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Despite a costly mistake from Como 1907 midfielder Martin Baturina, Croatia managed to secure a 2-1 victory over Slovenia in their pre-World Cup friendly.

The Croatian national team hosted Slovenia at the Andelko Herjavec Stadium on Sunday (7 June 2026) in the early hours local time.

The home side narrowly triumphed 2-1 in what served as their final warm-up match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

At the upcoming tournament to be held in North America, Croatia will compete in Group L alongside England, Panama, and Ghana.

This result helped the Vatreni bounce back after suffering a 0-2 defeat to Belgium in their previous friendly encounter.

Match Overview

As hosts, Croatia began the game on the front foot, applying pressure from the opening whistle.

However, Zlatko Dalic’s men struggled to convert their dominance into clear chances, with several attacking moves breaking down in the final third.

On the other hand, Slovenia’s counterattacks lacked the sharpness needed to trouble the Croatian defence.

As a result, both teams went into the halftime break without finding the net.

Early in the second half, Luka Modric finally broke the deadlock for Croatia.

After receiving a pass from Ivan Perisic just outside the penalty area, the AC Milan midfielder drilled a low shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The effort flew past the Slovenian goalkeeper in the 51st minute to give Croatia a 1-0 lead.

Boosted by the opener, Croatia increased their attacking intensity, while Slovenia began to play more openly in search of an equaliser, making the contest more competitive.

Slovenia eventually levelled the score in the 83rd minute through Andraz Sporar.

The equaliser came after a blunder from Croatia’s Martin Baturina, who attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. The pass fell short and was intercepted by Sporar.

The Slovenian striker calmly slotted the ball into the net in a one-on-one situation with Livakovic inside the penalty box.

In the dying moments of the game, Croatia pushed hard for a winner, and their persistence paid off when Mario Pasalic scored in the 90+3 minute.

The match ended 2-1 in favour of the home side.

Croatia 2-1 Slovenia (Modric 51', Pasalic 90+3'; Sporar 83')

Starting Line-ups:

Croatia (4-2-3-1): 1-Dominik Livakovic; 2-Josip Stanisic, 25-Martin Erlic, 3-Marco Pongracic, 4-Josko Gvardiol; 10-Luka Modric (15-Mario Pasalic 57'), 8-Mateo Kovacic (17-Luka Sucic 46'); 24-Mario Pasalic, 9-Andre Kramaric (16-Martin Baturina 46'), 14-Ivan Perisic (13-Nikola Vlasic 65'); 11-Ante Budimir (20-Lovro Matanovic 46')

Head Coach: Zlatko Dalic

Slovenia (4-4-2): 1-Jan Oblak; 13-Jure Janza, 4-Vanja Drkusic, 5-Jaka Bijol (6-Timi Breaklo 65'), 14-Miha Ratnik; 8-Sandi Lovric, 22-Adam Cerin, 2-Zan Karnicnik, 11-Tian Begic (19-Aljosa Matko 64'); 15-Zan Sturm, 18-Zan Vipotnik (14-Andraz Sporar 64')

Head Coach: Matjaz Cesar