Bruno Petković, who came on as a substitute at the start of extra time and was Josip Drmić’s Dinamo Zagreb team-mate, scored the Croatians’ decisive third goal in the 98th minute with an accurate shot from about 20 meters away. After 17 minutes, the old master Luka Modric, once again playing well, made the decision from the penalty spot.

That extra time came at all was due to the late count of the Dutch joker. In the sixth minute of added time, Noah Lang made the score 2:2 in favor of the young Dutch ensemble.

The stadium is almost sold out

Until the late equalizer, the home team lost the lead to Donyell Malen. Andrej Kramarić from a penalty after a foul on Modrić (55th minute) and Mario Pasalic on a pass from Luka Ivanušec (72nd) scored the third World Cup goal at the nearly sold-out De Kuyp Stadium of Dutch champions Feyenoord Rotterdam.

Croatia’s latest opponent in the hunt for the association’s first title was the winner of Thursday’s match between European champions Italy and Spain, 2021 Nations League finalists. Before that, the Dutch play against the loser in the second semi-final – the final for 3rd place.

Young vs older players

While the Dutch, who returned to the traditional 4-3-3 formation after the World Cup under Koeman, started at an average age of 25, the Croats have a long way to go given their still strong performances. Coach Dalic’s national team included five players over 30 years old with nearly 800 international experience. In the duel of youth and routine, none of the teams was superfluous for a long time, but the Croats turned out to be more seasoned.

Short telegram and overview:

Netherlands – Croatia 2:4 (2:2, 1:0) extra.

Rotterdam. – 47,500 spectators. -SR Kovacs (ROU). – Goals: 34. Paint 1:0. 55. Kramaric (penalty) 1-1. 72. Pasalik 1:2. 96. Long 2:2. 98. Petkovic 2:3. 116. Modric (penalty) 2:4.

– Notes: Croatia without Guardiola (remaining injured). 114. Pasalic hit the crossbar. Warnings: 17. Kovacic. 24. Pashalic. 38. De Jong. 64. Brozovic. 93. Koopmeiners. 116. Malasia.

Results. Final tournament in the Netherlands (Final Four). semi-final. In Rotterdam: Netherlands – Croatia 2:4 (2:2, 1:0) auth – on Thursday. In Enschede: Spain – Italy (20:45).

Further program. On Sunday. Final (in Rotterdam): Croatia – Spain / Italy (20:45). – For 3rd place (in Enschede): Netherlands – Spain/Italy (15:00).