Euro 2016: Turkey loses to Croatia at the first match of group stage
Dushanbe, 13.06.2016. /NIAT «Khovar»/. Croatia opened their Euro 2016 campaign with a 1-0 win over Turkey thanks to Luka Modric’s brilliant first-half volley in Paris.
In the Group D encounter, Turkey had a fantastic chance to go in front in the 29th minute when Ozan Tufan met Gokhan Gonul’s cross only to head straight at goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
Croatia took the lead in style on 41 minutes when Modric unleashed a superb volley from outside the area which bounced just in front of goalkeeper Volkan Babacan and nestled home.
Darijo Srna came close to doubling the Croatians’ advantage early in the second half when he bent a free kick over the wall but it clipped the crossbar and went over.
Srna then missed a golden opportunity to make it 2-0, dragging his shot wide, before Ivan Perisic saw a header hit the woodwork.