Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic helped Croatia reached the World Cup 2014 finals after scoring in the 2-0 win over Iceland. Croatia failed to reach the World Cup through the automatic places and were involved in a two-legged match against Iceland. The two teams could only manage a 0-0 draw in the first leg, which gave Iceland the advantage as the away team in the second leg. If they had scored one goal, then it would mean Croatia would need to score two in order to go through on aggregate.

Iceland, though, failed to produce magic on the night, as they were defeated 2-0 with Mandzukic as one of the scorers. Mandzukic has developed into one of the finest strikers in the world over the last few years. He is a first-team regular for Bayern Munich. He scored after just 27 minutes on the clock to give the home team an advantage and also help settle them. Srna then doubled their advantage in the 47th minute to give the home fans real hope that they can be at the Brazil World Cup.

“The important thing is that we are through and I am really not thinking whether I will miss any of the games… or how many. I scored one of the most important goals of my life but I trembled after being sent off as I was completely unnerved about the prospect of turning into a villain if Iceland equalised,” said the Bayern Munich striker after the match.

Mandzukic was the hero on the night, but he could have easily turned the villain after receiving a straight red card in the 38th minute. Despite being down to 10 men, Croatia held on for this famous victory.

Croatia will soon learn about their opponents in the group stages, which will help them plan for the World Cup.