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As it happenedended1529183434

Croatia vs Nigeria, World Cup 2018 - as it happened: Luka Modric and Co up and running in Russia

Re-live all the action from the Group D game

Sam Dymond
Saturday 16 June 2018 21:23 BST
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2018 Russia World Cup in numbers

Nigeria have qualified for five of the last six World Cups, so they are no stranger to competition. However, going against Croatia with players who are playing their first ever World Cup might be tricky.

Despite Croatia squeezing through the playoffs, head coach Zlatko Dalic has some impressive players on his roster, including Real Madrid's Luca Modric.

But Nigeria's 4-0 victory over Cameroon gave them the boost they needed, and with that spirit and a squad counting Alex Iwobi, Victor Moses and Kelechi Iheanacho, the Super Eagles could surprise us all.

Follow all the live action below…

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What time is kick-off?

Croatia vs Nigeria kicks off at 8pm BST.

Where can I watch it?

The game will be shown on ITV.

Odds

Croatia: 13/10

Nigeria: 61/20

Draw: 41/20

Prediction

Croatia 1-1 Nigeria. Both teams have brilliant attacking players so the game is bound to be a cracker.

But who do you think will win? Let us know by voting above.

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50 mins: The Africans are at least showing some attacking impetus since the half-time break. This time it's through Victor Moses, who shows flashes of his club form for Chelsea by darting down the right, cutting inside, and pulling a shot wide of the near post.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:10
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55 mins: What a miss from Ante Rebic! The Eintracht Frankfurt man has missed a sitter from six yards out after he was teed up beautifully by Perisic. Beautifully crisp passes from Modric and Rakitic worked the ball out left, from where the Inter Milan midfielder Perisic curled a cross into the area. Rebic did everything right in escaping from his marker and timing his run to the near post, only to inexplicably volley over from close range.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:16
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60 mins: A first substitution sees Andrej Kramaric removed from the action. The former Leicester City forward is replaced by Marcelo Brozovic.

On the subject of the Foxes, here's a statistic I've completely made up: 16% of players at these finals have represented Leicester at some point in their careers.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:20
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62 mins: Another substitution. Arsenal's Alex Iwobi goes off and on comes...Leicester City's Ahmed Musa! I TOLD YOU!

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:21
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63 mins: Mandzukic tamely heads a set-piece over the crossbar. The striker was unable to find the ankle of Etebo on that occasion.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:22
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66 mins: Moses goes down in the penalty area after being outmuscled by Ivan Strinic. It's clearly not a penalty and barely worthy of reporting, but I'm starting to worry that there will be nothing else to mention.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:26
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70 mins: PENALTY TO CROATIA!

William Ekong has his arms all around Mario Mandzukic's neck as Luke Modric sent another corner into the area, and referee Sandro Ricci had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. It's a ridiculous piece of defending that sums up a ridiculous Nigeria performance.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:29
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71 mins: GOAL! CROATIA 2 NIGERIA 0:

Luka Modric makes no mistake, sending Francis Uzoho the wrong way as he places his right-footed spotkick into the bottom left corner. That's three Group D points in the bag for Croatia.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:30
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More pens than a bookies.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:33
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78 mins: As Nigeria deliver another god-awful cross into and out of the penalty area, Croatia weight up another substitution on the sidelines.

Eventually, they decide on introducing Real Madrid's Mateo Kovacic to replace Rebic.

Sam Dymond16 June 2018 21:38

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