Ivan Perisic was the star as Croatia defeated France 2-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarterfinal tie on Thursday, taking a commanding lead into the return leg in Paris.
Perisic set up Ante Budimir for the opening goal at the Stadion Poljud in Split, following a missed penalty by Croatia earlier in the match.
The home side extended their lead before halftime, with Perisic scoring a second to give Croatia a comfortable advantage.
Despite a return to action for Kylian Mbappe, who had missed the previous international windows, France struggled throughout the match.
Mbappe had some chances, including a deflected shot from Ousmane Dembele’s assist, but Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic made an excellent save to deny him.
Croatia, captained by Luka Modric, managed to see out the match and now hold a strong position going into Sunday’s second leg at the Stade de France. France will need to turn things around to avoid being eliminated from the competition.
France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged that his side was below their usual standard in the first half and vowed to fight back in the second leg.
“Croatia are obviously in a better situation,” Deschamps said. “It will be a different game, and we will do everything to turn it around.”
