THE SPORTS GROUND: CROATIA DESTROYED THE CZECH REPUBLIC FOR EURO 2026

Croatia confirmed its dominance in Group 5 two rounds before the end of the competition. As the first-place team in the group, Croatia will qualify for the Euro draw, which will be held in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in January of next year.

After an impressive six-goal win in Brno, Croatia had to confirm their trip to the Euros in Zagreb. The match in Brno was successful thanks to a good 20 minutes of play, which were enough to break the Czech Republic’s resistance. However, it is never safe against a good selection like the Czech Republic.

There was no need to change the lineup, so the same players who played in the first match also played in the second leg. Špikić, Cesko, and Moslavac remained on the stand. The Czech Republic had two changes compared to the match in Brno. Goalkeeper Dufek and midfielder Patzel were absent, and Hrdlićka and Josef entered.

The atmosphere in the Arena was fantastic. Full to the brim, the crowd with lights created a Christmas atmosphere, making the match look like a World Cup final.

The result was similar to Brno’s, but now it was significantly better. Mamić was very active on the outer line, which caused problems for the Czech Republic. In contrast to Brno, where there was no goalkeeper defense in the first half, Kuzmanović had eight saves, a chance for quick action.

The Czech Republic had a similar concept with two changes of defense-attack, but their attack was not as strong as in the first game. Croatia was in the series and took a nine-goal advantage, which made the Czech Republic impossible to follow. The first half ended well with eight goals behind.

Šipić was unstoppable on the line, and Gavrić reacted very well as the fourth outfielder. Everything went according to wishes, which allowed Jaganjac to be introduced to the new system and to expand the reserve for future matches.

We quickly gained a ten-goal advantage in the sequel thanks to Glavaš, who scored his first minutes in two games against the Czech Republic. We changed the wings and the defense to 6-0, which we could afford in such a game.

After we went fourteen goals ahead, the Czech Republic started to fall apart. When we got to +14, the Czech bench tried to stop the fall with that out. However, it wasn’t easy in front of an entire Arena, as in Brno. Šimić also got a chance in both directions, which Sigurdsson took advantage of to get every player involved in the game.

Our game also had exhibitions, so Glavaš and Gavrić played a zeppelin that delighted the audience. Our advantage grew; we had a double 30:15 in the 50th minute. After a long time, Halil Jaganjac scored his first goals in a national team jersey. We couldn’t have wished for anything better. It ended with a 16-goal difference!