Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Final - Real Madrid v Osasuna - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - May 6, 2023 Osasuna's Ante Budimir during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo/File Photo
(Reuters) - Ante Budimir’s second international goal was enough for Croatia to book their place at the Euro 2024 finals in Germany following a 1-0 victory over Armenia in Zagreb on Tuesday, enough for a top two finish in qualification Group D.
Croatia camped in the Armenia half without creating clear-cut chances until Budimir's headed goal two minutes before halftime. Borna Sosa's cross from the left was perfect for the forward to get ahead of his marker and score from six yards out.
Luka Modric was superb for the home side as he belied his 38 years and pulled the strings in midfield, allowing them to control the tempo in the second half and create several other scoring chances that were spurned.
It is a sixth successive qualification for the continental finals for Croatia, and their seventh overall, having finished second and third at the last two World Cup finals, but never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the Euros.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Davis)
