Croatia defeated Ghana 2-1 in their final Group L fixture to qualify for the Round of 32 to which eight other African teams have booked a ticket. They include Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Cape Verde and South Africa.
Tunisia is the only African side to crash out of the tournament after losing all three group games.
Croatia opened scoring in the 31st minute through Petar Sucic, who converted Mateo Kovacic’s well-timed pass,
The European side dominated possession in the opening half, creating several opportunities against Ghana’s defence.
Veteran midfielder Luka Modric controlled proceedings from midfield, helping Croatia maintain their attacking rhythm.
Ghana struggled to penetrate Croatia’s disciplined backline in spite of their attempts to create openings before the interval.
After the restart, Ghana improved its performance and found the equaliser in the 73rd minute through Daryl Luckassen.
Luckassen converted Ernest Nuamah’s assist to restore Ghana’s hopes of securing a positive result.
Croatia defender Ivan Perisic received a yellow card as the encounter became increasingly tense.
However, Croatia regained the lead eight minutes from time through Nikola Vlasic’s decisive strike.
Vlasic scored after receiving a pass from Modric to complete a crucial victory for Croatia.
Croatia will face the Group K runners-up.
Despite losing to Croatia, Ghana finished 3rd in Group L with 4 points and will advance to the group of 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.
England defeated Panama 2-0 in their final Group L fixture to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.
Meanwhile DR Congo came fom behind to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 while Algeria forced a 3-3 draw with Austria to book a place in the last 32.
GIK/APA