Croatia Maintain Perfect Record with Narrow Victory Over Faroe Islands in World Cup Qualifier

Match Overview

Croatia managed to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Faroe Islands, thanks to Andrej Kramarić’s header in the 30th minute. This crucial win has taken Zlatko Dalić’s side to nine points in their World Cup qualifying campaign, though they remain three points behind the Czech Republic who have played more matches.

Match Significance

This match was part of the UEFA Group L qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The group features five teams: Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, and Montenegro.

Key Moments

The home side showed early promise with Hanus Sørensen forcing Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković into a difficult save. However, the breakthrough came for Croatia when Andrej Kramarić found the net with an excellent header to break the deadlock.

Notable Performances

The match saw the introduction of Croatian football legend Luka Modrić, who entered the pitch at Tórsvøllur to widespread applause, replacing Martin Baturina. Despite the score and the clear difference in quality between the teams, the Faroe Islands put up a commendable performance.

Implications

This victory continues Croatia’s strong qualifying campaign, following their previous impressive results which included a 7-0 victory against Gibraltar and a 5-1 win over the Czech Republic. For the Faroe Islands, who have never qualified for either the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship, the challenge of reaching their first major tournament continues.