In Russia's sleepy European exclave of Kaliningrad -- perhaps best known for its nuclear missile sites -- the much-hyped youngsters of Nigeria struggled to ignite against Croatia's midfield technicians.

With rivals Argentina and Iceland only managing a 1-1 draw earlier Saturday in Saransk, both sides had a chance to take control of Group D.

Nigeria, knowing they were always likely to struggle for possession against a central one-two of Modric and Ivan Rakitic, were content to sit back and allow Croatia to come to them.

But they were rigid and well-organised, and largely restricted Modric's distribution to the flanks, where Croatia's final ball was poor.

After 10 minutes, Juventus target man Mario Mandzukic teed up Ivan Perisic at the edge of the area only for the Inter Milan forward to blaze over.

Croatia, semi-finalists at France '98, have struggled to live up to the lofty expectations borne of an embarrassment of midfield riches, and meekly lost their World Cup opener 3-1 to hosts Brazil four years ago.

There is a sense of now-or-never for the Balkans nation at this tournament, in stark contrast to Nigeria, who brought the competition's youngest squad to Russia.

Coach Gernot Rohr kept faith in 19-year-old keeper Francis Uzoho but the Deportivo stopper's first real action was picking the ball out of the net.

Just after the half-hour mark, Mandzukic, industrious in his hold-up play, chested a Andrej Kramaric cross back to Ante Rebic, whose fizzing shot was blocked. The resulting corner saw Rebic return the favour with a near-post flick on met by a diving Mandzukic.

Etebo was wrong-footed and bundled into his own net.

Nigeria responded well, with Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi's shot from a cleared free kick blocked on 45 minutes and his Premier League colleague Victor Moses shooting wide from 30 yards on the stroke of half time.

The Super Eagles had the best of the start of the second period, forcing Croatia to bat away three corners in succession, before Moses again snatched a shot wide of Danjiel Subasic's left upright.

But just as Nigeria showed some signs of life, William Ekong held down Mandzukic from a cross in the area and referee Sandro did not hesitate to point to the spot.

Modric's gilded right foot guided it to Uzoho's right side.

The Real Madrid maestro was not at his best for much of the night, but in truth he did not need to be as Nigeria looked ponderous on the ball and crucially short of big-game experience.

Despite fears pre-match, there was no reports of any racist chanting from among the near-capacity crowd.

Teams lineups

Match Highlights

Goal! Croatia 2, Nigeria 0. Luka Modric converts a penalty

Oghenekaro Etebo scores an own goal- Nigeria. Croatia 1, Nigeria 0.

Match preview

Croatia will be looking to kick-start their World Cup campaign with a victory, but will face a tough test against a youthful Nigeria side why will be looking to cause an upset at Kaliningrad Stadium on Saturday evening. As ever you can watch the stream of the match Live & Exclusive on beIN SPORTS CONNECT.

Croatia impressed in qualification for the World Cup, defeating Greece 4-1 on aggregate to book their place in a second consecutive World Cup. Zlatko Dalic’s side will be targeting to get out of the group and will be aiming to get at least a point against Nigeria especially with the games against Argentina and Iceland coming up.

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Real Madrid midfielder Luca Modric leads the list of top European players in the Croatian squad and is poised to make a big impact for his country in Russia. Fresh from lifting yet another Champions League with Los Blancos, Modric is set to be deployed as a playmaker and will be the creative hub for his side.

Croatia Predicted Team

Subasic; Vida, Lovren, Vrsaljko, Strinic; Brozovic, Rakitic; Kramaric, Modric, Perisic; Mandzukic

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• TV Channel- MAX HD3
• Kick-off- 22:00
• Stadium- Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

As for Nigeria, they are appearing in their third consecutive World Cup and will be looking to cause an upset with a side packed with talent playing in the Premier League. Veteran coach Gernot Rohr has never managed at a World Cup and will be charged with getting the Super Eagles out of the group. With a kit that was designed with a nod to the 1994 side that reached the round of 16 in their first World Cup, that could be possible.

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Nigeria Predicted Team

Uzoho; Troost-Ekong, Balogun, Abdullahi, Idowu; Ndidi, Onazi; Iwobi, Mikel, Moses; Ighalo

Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi is likely to be played on the right wing for the match against Croatia and will be charged with breaking down the Croatian backline. Iwobi, 26 scored the important goal to seal Nigeria’s qualification to the World Cup and targeting to score his first ever World Cup goal against Croatia. Iwobi has put in some exceptional performances for the Super Eagles in the build-up for the World Cup, scoring a goal in the 2-1 friendly defeat to England.

English program information

It promises to be an interesting match as  Croatia take on a youthful Nigeria side. You can watch all the action on the live stream on  MAX HD3 & beIN SPORTS CONNECT.