FOOTBALL Live

Thursday June 12, 2008 Finished Worthersee

2 - 1

Croatia

Srna 24’
Olic 62’

Germany

Podolski 79’

Stylish Croatia stun Germany

Croatia qualified for the quarter finals of Euro 2008 with a well-earned 2-1 Group B victory over group favourites Germany at the Worthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt. More

Live Commentary
Time:90'
- Croatia
- Germany
- 90+4' And it's all over! Croatia hold on for a fantastic 2-1 win that takes them three points clear of Germany at the top of Group B! A tremendous game of football. Stay with us for live coverage of Austria v Poland from 19:45 BST.
- 90+3' Modric is booked for a foul on Frings on the halfway line.
- 90+1' Petric's low cross from the left goes right across the face of goal and eludes Modric by inches! And Schweinsteiger is off! The Bayern Munich man's frustration gets the better of him, and he pushes Leko, who is booked. Lehmann is also carded for his protests.
- 90' Modric's cross from the right towards Petric is cleared by Mertesacker. There will be three minutes of stoppage time!
- 88' Odonkor does well to prevent Rakitic getting onto a pass from Modric down the Croatian left.
- 86' Schweinsteiger is bullied off the ball by Niko Kovac just inside the Croatian area.
- 85' A third and final change for the Croats. Niko Kranjcar is replaced by Dario Knezevic of Italian side Livorno.
- 83' Pranjic goes down under a challenge from the backtracking Odonkor inside the Germany area, but the referee says play on! There was little contact.
- 82' Substitution for Germany. Striker Kevin Kuranyi comes on in place of Clemens Fritz. And then Lehmann reacts well to keep out a fierce drive from Leko!
- 80' Slaven Bilic responds by sending on Jerko Leko for Dario Srna.
- 79' GOAL! 2-1! Podolski buries a left-footed volley into the bottom-left corner after Lahm's cross is headed into the air by Robert Kovac! Game on!
- 77' Lahm's cross from the Germany left is emphatically headed clear by Robert Kovac.
- 76' Kranjcar tests Lehmann with a low shot from distance that is comfortably gathered.
- 75' Ballack goes into the book for jumping in on Rakitic.
- 74' Schweinsteiger's corner is nervously kneed wide of the near post by Kranjcar, before a second delivery is impudently back-heeled clear at the back post by Srna.
- 73' Schweinsteiger beats Srna on the German left before flashing a low shot in that Pletikosa diverts wide of the back post for a corner!
- 72' Croatia make their first change, with Mladen Petric replacing the hard-working Ivica Olic.
- 71' Srna's corner flashes right across the face of goal before Pranjic sends a low left-footer skidding across goal and wide from the left-hand edge of the area.
- 70' Srna's corner is fisted behind for a corner on the other side by Lehmann.
- 69' Olic wins a corner off Metzelder on the Croatia left.
- 68' Klose's shot from the edge of the Croatia box is blocked at close range.
- 67' Srna drives the free-kick into the top of the wall.
- 66' On first viewing that goal looked like a complete howler by Lehmann, but on reflection the deflection gave him no chance. Kranjcar wins a free-kick off Frings just outside the German box.
- 65' Srna's vicious inswinger is palmed away by Lehmann. And then Germany make their first change, with Mario Gomez making way for Bastian Schweinsteiger.
- 64' Olic wins a corner on the Croatia left. He's running himself into the ground once again.
- 62' GOAL! 2-0 Croatia! Srna's cross from the right deflects off Podolski and bounces against the right-hand post before being tucked away from close range by Olic! Desperately poor luck for Germany, and they've got it all to do now.
- 61' Gomez's low cross from the left is behind Klose and Corluka clears.
- 60' Half an hour to play, and Germany are no closer to finding an equaliser.
- 59' Frings produces a well-timed tackle to deny Srna on the Croatia right. The Shakhtar Donetsk man stays down though, so the physios come on.
- 58' Another Lahm cross is headed towards Ballack by Klose, but Croatia clear.
- 57' Lahm's cross from the left is headed behind at the back post by Pranjic. Frings's subsequent corner is headed away at the near post by Kranjcar.
- 56' No real oomph to the German play at the moment. Podolski in particular looks a bit frustrated.
- 55' Croatia are looking fairly comfortable at the moment, but if football has taught us anything, it's that you never write off the Germans.
- 54' Olic is caught offside.
- 53' Corluka's cross from the Croatia right is caught by Lehmann.
