It required extra time, but Croatia defeated Netherlands 4-2 in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals on Wednesday.
Played in front of a pro-Dutch crowd in Rotterdam, the Croatians overcame an early deficit and a potentially devastating equalizer to pull out the victory.
Donyell Malen put the Netherlands up in the 34th minute following a well-executed team move in the attacking third. The home side held their lead through halftime, but in the 55th minute Andrej Kramarić converted a penalty kick to bring the teams on level terms.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Mario Pašalić gave Croatia their first lead of the night with a cool finish from in close. The visitors then seemed destined to claim victory in normal time, but the Netherlands threw bodies forward deep into stoppage time and found an equalizer through Noa Lang just seconds before the final whistle.
Not disheartened by blowing the lead so close to the end of the match, Croatia put together a comprehensive 30 extra minutes of football, scoring in each of the additional halves to seal the result.
Croatia advance to Sunday's final, where they will face the winner of Thursday's Spain vs. Italy semi-final.