Having already secured their spot in the round of 16, Croatia showed off the depth of their bench, making nine changes to their starting line up.

While it was a new-look team, their ability to dominate procession remained the same and it took Iceland some time to start creating chances of their own.   

After looking threatening in the closing stages of the first half, Icelandic hearts were broken when Badelj came steaming into the box to put Croatia ahead.

Gylfi Sigurdsson put away a penalty late in the game to keep Iceland’s hopes alive but Ivan Perisic sealed the deal for Croatia with a goal right at the death.

Croatia

Lovre Kalinic - 7

Reaction time on the rebound made up for some unconvincing first touches, especially from corners.

Josip Pivaric- 7

Was always where his team needed him to be, timing his runs forward to shift with his team.

Duje Caleta-Car - 6

A quiet game from the defender, he did what he needed to do to stop Iceland from scoring in regular play.

Vedran Corluka – 6.5

Excellent defensive positioning, quick off the mark to get in front of direct passes but hung back to cut off through balls

Tin Jedvaj- 5.5

Let down by his control which stopped his overlapping runs from being effective.

Milan Badelj- 6

Was rewarded for his movement off the ball by securing the breakthrough goal for Croatia in the 53^rd minute.  

Luka Modric- 8.5

Played a deeper midfield role that allowed him to dictate the movement of the ball through the centre of the field.

Marko Pjaca- 9

Forceful running in between defenders and impressive ball control created issues for the Icelandic defence whenever he was on the ball.

Mateo Kovacic- 9

A stat from the 38^th minute registered Kovacic’s passing accuracy at 94 percent. He regularly found his teammates’ feet time and time again

Ivan Perisic- 7.5

Worked hard off the ball to get into scoring positions and secured the win for Croatia with a goal in the 90^th minute.  

Andrej Kramaric- 8

A key part of the give and go play up front that proved difficult for the Icelandic defence to deal with.

Subs

Filip Bradaric- 6

Subbed on in the 65^th minute but didn’t have any real impact on the game.

Dejan Lovren- 5

Gave away a penalty with a handball in the box that let Iceland back in the game.

Ivan Rakitic- 5.5

Came on for the final 10 minutes and didn’t have time to make his presence felt, aside from a well-delivered corner and free-kick from just outside the box.

Iceland

Hans Thor Halldorsson- 6.5

Didn’t have a lot of time on the ball but dealt well with aerial threats, especially from the corner.  

Birkir Mar Saevarsson- 7

Impressive bursts of pace going forward gave Iceland width and helped him to quickly drop to provide a deep passing option when their attackers needed to time to reset.  

Ragnar Sigurosson- 5.5

A relatively quiet game for the defender with no real stand out moments He was replaced in the 71^st minute.  .

Sverrir Ingason- 5.5

Was quick to get back in defence but would often go for the first-time clearance instead of taking a touch when he had the chance.  

Horour Bjorgvin Magnusson- 8.5

Strong in the air he posed the main threat from the corner, getting his head to the ball first. His movement down the left side created problems for the Croatian defence and chances for Iceland.

Emil Hallfreosson- 7.5

Quick to capitalise on loose balls in the centre of the park, turning Croatian mistakes into attacking opportunities.  

Aron Gunnarsson- 8

His impressive throw ins were a real asset and almost as good as a corner in the final third of the pitch as he whipped them easily into the box.  

Johann Berg Guomundsson- 7

Remained calm under pressure, made the most of back passing to relieve pressure.  When transitioning into attack he had good movement off the ball allowing him to push wide and then cut back in behind the defence.

Gylfi Sigurosson- 7

Couldn’t get the weight right on his free kicks from outside the area sending them straight to Kalinic but buried the penalty to get Iceland back into the game.

Birkir Bjarnason – 8.5

A knock to the face early on in the game meant he was hindered by a bloody nose for most of the first half but this didn’t stop him getting in the Croatian players faces, seemingly always close at hand to apply direct pressure to the ball.

Alfreo Finnbogason- 6.5

Great vision for through balls but more often than not the weight was just too much to reach its target.

Subs

Bjorn Bergmann Siguroarson- 6

Fresh legs arriving just when Iceland needed them he looked dangerous down the right side but was unable to create any real scoring opportunities.

Albert Guomundsson N/A

Just under ten minutes wasn’t enough time to have an impact on the game.

Arnor Ingvi Traustason N/A

With only five minutes on the pitch his impact was restricted to winning a corner to give Iceland a chance to equalise in the last minute.