Benfica sub starts vs Gibraltar (3-0), eyes 2026 World Cup spot | OneFootball

Croatia won against Gibraltar (3-0) this Sunday, October 12, in a match for the sixth round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Franjo Ivanovic, forward for Benfica, was a starter for the Croatians but didn't manage to score.

Nevertheless, Franjo Ivanovic was a true arrow aimed at Gibraltar's goal. The forward from Clube da Luz couldn't hide his frustration when he shot wide at 21' and lost a duel with Hawkins in a prime position seven minutes later.

Toni Fruk opened the scoring for the Croatians around the half-hour mark. In the second half, Lovro Majer missed a penalty (56'). Zlatko Dalic, Croatia's coach, made three substitutions at the 69th minute. Ivanovic - who didn't play against Porto due to illness - was substituted and replaced by Andrej Kramaric.

Luka Sucic extended the lead to two goals at 78 minutes. In injury time, Martin Erlic made it 3-0 (90+6'). With this victory, Croatia leads Group L with 16 points and is close to securing a spot in the 2026 World Cup. Gibraltar, already out of contention, is in fifth and last place in the group, still without points.

This season, wearing Benfica's jersey, Franjo Ivanović – valued at 20 million euros – has played 13 matches: seven in the Liga Portugal Betclic and six in the Champions League. In the 673 minutes he was on the pitch, the forward scored three goals (Nice, Tondela, and AFS).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.