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Croatia scored a goal that put North Macedonia on the back foot and obliterated their tactical plan.

The North Macedonian players never thought that Croatia would be able to score in more than 20 minutes.

Among them, Duimovic's long-range shot is very critical.

In fact, North Macedonia has been in a very passive situation since Duimovic started taking long shots.

After North Macedonia fell behind, the overall tactical plan was completely disrupted.

I originally thought of relying on defense to fight against Croatia, but the Croatian national team's goal appeared too quickly.

The goal was scored in just over 20 minutes and the initiative was handed to Croatia. This made North Macedonia, which was already relatively weak, very uncomfortable.

Pandev put his hands on his hips and looked at Su Ke and others who were celebrating.

His eyes were filled with helplessness.

He personally performed very well in the Italian league and is also the most well-known player in North Macedonia.

However, at the national team level, he needs to play alone.

The state of North Macedonia is that there is an obvious strength gap, and Pandev has a clear strength gap with other players.

This made it difficult for Pandev to play and required a lot of sacrifices.

For example, in this game, Pandev almost spent the first 20 minutes doing defensive work in his own half.

On the other hand, Croatia continued to attack in waves.

Pan Dev is a little envious of Suk!

This guy has been successful at club level and is one of the best young players of his generation.

At the same time, at the national team level, he also has a group of like-minded teammates who can complement each other.

Whether it is Modric, Duimovic, Vukojevic or Mandzukic, these people can make enough contributions to Croatia's game.

"North Macedonia is getting more and more difficult to play!"

The North Macedonian commentator shook his head and sighed.

Croatia is the current group leader in the European Cup qualifiers. They also know that this will be a tough battle, but they still ignore Croatia's offensive ability.

As an Eastern European team, whether it is North Macedonia or Sevilla, etc., they are known for their tenacity and stable defense.

But this Croatian side shows a different temperament.

Very good defensively, but very strong offensively.

Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, Suker, Duimovic, including two full-backs, can all help the offense.

This also creates such a passive situation in North Macedonia.

"Brace yourself, guys!"

Pandev shouted loudly to encourage his teammates.

In fact, he wanted to call for an equalizer, but this was indeed somewhat unlikely.

On the one hand, the Iron Bucket formation requires them to stay in the half court.

On the other hand, once a counterattack begins, their defense will also be in danger.

Croatia's counterattack speed cannot be underestimated.

"Goal scored! Well done to the Croatian boys!"

Croatian commentator Krausiewicz shouted in a clear tone.

From the moment Croatia scored, he knew the game was settled.

At the same time, at the coaching bench on the sidelines, Bilic was also taking command.

"Mandzukic is in front, Sukerdo is running towards the middle, you have to form a connection with Luka!"

Having said this, Bilic turned his head and glanced at Van Steyak, who nodded slightly. Bilic then continued: "Rakitic and Duimovic, your two attacks are directed towards Move forward in the rib area. Once Suker moves in, you run towards the rib area and hand the wing to the two full-backs!"

"The full-back drives forward to pick up the ball, but at the same time he has to make sure he can chase back immediately!"

After a series of instructions were given, Bilic returned to his original position.

At this time, Bilic's heart was still beating violently. Duimovic's goal just opened really made him feel very excited.

At the same time, the game started again in the arena.

After Croatia took the lead, they were no longer so eager to attack, but played steadily.

When the opponent has the ball, they don't press.

As long as the ball does not reach the dangerous area, they let the opponent pass the ball in behind.

Anyway, it is North Macedonia’s time that is wasted.

After several reverses, North Macedonia finally couldn't help it and drove forward, ready to look for Pandev.

Pandev also advanced along the wing at high speed. When he looked up, Srna was already standing at the landing point of the ball, leaped high and pushed the ball away.

Croatia regains possession of the ball.

Modric, who was still in half court, stopped the ball and turned around leisurely.

North Macedonia did not dare to cross the half-court, and the Croatian midfielder played very easily

Modric began to direct the team to move along the left and right sides, and stuff the ball from time to time to give a certain amount of pressure.

North Macedonia was pinched, and the overall formation was simple and bloated.

They knew Croatia was wasting time, but there was nothing they could do.

Time passed little by little.

The first half ended quickly.

Back in the locker room, the North Macedonian players and coaching staff had a heated discussion.

There was just a discussion about whether they should have counterattacked or continued to defend.

Some thought it was time to score on the counterattack.

Some people have a pessimistic attitude. They believe that counterattack may lead to conceding more goals, so they still have to defend.

They believe that when facing Croatia, conceding a goal does not count as a loss.

After all, the strength gap is there.

In the end, the messy discussions came to nothing, and the team continued to use the tactics of the first half.

On the other hand, on the Croatian side, Van Steyak made strict arrangements for the second half.

How to play at the beginning, how to test, how many minutes to make substitutions, how many people to substitute, how to deal with accidents, etc.

It can be said that this guy is more detailed than the coaching staff of many European giants, which also allows Croatian players to understand the tactical ideas very well.

Soon, the second half of the game began.

After the kick-off, Su Ke and others began to test the opponent's attitude.

But the North Macedonian players were just like in the first half, trying not to leave the penalty area.

They have no concept of pressing forward and rely on their numbers to form a dense defensive network in the penalty area.

Seeing this scene, Suk also understood.

Come on!

Keep spending time!

Su Ke turned around and passed the ball back, and then Shi Shiran retreated.

Others followed suit, and the second half was bound to be a dull game.

Ha~~~~~~~~~~~

A Croatian fan couldn't help but yawn.

He turned to look at the time. The game time was 87 minutes.

The game was almost over, but North Macedonia was still in control of their own half.

In this regard, Croatia also tried several attacks, but they all ended in vain.

At the 75th minute, Suker and Rakitic were replaced one after another.

Croatia began to enhance its defensive ball control capabilities in the midfield and backfield.

This is also a signal from Croatia that they must defend this leading goal.

From the beginning to the end, North Macedonia had no offensive concept.

Even though there were several counterattacks, they were all resolved by the Croatian midfielder.

So far, North Macedonia has only had two poor shot attempts, only one of which hit the goal frame.

Especially in the second half, but after Croatia prepared to stall for time, the pace of the game became dull.

This is why Croatian fans yawned again and again.

"The time has entered the injury time period, and North Macedonia still has no intention of counterattack. It seems that they have determined the current score, so that we can"

boom!

At this moment, Duimovic suddenly shot coldly.

The ball flew towards the goal, bounced off the ground, hit the crossbar and bounced out.

Another goalpost.

Duimovich rubbed his hair irritably.

On the bench, Suk rolled his eyes.

This guy also plays fiercely during training!

The race is just unstable!

Finally the game is over.

When the whistle sounded, Croatia beat North Macedonia 1:0.

This game ends, and this season's European Cup qualifiers are all over.

The next game is to face Estonia during the June holiday, announcing the complete end of the first cycle.

At the same time, they will face Russia at home on June 6.

For Croatia, based on their previous outstanding performance, they are far ahead in the group points. In the next few games, they only need to stabilize their rhythm and qualifying will not be a big problem.

The Croatian fans thought the same way.

At the same time, they were also very excited by the performance of the Croatian national team in this European Cup qualifier.

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