Croatia could not get the better of Craig Brown's Scots - but they did show how mean their defence can be.
Kevin Gallagher's goal in Zagreb was one of only two scored against Croatia in eight games, the other managed by lowly Latvia.
Wins over Latvia and San Marino, home and away, brought Croatia to a winner-takes-all showdown with Belgium in Zagreb.
And it was veteran Boksic who scored the goal that confirmed the presence of Croatia in Japan.
That win meant that Mirko Jozik's side avoided a potentially tricky two-legged play-off with the much-fancied Czech Republic.
Belgium instead were forced to take on that task, but came through it unscathed to also take their place at the World Cup.