Croatia beat Israel in friendly

Osijek, March 24: Wearing their beloved and recently redesigned red & white checkered uniform, Croatian footballers defeated Israel 2-0 in a friendly match. In cold and rainy conditions on Wednesday, Croatia needed only four minutes to put the ball in the Israeli net.

Marcelo Brozovic's cross from the left was met in the box by his Inter Milan teammate Ivan Perisic who's left-footed volley was too much to be handled by the Israeli goalkeeper.

Mario Mandzukic's strike in the 34th minute hit the post and Brozovic put it into the empty net.  Israeli strikers came close on a several occasions in the second half, but substitute goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic turned out to be the best Croatian man in the second half. On Saturday Croatian team will travel to neighbouring country Hungary and play the last test match before the start of the Euro 2016 training camp in May. IANS