressive save, diving to the right and using his feet to block the attempt.
Throughout the first half, Mbappé, who currently plays for Real Madrid and captains Les Bleus, tested Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovi?. Despite several powerful shots, Livakovi? was on form, making crucial saves to keep the French forwards from finding the back of the net. As the French league’s top scorer for Paris Saint-Germain, both Mbappé and Dembélé have already reached or exceeded 30 goals this season.
At just 26 years old, Mbappé stands third on France’s all-time scoring list with an impressive 48 goals. However, recent times have seen the star striker finding the net in only two of his last 13 international matches.
Elsewhere in the quarterfinals, Germany overturned a deficit to defeat Italy 2-1 at San Siro. Spain showed resilience by carving out a 2-2 draw against a 10-man Netherlands, while Denmark secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Portugal. These teams will be vying for the chance to advance to the four-team final tournament scheduled for June 4-8. The second legs of these pulsating quarterfinal fixtures are set to take place on Sunday.