The Kockasti have established a well-deserved reputation as World Cup dark horses after reaching the final and semi-finals in 2018 and 2022 respectively, but question marks over an ageing squad meant Zlatko Dalic’s side had plenty to prove before heading out to North America.
It was somewhat fitting then that two seasoned campaigners engineered Croatia’s first chance here, as Ante Budimir headed wide from Ivan Perisic’s cross in the opening exchanges.
Slovenia looked to upset the odds when Dominik Livakovic made a fine save to his right to deny Sandi Lovric. Perisic then saw his acrobatic strike saved by Jan Oblak, before Budimir could only direct a close-range header straight at the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper.
Bostjan Cesar’s side were eager to exploit any lapses from the hosts, as Zan Vipotnik latched onto Mateo Kovacic’s misplaced pass and saw his drilled effort parried to safety by Livakovic.
Livakovic was called into action again shortly after the restart to parry over Tjas Begic’s volley, before Croatia’s evergreen talisman broke the deadlock in the 51st minute.
Perisic teed up Luka Modric to calmly place his shot from the edge of the box into the bottom right corner past an outstretched Oblak.
Dalic’s men pressed for a second when Igor Matanovic headed over from Martin Baturina’s free-kick, but Cesar’s side were in no mood to roll over. Livakovic was certainly busy between the sticks, denying Vipotnik again moments later.
But after plenty of warning signs, Slovenia restored parity in what was a horrible moment for Baturina. The Como midfielder’s sloppy backpass was intercepted by Andraz Sporar, who calmly slotted his finish past Livakovic.
That goal exposed some alarmingly familiar defensive frailties for a Croatia side that have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six games, but that frustration was soon forgotten when Mario Pasalic struck a wonderful volley in stoppage time to seal victory.
Meanwhile, this frustrating defeat for Slovenia leaves them with just one win from their last 10 games.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Josip Stanisic (Croatia)
