Luka Modric's volley gives Croatia 1-0 win over Turkey
Xinhua, June 12, 2016 Adjust font size:
A thumping volley from Real Madrid's Luka Modric helped Croatia earn a 1-0 victory over Turkey in their EURO 2016 Group D opener here on Sunday.
The 30-year-old midfielder sent in the dipping volley from his right foot in the 41st minute to put Croatia up against Turkey.
Meanwhile, Croatia miss several good opportunities for the goal. On 52nd minutes, Darjo Srna clipped strongly the ball over the wall but hit the bar. In the 72nd munite, Perisic hits the bar with a free header from six yards out.
Turkey's best chance came in the opening half, when Ozan Tufan saw his header saved. Afterwards, they didn't pose much threat to their Croatian rivals.
The victory for Croatia came almost 20 years after they had beaten Turkey with the identical score in their first ever EURO match. Turkey won their next Euro date on penalties in 2008 while Croatia had the upper hand again in a play-off for EURO 2012.
Given their performance against Croatia, Turkey will need a big improvement to face Spain and the Czech Republic in pursuit of qualification from Group D. Endit