Internationals – Perisic reaches Nations League final

Ivan Perisic helped Croatia defeat the Netherlands 4-2 after extra time on Thursday evening to book their place in Sunday’s UEFA Nations League final.

Playing the full 120 minutes at left-back, Ivan saw his side recover from an early deficit to lead 2-1 in Rotterdam, only to concede a stoppage-time equaliser before pushing on to win the semi-final clash in extra time.

It means his side will face either Spain or Italy at the same venue on Sunday as they look to seal their first major international title after going so close at recent tournaments.

Andrej Kramaric’s penalty and a Mario Pasalic strike had put Croatia ahead after Donyell Malen’s opener for the hosts, before a 96th-minute equaliser from Noa Lang forced the game into an additional 30-minute period.

Bruno Petkovic fired home from distance before our former midfielder Luka Modric sealed the deal from the penalty spot.

Spain and Italy meet in the other semi-final on Thursday evening.

Elsewhere on the international stage, young midfielder Rio Kyerematen came on as a substitute on the hour mark for England Under-18s as they rounded off their International Tournament of Lisbon campaign with a goalless draw against Portugal on Tuesday.

Rio had previously featured in the Young Lions’ 2-2 draw with Norway on Friday and 3-2 win over Australia on Sunday, scoring in the former game and providing an assist in the latter.

The result on Tuesday meant Portugal secured the tournament’s trophy.