Croatia didn’t have to get out of second gear as they beat Malta 7-1 in World Cup qualification at the Ta’Qali National Stadium on Thursday night, with Luka Modric being among the players to have got on the scoresheet for Zlatko Dalic’s side.
In fact, Croatia’s victory was in the bag by half-time and they only added the icing on top in the second half.
Four first-half goals
Ivan Perisic got the party started by scoring in the sixth minute, and that was followed up by Duje Caleta-Car getting his name on the scoresheet 16 minutes later.
An own goal from Marcelo Brozovic in the 31st minute made things interesting, but only for eight minutes, as Mario Pasalic re-established Croatia’s two-goal lead.
Just shy of the half-time break, Modric got forward from midfield and found the back of the net to ensure that Croatia went 4-1 ahead.
Three goals followed in the second half, with Lovro Majer netting in the 47th and 64th minutes, while Andrej Kramaric scored in between in the 53rd minute.
This victory means that Croatia now have 20 points from nine games, two points behind leaders Russia. And you guessed it: on Sunday, Croatia will host Russia in Split on Sunday to determine who finishes top of Group H.
