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Croatia all but seal their place for the FIFA showpiece in Russia next year as they brushed a woebegone Greek outfit by 4-1 in Zagreb to take a big lead into the return leg next week.
Luka Modric, Nikola Kalinic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric all found the net as the Croats put a shambolic Greece to the sword.
A string of blunders at the back cost the visitors a heavy penalty, as they now have a monumental task at hand in the return on Monday.
Here are some of the main talking points from the match:
#1 Croatia have one foot in the finals
Whilst the failure to seal a direct qualification came as a major disappointment from a Croatian side equipped with star names in their arsenal, The Blazers seemed pretty determined to make up for all the losses in the play-offs.
With a resounding 4-1 win over a stuttering Greece in the first leg, it was not only a night of redemption, but also all but secured a place in the World Cup finals.
The hosts flew out of the blocks right from the opening whistle; with fast and full-blooded assaults on the Greek half, throwing the visitors under the bus. Driven by the excellent midfield pairing of Luka Modric and Andrej Kramaric, Croatia looked a different beast than how they fared in the final few games of the qualifiers.
Greece's clumsy showings at the back leading to subtle errors only helped their cause further.
The hosts were not to play ducks and drakes with the gifted chances as they ruthlessly pounced on every error by the Greek backline, deepening their woes.
Nicola Kalinic, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kamaric all made most of the opportunities presented to them, with skipper Modric triggering the onslaught with a penalty resulting from a needless foul by Greek custodian Orestis Karnezis.
Whilst it was the terrible defending by Greeks that made it all the more easy for Croatia, the latter did show their clinical best with their chances. And now, they are on their way to Russia.
#2 Greece pay the price for a diabolical defensive performance
As the final whistle blew at the Stadium Maksimir in Zagreb, Greece had their faces buried in their hands in shock and sorrow. And they only have themselves to blame for it. With errors galore at the back, Croatia's efficiency knocked the stuffing out of them.
It's safe to say, this was the poorest performance by this Greek side, so far, in the qualifiers. And it came at a time when they should've been at their strongest.
It all began with goalkeeper Karnezis bundling an on-rushing Modric to the ground with a cynical and needless tackle culminating into a well-converted penalty by the Croat captain. That one moment of madness set the tone for the evening for the visitors.
Just a few minutes later when Ivan Strinic delivered a cross from the left wing, and Kalinic was left completely unmarked in the build-up, which eventually allowed him to tap home one of the easiest goals he's scored.
Perisic rubbed further salt into their wounds by nodding in after another defensive collapse, while Kramaric put the last nail in their coffin with a fourth that resulted from another defensive muddle at the back.
Greece were woeful at the back, and the 4-1 scoreline just sums up their defence on the night. Russia 2018 is now a far-fetched dream.
#3 Sime Vrsaljko delivers on the big stage
The 25-year old is more of an outcast at Atletico Madrid, having made only 16 appearances in the league since 2016/17 season, but remains an instrumental figure in the Croatian defence as he supplied two assists on the night, to shrug off his club difficulties.
Vrsaljko first showed immense pace in the build to Croatia's third goal as he outpaced the visiting defence to lay off for Perisic to tap home with relative ease. His second though, was a pure gem, as he rounded the Greek goalkeeper Karnezis by skipping past the Greek rearguard and then released the ball for Kramaric to push it into an empty net.
It was a great show of panache from a player who isn't given his due at his club Atletico Madrid. The presence of more established likes in the ranks, such as Juanfran, has kept him on the sidelines and he has never really got a chance to truly explode to life with the Madrid outfit.
Nevertheless, Vrsaljko hasn't put a wrong foot forward whenever called upon, and this game showed why he deserves more time on the field than what he really gets.
Right-backs like Vrsaljko can be an asset when given the time and space to operate. He is no Dani Alves by any means, but surely has the potential to be a right-back of his own league.
#4 Sokratis and Mitroglou, the sole shining lights for grieved Greece
In a Greece side that was in sixes and sevens throughout, painfully unsettled and terribly unconvincing, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Konstantinos Mitroglou were the sole shining lights.
These are the two who conjured tense moments in the Croatian halves on an occasion or two, whilst the former even scored a consolatory goal, which is the only thread by which the Greek team now dangles.
When Croatia led 2-0 within the first quarter of the match, the pressure were seriously on Greece to respond. And respond they did, when the Borussia Dortmund centre-back struck a header beyond Daniel Subasic, halving the deficit and also providing his side with a much-needed breathing space.
It was a good opportunity for the visitors to pile on, only for the defence to continue to make glaring errors.
Mitroglou, on the other hand, made two late efforts. One of his attempts was just wide off the mark, whilst the follow up was thwarted safely by Subasic. It's sad that a player of his ilk, who also scored 6 goals in the qualifying, to be devoid of service in the final third, which otherwise would've put Greece in a more able position.
On a night that would certainly be difficult to forget for the Greek defence, these two players stood out of the lot. And that's perhaps the only things the fans would cherish from an otherwise dreaded spectacle from their team.
#5 Only pride at stake in the return leg
This particular tie from the playoffs was always headed in one direction the moment it was drawn. Croatia were the clear favourites to go through, on paper and pitch, both. But the subsequent ease with which the first leg was negotiated, is baffling, to say the least.
A confident and encouraging display by the Pirate Ship in the qualifying, meant the road for Ante Caci's side would have its thorns, but due to the former's own undoing, it was all plain sailing for them.
A gap of three goals is too big to cement for Greece, given that Croatia haven't lost by that margin since the 5-1 drubbing at the hands of England in 2009, and also considering their new found verve which was evident in the first leg.
Although Michael Skibbe's' sky-blue whites only lost once at home during the qualifiers - a 2-1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina - a record which they would look up to for confidence ahead of the return leg, it's, perhaps, too late already. The gulf seems too big to scale.
The Euro 2004 champions were ranked 13th in the world following their march till the round of 16 in Brazil in 2014, despite winning only once in the group stages and also getting thumped 3-0 by Colombia on the opening matchday. But times have changed. Greece have fallen since, and it's only pride at stake in Athens, in the return leg.
