Croatia wrapped up their FIFA World Cup preparations with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Slovenia, bouncing back from consecutive defeats ahead of their tournament opener against England.

The Kockasti have earned a reputation as one of international football’s most consistent overachievers, having reached the World Cup final in 2018 and the semi-finals in 2022. However, concerns surrounding the age profile of Zlatko Dalic’s squad meant they still had questions to answer before travelling to North America.

It was two of Croatia’s experienced stars who combined to create the first opening of the match, with Ante Budimir heading wide from an inviting Ivan Perisic cross early on.

Slovenia threatened to spring a surprise when Dominik Livakovic reacted sharply to keep out Sandi Lovric’s effort. Croatia responded through Perisic, whose acrobatic attempt was well saved by Jan Oblak, while Budimir later failed to beat the Slovenia goalkeeper with a close-range header.

Bostjan Cesar’s men continued to look dangerous on the counterattack and nearly capitalised on a Croatian mistake when Zan Vipotnik seized on a misplaced pass from Mateo Kovacic, only to see his powerful strike pushed away by Livakovic.

Livakovic was called into action again soon after the break, producing a fine save to tip Tjas Begic’s volley over the crossbar before Croatia finally found the breakthrough in the 51st minute.

Ivan Perisic was once again the provider, picking out Luka Modric, who showed his trademark composure by guiding a low effort from the edge of the area into the bottom-right corner beyond the reach of Jan Oblak.

Croatia looked to build on their advantage, with Igor Matanovic heading over from a Martin Baturina free-kick, but Slovenia continued to pose a threat. Livakovic remained alert, making another important stop to deny Zan Vipotnik.

After several close calls, Slovenia eventually drew level, and it came in unfortunate circumstances for Baturina. The Como midfielder’s misplaced backpass was seized upon by Andraz Sporar, who kept his cool before slotting past Livakovic.

The equaliser highlighted familiar defensive concerns for Croatia, who have now gone six matches without keeping a clean sheet. However, any lingering frustration was erased deep into stoppage time when Mario Pasalic produced a superb volley to snatch a dramatic victory for the hosts.

For Slovenia, the defeat extended a disappointing run of form, leaving them with just one win from their last 10 matches.