Turkey v Croatia, 11 June 1996

Score1-0 to Croatia
RefereeSerge Muhmenthaler
CompetitionUEFA European Championship Finals Group D
VenueCity Ground
Attendance22,406
Kick-off: 7.30pm Goran Vlaović struck four minutes from time to earn Croatia a 1-0 victory against Turkey in their opening fixture of the tournament. Group D rivals Portugal had lit up the tournament with a vibrant display against Denmark two days earlier, but were held to a 1-1 draw which meant Croatia went top of the section thanks to this triumph. It looked unlikely to come for much of the game, with Faith Terim's team often appearing the more comfortable in possession. They were without anyone to provide a killer pass, however, and were made to pay late on when Vlaović capped off a splendid breakaway goal. Buoyed by a hugely vociferous support, Turkey were bereft of any semblance of cutting edge and failed to make a chance of note throughout. Their opponents, also making their finals debut, were disappointing in their own right, with many of their stellar names failing to live up to their billing. Vlaović at least showed sufficient alertness to latch on to Tolunay Kafkas's lax back pass but was unable to find a way past the talented Rüstü Reçber. The Croatia No19 did far better the next time he was in sight of the target, though, sprinting on to Aljoša Asanović's glorious reverse ball and past Alpay Özalan before rounding the Turkey goalkeeper to score. It was a dramatic moment for a player who had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain just six months earlier.

0  Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim

1  Croatia

Manager: Miroslav Blazevic

Goals:

Goals:

Goran Vlaović 86 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber
Defender Alpay Özalan
Defender Ogün Temizkanoğlu (captain)
Defender Rahim Zafer
Defender Vedat Inceefe
Midfielder Abdullah Ercan
Midfielder Sergen Yalçın
Midfielder Tolunay Kafkas
Midfielder Tugay Kerimoğlu
Forward Arif Erdem

Starting lineup:

Dražen Ladić Goalkeeper
Slaven Bilic Defender
Nikola Jerkan Defender
Igor Stimac Defender
Aljoša Asanović Midfielder
Zvonimir Boban Midfielder (captain)
Robert Jarni Midfielder
Robert Prosinecki Midfielder
Mario Stanić Midfielder
Alen Bokšić Forward
Davor Suker Forward

Substitutions:

Hami Mandıralı for Arif Erdem 82
Saffet Sancakli for Tolunay Kafkas 89

Substitutions:

Zvonimir Soldo for Zvonimir Boban 57
Goran Vlaović for Alen Bokšić 73
Dubravko Pavličić for Davor Suker 90

Cards:

Tolunay Kafkas 31 Y

Cards:

Aljoša Asanović 40 Y
Zvonimir Boban 55 Y
Zvonimir Soldo 90 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Adnan Erkan
Goalkeeper Sanver Goymen
Defender Recep Çetin
Midfielder Oğuz Çetin
Midfielder Tayfun Korkut
Forward Faruk Yigit

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Tonci Gabric
Goalkeeper Marijan Mrmić
Defender Elvis Brajkovic
Defender Dario Simić
Midfielder Nikola Jurcevic
Midfielder Mladen Mladenovic
Midfielder Zvonimir Soldo
Forward Igor Cvitanovic
Forward Igor Pamić
Forward Goran Vlaović

0  Turkey

Manager: Fatih Terim

Goals:

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber
Defender Alpay Özalan
Defender Ogün Temizkanoğlu (captain)
Defender Rahim Zafer
Defender Vedat Inceefe
Midfielder Abdullah Ercan
Midfielder Sergen Yalçın
Midfielder Tolunay Kafkas
Midfielder Tugay Kerimoğlu
Forward Arif Erdem

Substitutions:

Hami Mandıralı for Arif Erdem 82
Saffet Sancakli for Tolunay Kafkas 89

Cards:

Tolunay Kafkas 31 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Adnan Erkan
Goalkeeper Sanver Goymen
Defender Recep Çetin
Midfielder Oğuz Çetin
Midfielder Tayfun Korkut
Forward Faruk Yigit

1  Croatia

Manager: Miroslav Blazevic

Goals:

Goran Vlaović 86 G

Starting lineup:

Dražen Ladić Goalkeeper
Slaven Bilic Defender
Nikola Jerkan Defender
Igor Stimac Defender
Aljoša Asanović Midfielder
Zvonimir Boban Midfielder (captain)
Robert Jarni Midfielder
Robert Prosinecki Midfielder
Mario Stanić Midfielder
Alen Bokšić Forward
Davor Suker Forward

Substitutions:

Zvonimir Soldo for Zvonimir Boban 57
Goran Vlaović for Alen Bokšić 73
Dubravko Pavličić for Davor Suker 90

Cards:

Aljoša Asanović 40 Y
Zvonimir Boban 55 Y
Zvonimir Soldo 90 Y

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Tonci Gabric
Goalkeeper Marijan Mrmić
Defender Elvis Brajkovic
Defender Dario Simić
Midfielder Nikola Jurcevic
Midfielder Mladen Mladenovic
Midfielder Zvonimir Soldo
Forward Igor Cvitanovic
Forward Igor Pamić
Forward Goran Vlaović