Croatia recovered from a dour opening 60 minutes in Osijek to beat Senegal 2-1 and finish their World Cup preparations with a much-needed victory.

Zlatko Dalic’s side struggled to make an impression on proceedings on Friday and found themselves behind early in the second half as Ismaila Sarr scored a stunning opener.

The opening goal served as a wake-up call for the hosts and they dragged themselves level just after the hour, with Ivan Perisic’s free kick deflecting off the wall on its way past Abdoulaye Diallo.

Andrej Kramaric sealed the win for Croatia with 12 minutes remaining, the Hoffenheim striker lashing home at the second attempt after his original effort had been blocked.

There was still time for Sadio Mane to rattle the crossbar with a late free kick, and Senegal saw another late chance go begging as Salif Sane fired wide.

Having survived those scares, Croatia clung on for victory, but Dalic will expect much more when his team open their World Cup campaign against Nigeria on 16 June.