Macedonia vs. Croatia: Halftime score 1-1, Croats come back to level

Macedonia are a respectable team and playing away in World Cup qualifying is never easy, but in a deep Group A, Croatia know that they need to get every point they can and that means getting three in Skopje. Unfortunately for them, things did not start so well as Macedonia went in front, but Croatia did level and sent the match to halftime level at 1-1.

Agim Ibraimi got Macedonia going with a goal after 16 minutes. It stunned Croatia and woke them out of their early slumber, keying a half-hour of Croatian dominance. They kept the ball, dictated tempo and created chance, but they couldn't break through.

Finally, Croatia got the goal they deserved, but even then it didn't come from the run of play and it was more the result of Macedonia's failings than anything else. A corner kick found Vedran Corluka at the back post, who was so open that even five yards from goal he was able to bring the ball down with a touch, take his time and fire home to equalize.