The real winner here: England, who got to watch these teams play 120 minutes in back-to-back matches.
Unlike the previous round, there was minimal drama here.
Even for a team with a distributor as distinguished as former Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric in their midfield, Croatia, too, struggled in the conditions.
They both come into this on the back of six goal margin hammerings with Russia defeating Cyprus 6-0 and Croatia leathering Malta 7-1.