The next couple of days are set to be massive ones in UEFA's FIFA World Cup qualifying groups, with a number of teams still battling it out for a guaranteed place at next year's tournament in Qatar.
Prior to this international break, Denmark and Germany were the only European nations to be assured of a place at next year's finals, with France since joining them and England looking likely to do the same. After that, things were still very much undecided.
That was especially the case in Group H, where Croatia were set to host Russia in a game to decide who would top the group. With the Russians holding a two-point lead at the top of the table, only a win would do for the home side if they were to avoid the play-offs.
The game was played in horrific conditions, with heavy rain in Split ensuring there would always be an aspect of unpredictability in this fixture.
This is quite literally liquid football. ☔️⚽️
Amazing. #CRORUS | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/3ek7CG3wRG— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) November 14, 2021
Croatia would dominate the game, with Russia only having two shots to their 19 over the 90 minutes. However, they struggled to break down the group leaders.
Until the final few minutes that is.
Russia own goal costs them World Cup spot
Croatia would eventually find a breakthrough, with a helping hand from the conditions.
Borna Sosa's hopeful cross into the box would fail to find any of his teammates, but the ball would soon skid off the greasy surface before deflecting off Fyodor Kudryashov and going into the Russian net.
81: GOAAAAAAL! 🇭🇷
Fedor Kudryashov has bundled it into his own net!
A HUGE goal in the group!
It sees Croatia leapfrog Russia into top spot!#CRORUS | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/JGb9HQ1neu— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) November 14, 2021
This would prove to be the decisive moment in the game, with Croatia emerging as 1-0 winners and booking their spot in Qatar.
The Russians will now face the perilous route of the play-offs if they are to reach the finals, where they are likely to be among the weaker sides involved . Only three of the 12 nations involved will qualify for the tournament, meaning this own goal could well prove to be an incredibly costly one.
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