Modric assisted Ivan Perisic for the opening goal to set his side on the path to a 3-0 victory in its penultimate EURO 2016 qualifier, helping to secure the three points required to keep its hopes of automatic qualification alive.
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Croatia were playing their first match under coach Ante Cacic, who replaced Niko Kovac last month, and he enjoyed the ideal start to his tenure when the hosts took a second-minute lead.
Perisic sneaked behind Bulgarian defense to meet a perfectly timed pass from Real Madrid star Luka Modric and put the ball past goalkeeper Bozhidar Mitrev.
Ivan Perisic of Inter and Fiorentina’s Nikola Kalinic scored for Croatia, while Wales and Belgium qualified for Euro 2016.
Bulgarians had one shot on the target and one off the target in the first half, leaving Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic soaking in a heavy rain. N. Kalinić followed in the 81st minute.
Croatia ended the game with 10 men after substitute Duje Cop was shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Bulgaria’s Strahil Popov with two minutes remaining.
With its win in Azerbaijan, Italy leads Group T standings with 21 factors and with one match remaining, and has earned its place at EURO 2016.
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Croatia are third in the section and must beat Malta and hope Norway do not beat Italy to finish second and qualify automatically for the tournament in France next year.
