Date: June 12, 2016
Result: Turkey 0 Croatia 1
Scorers:
Turkey: none
Croatia: Modric 41
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
Match overview:
Luka Modric’s clever volley was enough to secure victory for Croatia over Turkey in their tournament opener in Paris. Modric’s goal silenced the noisy Turkish fans and broke the deadlock at the end of a niggly, nervous first half. Croatia then had plenty of chances to extend their lead after the break. Darijo Srna and Ivan Perisic both saw efforts hit the crossbar, while Marcelo Brozovic’s header was tipped over as Croatia kicked off their campaign in impressive style.
Key moment:
Luka Modric scored the only goal of the game with a brilliantly executed volley from 25 yard out after Turkey midfielder Selcuk Inan faild to clear with an up-and-under clearance from a corner.
Man of the match:
In a tight first half in which he did not have much chance to show off his playmaking skills, Luke Modric showed superb technique to get his volley on target for Croatia’s goal. Then, in the second half, as Turkey chased the game, he oversaw Croatia’s midfield domination.
Matter of fact:
Luka Modric’s goal was Croatia’s first (in 19) from outside the box at the European Championship.
Substitute Emre Mor, aged 18, became the youngest player to play for Turkey at the European Championship.
Talking point:
While Modric took his volley brilliantly for the only goal of the game, he was aided by poor goalkeeping from Volkan Babacan, who failed to make contact with the bouncing ball and should not have been beaten from that distance. After the mistakes by the Romania and Albania keepers in the opening two matches, poor goalkeeping is becoming an early theme of the tournament.
Stats:
Goal attempts
Turkey 9
Croatia 18
Attempts on target
Turkey 4
Croatia 11
Corners
Turkey 3
Croatia 5
Line-ups:
Turkey
01 Volkan Babacan
03 Hakan Balta
06 Hakan Calhanoglu
07 Gokhan Gonul
08 Selcuk Inan
09 Cenk Tosun (21 Emre Mor 21)
10 Arda Turan (17 Burak Yilmaz 65)
14 Oguzhan Ozyakup (10 Volkan Sen)
15 Mehmet Topal
16 Ozan Tufan
18 Caner Erkin
Starting formation: 4-3-2-1
Volkan Babacan – Gokhan Gonul, Mehmet Topal, Hakan Balta, Caner Erkin – Ozan Tufan, Selcuk Inan, Oguzhan Ozyakup – Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Turan – Cenk Tosun
Croatia
23 Danijel Subasic
03 Ivan Strinic
04 Ivan Perisic (09 Andrej Kramaric 86)
05 Vedran Corluka
07 Ivan Rakitic (13 Gordon Schildenfeld 88)
10 Luka Modric
11 Darijo Srna
14 Marcelo Brozovic
17 Mario Mandzukic (20 Marko Pjaca 90)
19 Milan Badelj
21 Domagoj Vida
Starting formation: 4-2-3-1
Subasic – Srna, Corluka, Vida, Strinic – Modric, Badelj – Brozovic, Rakitic, Perisic – Mandzukic
Yellow cards:
Turkey: Cenk Tosun 31
Croatia: Strinic 80
Referee: Jonas Erisson (Swe)
Attendance: 43,842
