National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) U21 Iran's Ali Karimi started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Tomislav Kardum made a fantastic save in the 4th minute, when Ali Karimi sent off a good shot on target. Kianoosh Tabari could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 5th minute of the match, but Tomislav Kardum made a huge save. After 6 minutes, Soheil Mahdavikia mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Iran and the U21 Croatia players grew even worse after the yellow card. Soheil Mahdavikia hit a great freekick 6 minutes into the match. 7 minutes into the match, Stanko Jertec notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of U21 Iran's Parviz Asslibasab. Parviz Asslibasab was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. After taking down the ball on U21 Iran's corner Ali Karimi fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Tomislav Kardum quite easily take care of the ball. Parviz Asslibasab made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Andrej Palković in the 19th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Kianoosh Tabari got free with Tomislav Kardum in the 24th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Kianoosh Tabari was extremely unlucky when he, in the 25th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. Parviz Asslibasab made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marcel Gradiček in the 26th minute of play. In the 33rd minute Andrej Palković shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Parviz Asslibasab saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Tomislav Kardum made a fantastic save in the 34th minute, when Ali Karimi sent off a good shot on target. Maksim Delić hit a great freekick 38 minutes into the match. The corner ended in Ali Karimi almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but U21 Croatia's Tomislav Kardum did a great save.

An unexpectedly hard shot by Šandor Dajčić in the 51st minute of play forced U21 Iran's goalkeeper Parviz Asslibasab to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, U21 Iran's Mahbod Jalaeepour got a free kick in the 54th minute. Ali Karimi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 56th minute. Tomislav Kardum tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The supporters of U21 Croatia booed when U21 Iran was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 62 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ali Karimi didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 64th minute Ali Karimi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Tomislav Kardum saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Kianoosh Tabari in the 65th minute of play forced U21 Croatia's goalkeeper Tomislav Kardum to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 66 minutes play. Leopold Panda hit a great ball. In the 70th minute, Šandor Dajčić hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Parviz Asslibasab made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Šandor Dajčić in the 72nd minute of play. 73 minutes into the game, Vedran Rukavina was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Croatia's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Iran the free kick. Tomislav Kardum showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Abtin Farnoudi, who was totally free with the ball in the 74th minute. In the 86th minute, Šandor Dajčić hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience thought a goal was coming when Andrej Palković got free with Parviz Asslibasab in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 90 minutes play. Jasmin Korkut hit a great ball. 94 minutes into the game, Marcel Gradiček cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Parviz Asslibasab was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. The U21 Croatia supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing U21 Croatia would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.