The Real Madrid midfielder played all 90 minutes of the match in the defeat in Osijek against Turkey
However, they did not shine against an Ottoman team that placed first in the group although with one more game.
The Turkish national team, led for the first time by the Italian Vincenzo Montellasurprised Croatia at home with a 0-1 that gives them the lead in Group D and complicates Luka Modric’s team, which, however, has one game less.
The Ottoman team is in first place in the standings with three points ahead of the Balkan team that faces Wales on Sunday. Türkiye will host Latvia.
From the opening whistle, the Turks controlled the tempo of the match and showed great discipline. Not even two minutes passed before Yılmaz, who played as the only striker, unleashed a whip inside the area that almost beat Livakovic.
Montella created a populated midfield that stifled the Croats and aborted any attempt at creation that involved any danger. The strategy was clear: press, recover and throw long balls to Yilmaz, who with an enormous physical display became a real nightmare for the Croatian defense.
The Turks exerted a very aggressive forward pressure that seemed to disconcert the Croatians, third in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Zlatko Dalic’s team began to fade despite having more possession. Time and again the Turks stole the ball and launched counterattacks with long balls that looked for Yilmaz, who played to the limit of offside against a very advanced Croatian defense.
And so the goal came in the 30th minute: a recovered ball allows Özcan to find Yilmaz with a pass behind the Croatian defense. The Galatasaray attacker, seeing goalkeeper Livaković ahead, he drew a perfect Vaseline that ended up in the net.
Turkey continued to set the pace of the match after the goal although Dalic’s team struggled to show a little more bite and managed to shoot on goal in the final minutes of the first half. The second half started in the same way, the Croatians had possession but the Turks played very compactly and the team led by Modric lacked creativity and speed to overcome them.
From the 62nd minute onwards the Croatians were encouraged by the replacement of the starting offensive trio by Lovro Majer, Nikola Vlasic and Bruno Petkovicwho found more spaces and brought a new air to the team, also due to the physical decline of the Turkish team in the last stretch of the match.
From the 70th minute onwards, the Croats managed to trap the Turks in their area., with a defense very close to the goal and with the Balkans throwing balls into the area although without great chances. In the 78th minute, Majer, a Wolfsburg player, was about to score in a great team play but the referee signaled offside.
Another change, forward Dion Beljo had a great opportunity when a ball arrived in the small area in the final minutes, but the Augsburg attacker shot very centered and the Croatian goalkeeper cleared it. In the midst of the suffocating Croatian pressure, the referee gave a penalty due to a Turkish handball in the area, but withdrew the decision after reviewing the image on the VAR: the ball hits close to the shoulder and does not interrupt any dangerous play..
Croatia, which has one less game, gives up the lead in group D to Turkey, which has 13 points, three more than Dalic’s.