Euro 2020: Ivan Perisic cancels Patrik Schick penalty as Croatia hold Czech Republic to stay alive in Group D

Croatia produced a gritty performance in their Group D match against Czech Republic on Friday to walk away with a 1-1 draw in Glasgow to remain alive in the Euro 2020 knockouts race.

Ivan Perisic cancelled out Patrik Schick’s first-half penalty in a thrilling game to help Croatia earn a point while the Czechs went on top of the Group D table after this result.

Patrik Schick put the Czechs ahead in the first half when he converted a penalty after being fouled by Dejan Lovren inside the Croatian box. Schick became the tournament’s top-scorer in the 37th minute as he sent Dominik Livakovic the wrong way to net his third goal in 2 games.

But Croatia hit back immediately after the break as Perisic’s superb leveller shortly after the break gave Croatia renewed hope of making it through.

“There is a bitter taste after this match, as we didn’t win. We entered the match really disorganised, but then we looked better in the second half. We scored that goal and we could have scored even more, but unfortunately we didn’t win. Now, we have to defeat Scotland to go through,” Croatian captain Luka Madrid said after the game.

The result left the Czechs with four points from their two games and a giant step closer to booking their spot in the last 16. They face England in their final game at Wembley on Tuesday knowing victory would see them top the group while defeat would probably not be fatal.

For Croatia, who have one point, the situation is more pressing. They face Scotland at Hampden Park in their final outing knowing defeat would end their campaign, while victory would put them in a good position to reach the knockouts.