Croatia showed why they reached the finals of the World Cup 2018 with a 7-1 demolition of Malta at Ta’Qali.
They were simply too strong in all areas for a Malta side who tried their best but had no answer for the skill, the pace and the deadly finishing of a world class side.
Trying to play out from the back, Malta were stunned inside five minutes when Croatia pounced on a sloppy pass to hand Perisic the simplest of tap-ins.
Jurgen Degabriele fine run and strike looked to have pulled Malta level but VAR ruled he was offside.
Croatia shortly afterwards added a second, a Modric free-kick headed passed Bonello by centre-back Duje Caleta-Car.
Just after the half hour mark, Malta pulled one back when a Degabriele cross from the left angle of the box was misjudged by Marcelo Brozovic, beating his own goalkeeper from close range.
That lifted the hosts but Croatia struck back with two more goals before the break to take a comfortable 4-1 lead at half time.
Croatia did not ease up after the break. They kept piling the pressure on Malta’s defence and two goals from Majer and another from Kramaric rounded off a fine night for the visitors and a night to forget for Malta.
Next up for Devis Mangia’s side is Slovakia on Sunday. Mangia will be hoping for a better performance but two games in the space of four days will be asking a lot from Malta.
Photos: Domenic Aquilina. MFA