- 52' Modric tests Lehmann with a well-struck long-ranger that squirts out of the German keeper's grasp before being reclaimed!
- 51' Ballack's pass from deep is cleared on the edge of the Croatia box.
- 50' Simunic concedes a free-kick a few yards inside the Croatia half for a foul on Klose. Frings's free-kick is headed into the air by Podolski before being hoofed clear by Kranjcar.
- 49' Lahm's inswinging cross from the left is punched away by Pletikosa and falls to Ballack on the edge of the box, but he hurries his left-footed shot and it sails well over the crossbar.
- 48' The corner is cleared by Srna.
- 47' Odonkor finds space on the German right and sees his cross deflected behind by Pranjic.
- 46' The second half gets under way. Germany have made a change at half-time, with flying wide man David Odonkor coming on in place of Marcell Jansen. Lahm has gone to left-back, with Fritz dropping back to right-back.
- 45+2' The half-time whistle goes after a fantastic half of football. Croatia lead 1-0, and it could have been three or four, but Germany have had their chances too.
- 45+1' Simunic is booked for kicking the ball away after it had gone out of play.
- 45' Gomez is caught offside again, but this time he looked to be onside. There will be one minute of added time.
- 44' The ball's in the Croatia net, but it won't count. Klose taps home after Pletikosa spills a high ball, but Gomez is penalised for a foul on the goalkeeper.
- 43' Srna tries to catch Lehmann out with a shot towards the near post from wide on the Croatia left, but he puts it wide.
- 42' Great save Lehmann! Corluka's low cross from the right is dinked into the middle from the left by Olic, and Kranjcar lashes in a volley that Lehmann parries!
- 41' Srna runs into trouble on the Croatian right.
- 40' Great chance for Germany! Frings picks out Metzelder with his corner but from 10 yards out the Real Madrid man puts his header over the crossbar!
- 39' Frings is forced to wait to take a corner on the Germany left as referee De Bleeckere sorts out some jostling inside the Croatian penalty area.
- 38' A great half of football so far. Croatia have played some fine stuff, but Germany are just starting to come back into it.
- 37' Jansen's cross from the German left drifts out of play for a goal kick.
- 36' Gomez wins a throw-in in an advanced position on the German left.
- 35' The ball falls to Jansen on the left-hand edge of the penalty area, but Corluka throws himself into a block.
- 33' Great hit from Ballack! The German captain drills in a thumping right-footed drive that Stipe Pletikosa pushes away! The ball is played back into the box, and Pletikosa is forced to knock the ball away from Klose!
- 32' Klose wins a free-kick within striking distance after being brought down from behind by Robert Kovac.
- 30' What a miss! Rakitic's cross from the left is headed into the path of Niko Kranjcar by Olic, but the Portsmouth man blazes the ball over the crossbar from 15 yards! He really should have hit the target.
- 29' Podolski wins a free-kick in midfield after being taken out by Robert and Niko Kovac on the halfway line.
- 28' Lahm wins a throw-in off Rakitic deep inside the German half on the right. And then a poor pass from Lehmann forces Jansen to hook the ball out of play for a Croatia throw on the near side.
- 27' Srna is booked for diving in on Podolski on the German left. Frings strikes the free-kick straight into the wall.
- 26' Chance for Germany! Jansen bends a lovely ball into the box from the left and Gomez heads the ball over the crossbar from eight yards!
- 25' Jens Lehmann claims a cross from the right by Corluka.
- 23' GOAL! 1-0 Croatia! They string some passes around on the left flank, before Pranjic swings a cross into the box from deep and Srna gets ahead of Jansen to volley the ball home at the back post! Excellent goal.
- 22' Frings beats Corluka on the Germany left but sees his low cross cleared at the near post.
- 21' Podolski finds Gomez inside the Croatia area, but he's offside again by about a yard or so.
- 20' Metzelder produces a superb challenge to deny Olic inside the German box! The Hamburg striker was looking to get on the end of Modric's pass down the inside-right channel, but Metzelder timed his tackle to perfection.
- 19' Jansen goes over under a challenge from Srna as he surges down the German inside-left channel, but the ref says play on.
- 18' Frings looks for Gomez over the top, but he's offside.
- 17' Podolski is penalised for a foul just outside the Croatia box.
