Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden comeback ended in a shock 2-0 defeat to Georgia, so Spain leap to the top of their 2022 World Cup group, while Ivan Perisic and Mario Pasalic were on target for Croatia.
It was a mixed bag for Serie A players taking part in this evening’s World Cup qualifiers.
Sweden had the opportunity to put pressure on Spain when they visited Georgia and Milan striker Ibrahimovic played the full 90 minutes plus stoppages.
The 40-year-old had several scoring opportunities, as did his teammates, but were beaten 2-0 by a splendid Khvicha Kvaratskhelia brace.
It put Spain in an ideal position to snatch top spot, which they did with a Pablo Sarabia penalty for 1-0 in Greece.
Croatia ran riot in Malta with a 7-1 victory, including goals from Inter’s Ivan Perisic and Atalanta midfielder Mario Pasalic.
Marcelo Brozovic also found the back of the net, albeit for the wrong team, scoring an own goal.
Germany were even more prolific, seeing off 10-man Liechtenstein 9-0.
There were other upsets too, as North Macedonia – including Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas – earned a 5-0 victory away to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Armenia.
There was more bad news for Fiorentina, as Matija Nastasic sustained an injury on international duty with Serbia and has been sent back to his club.