National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10307 (Terracing: 7731, Seating: 2370, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Mislav Oršić got the match started through his kick off. Alfonso Mena kicked well hit freekick during the 3rd minute of the match. Bernardo Arias showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mislav Oršić, who was totally free with the ball in the 8th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mislav Oršić in the 12th minute of play forced U21 Costa Rica's goalkeeper Bernardo Arias to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 16th minute Franjo Fabijanić shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Bernardo Arias saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Croatia's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Bo Cantona in the 17th minute. Bo Cantona made a great header on U21 Croatia's corner, it was just that U21 Costa Rica's Bernardo Arias managed to reach the ball for a save. After a rather tough play, U21 Costa Rica's Alfonso Mejias got a free kick in the 19th minute. In the 20th minute Mislav Oršić shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Bernardo Arias saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Costa Rica's attentive Nicolas Morales managed to snatch the ball when Sofyan Amrabat made a throw-in in the 22nd minute of the game. 29 minutes into the match, U21 Costa Rica's goal looked a bit too open when Bo Cantona came free, but Bernardo Arias reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Bernardo Arias came out of the goal in the 30th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Croatia's Bo Cantona. But to his dismay, Bo Cantona quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. Bernardo Arias showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Toni Mačković, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. In the 36th minute, Mislav Oršić 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: 0-2. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mislav Oršić in the 44th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Bernardo Arias saved U21 Costa Rica from getting behind. A nice corner shot did that Bo Cantona got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Bernardo Arias quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

U21 Croatia made a substitution. Bo Ibrahimović replaced Bo Cantona. When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Alfonso Mejias made a kick off. Leopoldo Kamakiri hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. Viktor Šćurić showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alfonso Mejias in the 53rd minute of the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Mislav Oršić got free with Bernardo Arias in the 56th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. U21 Croatia made a substitution. Vladan Borovac replaced Pravdan Knego. Toni Mačković kicked well hit freekick during the 58th minute of the match. Viktor Šćurić made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vinicio Medina in the 60th minute of play. In the 61st minute, U21 Croatia's Bo Ibrahimović ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Bernardo Arias. Bernardo Arias yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-3. U21 Costa Rica's Minor Godinez was substituted for Vinicio Medina. Tiro Bueno kicked well hit freekick during the 65th minute of the match. The supporters of U21 Croatia booed when U21 Costa Rica was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 68 match minutes in a wonderful position. Minor Godinez didn't get a good kick on the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Mislav Oršić got free with Bernardo Arias in the 69th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Toni Mačković who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 70thth minute tested the skills of Bernardo Arias when he managed to save the team from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Franjo Fabijanić in the 77th minute of play forced U21 Costa Rica's goalkeeper Bernardo Arias to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 78th minute Franjo Fabijanić shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Bernardo Arias saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Costa Rica's zone, Sofyan Amrabat stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Bernardo Arias came out of the goal and Sofyan Amrabat tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Costa Rica's Donald Alpizar quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Bo Nesta, made in the 83rd minute of the game. U21 Costa Rica's Bernardo Arias played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Bo Ibrahimović in the 86th minute of play. Bernardo Arias showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Bo Ibrahimović, who was totally free with the ball in the 91st minute. U21 Croatia's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.