Qatar Football AssociationNational Teams | First Team
30.03.2022 17:12 in :

Doha: Hosts Qatar and Slovenia played out a goalless draw in a  friendly encounter that took place at the Education City Stadium yesterday.

Both sides came close to scoring but neither of them succeeded in breaking the deadlock.

The home side had entered the contest in confident mood having won 2-1 against Bulgaria in their last friendly fixture two ays ago, while Slovenia had held Croatia 1-1 in dramatic circumstances in their last outing.

Unfortunately for Slovenia, they will not be present at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November after they finished fourth in their qualifying group.

A tally of 14 points from their 10 qualifying encounters ensured that Matjaz Kek’s side finished behind Croatia, Russia and Slovakia in a fiercely-contested group.

Slovenia are preparing for the UEFA Nations League, which begins in June.

Earlier, Croatia fought back from a goal down to beat Bulgaria 2-1 at the same venue thanks to late goals from Luka Modric and Andrej Kramaric.

After a goalless first half, Croatia went down to 10 men when defender Duje Caleta-Car was sent off in the 63rd minute. Bulgaria’s Kiril Despodov earned his side the lead shortly after, capping a quick break by firing past Ivica Ivusic into the bottom right corner.

However, Despodov went from hero to zero in a matter of seconds, picking up a second yellow card for ripping his shirt off while imitating Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark celebration, erasing Bulgaria’s one-man advantage.

Croatia responded well to going behind, scoring in the 76th and 80th minutes to secure the victory. Kramaric was involved in both goals, winning a penalty that was converted by Modric, before creating space for himself in the Bulgarian box with some intricate footwork and firing home the winner.

Croatia, runners-up at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, have secured an automatic berth at this year’s finals, while Bulgaria finished fourth in their group and failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar.