Ten-man Iceland hang on against Croatia to keep hopes alive

ICELAND 0 CROATIA 0

Ten-man Iceland hung on for a heroic 0-0 draw in the first leg of their play-off with Croatia to keep alive their dream of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time.

Croatia had the upper hand in the opening 20 minutes but the home team dealt with the pressure before establishing their own more direct passing game as the half went on.

Iceland were then hit by a double blow when forward Kolbeinn Sigthorsson went off injured just before half-time and Olafur Skulason received a straight red card five minutes into the second period for tangling with Ivan Perisic when through on goal.

The visitors went close early on through Luka Modric but Sigthorsson and strike partner Alfred Finnbogason also spurned excellent chances for Iceland in the first 10 minutes. Eidur Gudjohnsen came on to replace Sigthorsson but then had to drop into midfield when Skulason was sent off.

Croatia's second-half passing was mesmerising at times and Iceland had to throw themselves into a series of challenges to thwart their opponents. Perisic close to scoring when his shot flashed just wide in the 83rd minute.

ICELAND: Halldorsson, Olafur Ingi Skulason, Arnason, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Ari Freyr Skulason, Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Bjarnason, Finnbogason (Gislason 63), Sigthorsson (Gudjohnsen 45). Sent off: Olafur Ingi Skulason (51).
CROATIA: Pletikosa, Srna, Simunic, Corluka, Pranjic, Perisic, Rakitic, Modric, Ilicevic (Olic 45), Mandzukic (Benko 87), Eduardo (Rebic 72).
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Italy).