Croatia defeated Iceland 2-1 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final group stage match to finish in first place in Group D and advance to the round-of-16 stage.
June 26 (UPI) — Croatia defeated Iceland 2-1 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final group stage match to finish in first place in Group D and advance to the round-of-16 stage.
The game was played on Tuesday night in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don in front of a crowd of 43,472.
The opening goal was scored by Croatia midfielder Milan Badelj in the 53rd minute. Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson equalized the score in the 75th minute. Croatia’s Ivan Perisic scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.
Already cleared for the playoffs, Croatia earned nine points in three games to top Group D. They will face Denmark, number two in Group C, in a round-of-16 match in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on July 1.
Iceland, occupying the fourth position in Group D with one point, failed to make it to the playoffs.
