Luka Modric of Croatia celebrates scoring a goal during the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier Play-Off: First Leg between Croatia and Greece at Stadion Maksimir on Thursday at Zagreb in Croatia. — Internet ZAGREB, Nov 10 (Agencies): Croatia took a decisive step toward World Cup qualification on Thursday, overwhelming Greece for a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their playoff.
Captain Luka Modric, whose recent form for Real Madrid had been criticized in Spain, opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 13th minute - before leaping into the air in celebration.
Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi awarded the penalty after Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis failed to control the ball and fouled Nikola Kalinic with a poorly judged clearance. Kalinic added another goal six minutes later, flicking in a cross from Ivan Strinic with the side of his foot.
Greece struggled to regain composure and rarely attacked, but Sokratis Papastathopoulos briefly silenced the home crowd, sending a header over keeper Danijel Subasic and into the net.
The fourth goal came four minutes after the break from Andrej Kramaric, swooping in after another Greek error, by Kostas Stafylidis.
Meanwhile, Switzerland took a giant step towards qualifying for Russia 2018 on Thursday but needed a controversial penalty to earn a 1-0 win against stubborn Northern Ireland in the first leg of their World Cup play-off.
Vladimir Petkovic's team dominated the match at Windsor Park in Belfast but squandered a succession of chances as Michael O'Neill's team held them at bay in a backs-to-the-wall performance.
The key moment came with just over half an hour to go, when Xherdan Shaqiri's volley from range was blocked by Corry Evans just a few yards away in the box and the referee pointed to the spot, even though the ball struck him on his shoulder as he took evasive action.
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