National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Cvjetko Štokić kicked off to start the match. Vlaho Modrah showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ximun Zaldos in the 5th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Xandro Zubillaga in the 6th minute of play forced U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Vlaho Modrah to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 10th minute, Cvjetko Štokić made a precise shot to the right of Dorio Laje. U21 Venezuela's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-0. After 13 minutes of play, U21 Venezuela's Xandro Zubillaga made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Vlaho Modrah was left in no man's land by his defense there! U21 Croatia's Vlaho Modrah played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ximun Zaldos in the 17th minute of play. Frascuelo Albarellos kicked well hit freekick during the 18th minute of the match. In the 20th minute, Roger Bannister hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Vlaho Modrah showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Xandro Zubillaga in the 22nd minute of the match. 23 minutes into the match, U21 Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Ximun Zaldos came free, but Vlaho Modrah reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After some careless play in the U21 Venezuela defense, Cvjetko Štokić kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Dorio Laje. The U21 Venezuela fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Dorio Laje should have stopped the shot. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 30 minutes play. Cvjetko Štokić hit a great ball. Mladen Gambiroža hit a great freekick 32 minutes into the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cvjetko Štokić got free with Dorio Laje in the 36th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After a rather tough play, U21 Croatia's Vjeran Bulat got a free kick in the 37th minute. Xandro Zubillaga fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 42nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vlaho Modrah having to interfere. After 47 minutes of play, U21 Venezuela's Roger Bannister made it 2-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Vlaho Modrah was left in no man's land by his defense there! U21 Croatia made a substitution. Antonio Ponoš replaced Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. U21 Venezuela's Veto Nieves was substituted for Xurde Buiza. U21 Croatia's Marcel Gradiček was substituted for Cvjetko Štokić.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Xandro Zubillaga stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 56thth minute of the game Marcel Gradiček who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Venezuela's Dorio Laje was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The corner ended in Maksim Delić almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but U21 Venezuela's Dorio Laje did a great save. When Antonio Ponoš came up free with the goalie in the 59th minute, the U21 Croatia fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Antonio Ponoš couldn't finish the play. Vjeran Bulat recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 67th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 71stth minute of the game Roger Bannister who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Croatia's Vlaho Modrah was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Dorio Laje made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marcel Gradiček in the 74th minute of play. Frascuelo Albarellos made in the 77th minute of the game a sloppy throw-in which Ximun Zaldos however managed to control. Dorio Laje didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Marcel Gradiček went, in the 81st minute, to the upper right corner, 3-2 was the resulting score. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Venezuela's zone, Marcel Gradiček stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dorio Laje came out of the goal and Marcel Gradiček tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 93rd match minute, U21 Venezuela was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Frascuelo Albarellos to maneuver through the defense. In the 97th minute, Antonio Ponoš hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When the referee blew the final whistle, U21 Croatia could leave the field as winners, despite U21 Venezuela having more of the ball for most of the match.