Croatia Holds Greece, Qualifies for World Cup
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Croatia qualified for the 2018 World Cup finals after a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the playoffs against Greece on Sunday.
With a considerable advantage from Thursday's 4-1 victory in Zagreb, Croatia easily held off the Greek hosts as they pressed for an upset.
Croatia came closest to scoring in the 42nd minute when Ivan Perisic's powerful shot ricocheted off Greece's left post, with goalkeeper Orestis Karezis well beaten.
Greece came closest to scoring in the 87th when Panagiotis Tachtsidis's shot from inside the area was deflected by goalkeeper Danijel Subasic's legs.
Greece also had two shots just wide - one by Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the first half and another by Costas Mitroglou in the second - but otherwise did not threaten.
This is Croatia's fifth appearance at the World Cup. The Blazers finished in third place in 1998 hosted by France after beating the Netherlands 2-1.
