Croatia’s controversial decision to sack Ante Cacic and replace him with Zlatko Dalic just two days before the final Russia 2018 qualifying group game has paid off after they secured world cup qualification in Athens.
Croatia followed up their convincing play-off first-leg win over Greece with a rather insipid display in a game that had only had one shot on target
Greece were a much improved side from the first leg but never looked like mounting a comeback although they should have had a penalty early on when Ivan Strinic fouled Zeca, but Croatia were instead awarded a free-kick. Dimitrios Pelkas put the ball into an empty net late on, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Both Croatia and Greece did not have any supporters at the game, as both federations agreed to ban away fans from the two legs because of the possibility of violence.
Croatia have now qualified for 10 of 12 major tournaments since independence.
