Croatia into Nations League quarter-finals with Portugal draw

Josko Gvardiol struck his first international goal in two years to rescue a point for Croatia in their 1-1 Nations League A Group 1 stalemate with Portugal in Split on Monday as both teams advance to March’s quarter-finals.

Portugal were already assured of top spot in the group ahead of kickoff and omitted Cristiano Ronaldo from their match-day squad. Croatia finish in second place with eight points from their six fixtures.

The visitors scored thanks to a sublime finish from Joao Felix, who expertly controlled Vitinha’s precise pass into his path and smashed the ball low past Dominik Livakovic in the home goal.
Croatia came close to the equaliser when Gvardiol directed a header towards Andrej Kramaric and the latter’s shot struck the post and bounced away to safety.

Kristijan Jakic’s cross to the far post was perfect for Gvardiol to beat Portugal goalkeeper Jose Sa from close range and equalise, his third international goal and first since the 2022 World Cup.
Livakovic produced a brilliant point-blank save to deny Nuno Mendes a winner, while at the other end Sa made a fingertip save as Ante Budimir seemed certain to score from six yards and the latter also struck the post late on.