As he did in Croatia's previous friendly – a 2-0 defeat to Brazil – Eintracht forward Rebic started on the right of midfield against Senegal. The 24-year-old put in a typically energetic performance for 60 minutes, before he was brought off with the Lions of Teranga a goal to the good.
Late strikes from Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric, however, ensured that Croatia head to Russia off the back of a win.
Seferovic gets the better of Hasebe
Frankfurt midfielders Makoto Hasebe and Gelson Fernandes were due to face off in Japan's friendly with Switzerland, but while Hasebe skippered the Samurai Blue, Fernandes had a watching brief and spent the entire 90 minutes on the bench in Lugano.
Despite Hasebe's best efforts, Japan fell to a 2-0 defeat. Ricardo Rodriguez scored from the spot after a dubious penalty had been awarded, before former Frankfurt forward Haris Seferovic – now of Benfica – doubled the lead in the closing stages.
