Scotland earned their first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign this evening, beating Croatia 1-0 in Zagreb.

The Scots can not qualify for the tournament next summer, but restored some national pride with an unlikely victory.

Despite the pre-match predictions, Scotland were comfortable throughout the opening half-hour and took the lead through Robert Snodgrass midway through the first half.

Croatia came out strongly in the second period, but Scotland held firm to take all three points.

Sports Mole takes a closer action below.

Match statistics:

Croatia:
Shots 15
On target 3
Possession 57%
Corners 6
Fouls 14

Scotland:
Shots 4
On target 2
Possession 43%
Corners 1
Fouls 4

Was the result fair?

Scotland were probably a little fortunate to get the win in the end, but not by much. They were confident enough to play football against Croatia rather than just sit back and defend, but to be honest, if Croatia's strikers were anywhere near top form, the home side would have scored two or three goals.

Croatia's performance

Croatia were very disappointing this evening. It was quite obvious that they underestimated Scotland, and played at a walking pace for much of the first half. For half an hour either side of half time, the hosts really looked like scoring, but apart from that Scotland were comfortable.

Scotland's performance

Scotland performed as well as they could have this evening. They were up against a very good team and were comfortable. They defended well, but in the end Allan McGregor had few saves to make. At the other end, the Scots passed the ball well through midfield, and even if Leigh Griffiths was a little isolated at times, they always posed a threat on the counter-attack.

Sports Mole's man of the match

James McArthur: This is a tough one as there were several Scottish players who deserved this accolade. James McArthur stood out in midfield though. He was on hand to help out his defence whenever they needed, while still finding time to set up numerous Scotland attacks with accurate passing.

Biggest gaffe

This has to go to Mario Mandzukic today. The Bayern Munich striker was poor throughout the match, but had a golden chance to level the game when Ivica Olic found him at the far post just after half time. Somehow though, Mandzukic managed to poke the ball wide from two yards out.

Referee performance

The referee was pretty good in tonight's match. He was keen to let the game flow wherever possible and the few yellow cards that he brandished were all justified.

What next?

Croatia: Croatia will probably need a playoff victory to qualify for the World Cup now. Belgium's win this evening means that Croatia trail them by three points with just three game left.

Scotland: The Scots' outlook on their remaining qualifying games will have changed after this result, with renewed optimism amongst the players. They also have a friendly against England to look forward to in August.

Written by
Daniel Cross