Croatia comes from behind to beat Montenegro

Ivan Perišić wore the captain’s armband

Croatia wrapped up their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3–2 win against Montenegro at Gradski stadion in Podgorica on Monday evening, in a match played in front of a modest crowd and with little riding on the result.

Zlatko Dalić’s side had already secured top spot in Group L and booked their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, allowing the coach to rotate heavily and give minutes to several squad players.

Montenegro, meanwhile, looked far more desperate for a result early on, hoping to end what has been a disappointing campaign on a positive note.

The home side got exactly the start they wanted. Just three minutes in, Milutin Osmajić pounced on a defensive error from Duje Ćaleta-Car, who failed to clear his lines.

Osmajić raced through on goal and drilled his effort past Dominik Livaković to make it 1–0.

Montenegro doubled their lead on 17 minutes. Nikola Krstović collected the ball on the edge of the box, turned sharply and unleashed a powerful strike that left Livaković with no chance.

Croatia, however, slowly grew into the match. In the 37th minute Kristijan Jakić was brought down in the area, and captain Ivan Perišić made no mistake from the spot, sending the keeper the wrong way to pull one back.

Dalić introduced fresh legs after the break and Croatia continued to press.

Their persistence paid off in the 73rd minute when Petar Musa’s effort crashed off the post into the path of Jakić, who reacted quickest to tap home from close range and level the score.

Croatia would complete the comeback in the dying minutes when Nikola Vlašić pounced on a defensive error before unleashing a thunderbolt from 25 yards to make it 3-2.

The draw sees Croatia finish the campaign unbeaten, finishing six points ahead of second-placed Czechia. It was Croatia’s most successful qualifying campaign in its history.