National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10302 (Terracing: 7727, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Mislav Oršić took the kick off in the first half of the match. 17 minutes into the match, U21 Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Franjo Fabijanić came free, but Afanasiy Malitikov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The supporters of U21 Russia booed when U21 Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 17 match minutes in a wonderful position. Mijo Karamatić didn't get a good kick on the ball. Daniil Kondratiev did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-2 to the left of a surprised Viktor Šćurić 19 minutes into the match. A collision led to U21 Russia getting a freekick after 22 minutes play. Lev Pakhomov hit a great ball. In the 23rd minute of the match Bo Cantona sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Afanasiy Malitikov skillfully saved the ball. Dmitriy Cheryshev kicked well hit freekick during the 24th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mislav Oršić in the 24th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Afanasiy Malitikov saved U21 Russia from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mislav Oršić in the 27th minute of play forced U21 Russia's goalkeeper Afanasiy Malitikov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 28th minute U21 Croatia were awarded a corner. Bo Cantona went to the cornerflag to take it. U21 Croatia's Hrvoje Lukašek was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Afanasiy Malitikov in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. U21 Russia's Afanasiy Malitikov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mislav Oršić in the 29th minute of play. Afanasiy Malitikov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mislav Oršić in the 33rd minute of play. In the 38th minute of the game Mijo Karamatić made a throw-in which Toni Mačković played forward. Afanasiy Malitikov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bo Cantona in the 39th minute of the match. After 41 minutes of play, U21 Croatia's Toni Mačković made it 1-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Afanasiy Malitikov was left in no man's land by his defense there! Aleksandr Dolgopolov kicked well hit freekick during the 44th minute of the match. If Daniil Kondratiev had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 48 minutes into the match, U21 Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Bo Cantona came free, but Afanasiy Malitikov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line.

U21 Croatia made a substitution. Bo Ibrahimović replaced Bo Cantona. The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Daniil Kondratiev to strike the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Franjo Fabijanić in the 56th minute of play forced U21 Russia's goalkeeper Afanasiy Malitikov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Afanasiy Malitikov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mislav Oršić in the 57th minute of play. In the 67th minute Toni Mačković shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Afanasiy Malitikov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 72nd minute, Dmitriy Cheryshev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. U21 Russia's Oleg Lapikov was substituted for Lev Pakhomov. After a rather tough play, U21 Russia's Dmitriy Cheryshev got a free kick in the 73rd minute. In the 74th minute, Franjo Fabijanić left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The U21 Croatia fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-4. U21 Croatia's Franjo Fabijanić suffered a sore thigh after 80 minutes and couldn't finish the game. Aleksandr Dolgopolov's late challenge caught a U21 Croatia's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Aleksandr Dolgopolov helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to U21 Russia getting a freekick after 81 minutes play. Aleksandr Dolgopolov hit a great ball. In the 82nd minute, Aleksandr Dolgopolov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Viktor Šćurić showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Oleg Lapikov in the 87th minute of the match. Afanasiy Malitikov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Mislav Oršić's shot from short distance in the 88th minute. Afanasiy Malitikov didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Toni Mačković went, in the 89th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-5 was the resulting score. In the 95th minute Aljoša Junaković shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Afanasiy Malitikov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Russia's Afanasiy Malitikov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Bo Ibrahimović in the 98th minute of play.