Malta Denied Penalty As They Hold World Cup Finalists Croatia At Half-Time
Malta was denied what seemed like a clear penalty in the first half of its much-anticipated World Cup qualifier against Croatia away tonight.
In the 18th minute, striker Stephen Pisani controlled the ball beautifully inside Croatia’s box and was preparing to shoot, but the ball struck Josip Juranovic’s arm.
However, the referee waved Pisani’s protests away and allowed the game to continue.
Malta has gone into half-time 0-0 against Croatia, no mean feat considering the Croats made it all the way to the final at the 2020 World Cup, before losing to France.
Although Luka Modric has been rested against Malta, Croatia still put out a strong team, including the likes of Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, Atalanta’s Mario Pašalić, and Milan Badelj.
Their centre-backs consist of Domagoj Vida, who scored in Croatia’s victory against Russia at the 2020 World Cup, and Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car who recently came very close to joining Liverpool.