OH HELL — to think we have to face Croatia again in the World Cup qualifiers.
Fabio Capello was in Klagenfurt for another look at what his side will be up against in September.
He will not have been sitting comfortably last night.
The fact that Croatia beat England twice in the Euro 2008 qualifiers was clearly no fluke.
They are a football force to be reckoned with, as the Germans could testify last night.
And Croat boss Slaven Bilic says the performance was better than winning at Wembley in the final Euro qualifier that cost our boys a place in Austria and Switzerland.
He said: “Wembley was a special story, a glorious night at a world-famous stadium.
“But it was all or nothing for England, not for us. We had already got our ticket to Euro 2008 so last night was a much bigger achievement for us.
“But we have now shown what a strong team we are.”
Brolly wally Steve McClaren also saw Croatia’s triumph.
But the sacked England boss was not on a scouting trip, he was working for the BBC.
Bilic’s men laboured to victory over Austria in their opening Group B match but have put aside those first night nerves.
They were absolutely purring last night and Michael Ballack’s troops were outclassed.
Goals from Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic — assisted by an error from Jens Lehmann — took the points and top spot in the group.
Chelsea maestro Ballack and new Spurs star Luka Modric fought a commendable battle in midfield.
But it was Modric who earned the Man of the Match award.
Germany will go through if they draw with Austria in their last group game but — as second-placed finishers — they will probably be paired with Portugal in the quarter-finals.
That would make for an intriguing contest between two Chelsea employees, Ballack and his new club boss Phil Scolari.
Croatia stunned the Germans to take a 24th-minute lead when Daniel Pranjic’s cross cleared the static 6ft 6ins centre-back Per Mertesacker and livewire Srna slid in to score.
Portsmouth playmaker Niko Kranjcar had two great chances to double the lead. But he shot wildly over before firing a close-range volley at Jens Lehmann.
Ballack did test Croatia stopper Stipe Pletikosa with a 30-yard blaster but Bilic’s boys were worth a half-time lead.
And it was not a surprise to see them go two up on 62 minutes.
The outstanding Ivan Rakitic crossed from the right and a hefty deflection off Lukas Podolski saw Lehmann scrambling back to his near post. The keeper could not prevent the ball hitting the woodwork and it bounced obligingly to Olic, who tapped in from six yards.
It was Olic’s first goal for his country since scoring in the 3-2 win at Wembley in November.
The German machine cranked itself up to pull one back with 11 minutes left as Podolski pounced on Ballack’s knockdown to smash low into the net.
But the Germans lost their discipline in the final minutes and could not force the leveller.
Sub Bastian Schweinsteiger reacted to Jerko Leko’s challenge and pushed the Croat over. A red card followed.
This Croatia victory ranks alongside their famous 3-0 quarter-final win against Germany in the World Cup of 1998.
It will be a small consolation for England fans if the Croats win the tournament. But make no mistake — it could happen.
German boss Joachim Low admitted his side deserved to lose but refused to criticise ex-Arsenal stopper Lehmann.
He said: “We performed poorly, there’s not much to be satisfied with. Of course we still have confidence in Lehmann.”
SUN RATINGS
CROATIA: Pletikosa 6, Corluka 7, R Kovac 7, Simunic 7, Pranjic 7, Srna 7 (Leko 6), Modric 8, N Kovac 7, Rakitic 8, Kranjcar 7 (Knezevic 5), Olic 7 (Petric 6).
GERMANY: Lehmann 5, Lahm 6, Metzelder 5, Mertesacker 5, Jansen 4 (Odonkor 6), Fritz 5 (Kuranyi 5), Frings 6, Ballack 7, Podolski 6, Gomez 4 (Schweinsteiger 4), Klose 5.
[uredio riki_mo - 13. lipnja 2008. u 08:56]
