National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10302 (Terracing: 7727, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Ferdinand Jerbić made the kick off which started today's match. Afonso Fonseca hit a great freekick 4 minutes into the match. In the 4th minute, Mateus Hummels hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Isak Topol in the 5th minute of play forced U21 Portugal's goalkeeper Américo Fontes to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 7 minutes into the match, U21 Portugal's goal looked a bit too open when Zoltan Šerbedžija came free, but Américo Fontes reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Portugal's Américo Fontes played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zoltan Šerbedžija in the 8th minute of play. U21 Croatia's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Oliveira Guarda 10 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 1-0. Américo Fontes showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ferdinand Jerbić in the 12th minute of the match. Américo Fontes took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gašpar Švaljek, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Catarino Moutinho received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 16th minute. Rene Redak tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a rather tough play, U21 Croatia's Zoltan Šerbedžija got a free kick in the 24th minute. U21 Croatia's Ljubomir Potkonjak got a good chance for a goal in the 33rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Zoltan Šerbedžija recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 44th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. A collision led to U21 Croatia getting a freekick after 47 minutes play. Krešimir Šuput hit a great ball. Rene Redak made an important save on a dangerous shot by Catarino Moutinho in the 48th minute. 49 minutes had been played when some careless play by U21 Croatia's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Lucas Pinho was slow to take the kick. During this time U21 Portugal's players had a chance to rest. Lucas Pinho made a great header on U21 Portugal's corner, it was just that U21 Croatia's Rene Redak managed to reach the ball for a save. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Catarino Moutinho stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 53rdth minute of the game Catarino Moutinho who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but U21 Croatia's Rene Redak was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Zoltan Šerbedžija got free with Américo Fontes in the 62nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. With his leg Américo Fontes managed to avoid a goal in the 66thth minute, when U21 Croatia's Ferdinand Jerbić fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. After a rather tough play, U21 Croatia's Alan Vuica got a free kick in the 72nd minute. U21 Portugal made a substitution. Afonso De Jésus replaced Carlos Macedo. Mateus Hummels hit a great freekick 75 minutes into the match. Américo Fontes showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Zoltan Šerbedžija in the 81st minute of the match. In the 86th minute, Catarino Moutinho ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Rene Redak was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-1. U21 Portugal's Artur Teixeira was substituted for Alexandre Lisboa. After 91 played minutes Ferdinand Jerbić rounded U21 Portugal's defense and shot a beautiful shot into goal via left pole - 2-2. A collision led to U21 Portugal getting a freekick after 94 minutes play. Catarino Moutinho hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gašpar Švaljek in the 95th minute of play forced U21 Portugal's goalkeeper Américo Fontes to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Américo Fontes showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gašpar Švaljek in the 96th minute of the match. When the referee blew the final whistle, you could see the dissatisfaction in the U21 Croatia players' eyes. They were disappointed they hadn't taken more from the game.