Croatia keep pace with Switzerland
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
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Switzerland 2-2 Croatia
The hosts twice went in front through Josip Drmic, but Ivica Olić was on hand to draw the visitors level on each occasion.
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Josip Drmic scored his first two goals for Switzerland, but Croatia's Ivica Olić hit back twice as the FIFA World Cup qualifiers enjoyed an intriguing run-out in St Gallen.
Born in Switzerland to Croatian parents, 1. FC Nürnberg forward Drmic produced his first star turn in the 33rd minute, taking up possession in midfield and shaking off three Croatia defenders before making his mark with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box. However, another player raised in Switzerland – Croatia's Ivan Rakitić – teed up Olić to equalise from a corner five minutes later.
The 21-year-old Drmic made his presence felt again within two minutes, getting on the end of a long ball from Ricardo Rodriguez to register once more. However, Rodriguez's VfL Wolfsburg team-mate Olić was not to be upstaged, the 34-year-old controlling a searching pass and beating his club-mate Diego Benaglio for a second time on 54 minutes for what proved the last goal of an entertaining encounter.