- 16' The free-kick is played to Pranjic on the left, and his cross is deflected behind for a corner. Srna's inswinger is flicked on by Simunic at the near post, but nobody can get on the end of it and the ball bounces out for a German throw-in on the near side.
- 15' Metzelder fouls Olic about 35 yards from the German goal in a central position and a free-kick is awarded.
- 14' Vedran Corluka swings a cross into the box from the Croatia right, and Ivica Olic is penalised for a foul on Mertesacker.
- 13' Germany break down the right through Philipp Lahm and he threads the ball through to Klose but the ball springs off his foot and Croatia clear.
- 12' Jansen concedes a free-kick for a foul on Srna on the Croatia right. Srna whips an inviting ball into the box, but it's headed away.
- 11' Fritz finds Gomez on the edge of the Croatia box but his touch escapes him and so does the ball.
- 10' Jansen's cross falls for Podolski on the edge of the Croatia box, but his right-footed half-volley is blocked by Josip Simunic.
- 9' Jansen's cross from the Germany left is headed behind for a corner. Torsten Frings curls it in towards Michael Ballack at the near post but Croatia scramble the ball away.
- 8' Danijel Pranjic gets forward down the Croatia left and crosses, but Per Mertesacker is on hand to head the ball clear at the near post.
- 7' Croatia string some passes around for the first time, drawing whistles from the German fans.
- 6' Srna re-enters the fray. Germany continue to see most of the ball.
- 5' Christoph Metzelder springs forward elegantly from the back before being poleaxed by Srna, who actually comes off worse. Looks like a dead leg, but he should be OK. Nothing a bit of 'magic spray' won't sort out anyway.
- 4' Opening for Germany! Klose gets away down the German right and squares the ball to Fritz, who's in space just inside the Croatia box, but he opts to help the ball on rather than shoot and Croatia are able to clear.
- 3' Croatia's Dario Srna is penalised for a foul on Marcell Jansen on the near side, and lets the referee know what he thinks about his decision.
- 2' Low's men enjoy some early possession, before Gomez concedes a throw-in wide on the German left. They certainly knock the ball around nicely. England take note.
- 1' Off we go! Germany kick off, and will attack from right to left in the first half.
- 16:58 Say what you like about the Germans, but their national anthem - 'Das Deutschlandlied' is an absolute belter. Croatia's isn't bad either, mind. You can't beat a bit of horn.
- 16:55 The teams emerge from the tunnel, Germany in their familiar white shirts, black shorts and white socks, Croatia in the same all-blue change strip with red and white chequered trim that they wore against Austria. It's another overcast evening here in Klagenfurt. Belgium's Frank De Bleeckere is our referee.
- 16:50 Croatia had a slight doubt over Tottenham-bound playmaker Luka Modric, but he has overcome an ankle knock to feature. Germany's main selection dilemma concerned whether to bring Bastian Schweinsteiger into the line-up after he started on the bench against Poland, but Low has decided to stick with the more defensively-minded Clemens Fritz on the right side of midfield.
- 16:40 TEAM NEWS: Croatia make one change from the team that beat Austria, with 20-year-old Schalke midfielder Ivan Rakitic coming into the side for Borussia Dortmund striker Mladen Petric. Germany coach Joachim Low, on the other hand, has kept faith with the team that put paid to Poland. Mario Gomez partners Miroslav Klose up front, with Lukas Podolski - who scored both goals against the Poles - starting on the left.
- 16:30 Good afternoon and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE coverage of this clash of the Group B favourites from the Worthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt. Germany kicked off their Euro 2008 campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Poland, while Croatia looked rather unconvincing in their 1-0 defeat of co-hosts Austria. A win for either side here would put them on the brink of the quarter-finals. Kick-off is at 17:00 BST.

Team Stats

Croatia	Stats	Germany
40%	Possession	59%
12	Shots	11
6	Shots on target	4
2	Saves	1
7	Corners	7
16	Fouls	16
1	Offsides	3
4	Yellow cards	2
0	Red cards	1
23	Tackles	33
278	Accurate passes	391
66	Bad passes	101

Player Stats

G =: Goals
S =: Shots
SoT =: Shot on Target

F =: Fouls
FW =: Fouls Won
O =: Offsides

A =: Assists
AP =: Accurate Passes
BP =: Bad Passes

T =: Tackles

Croatia
Num	Name	G	S	SoT	F	FW	O	A	AP	BP	T
1	Stipe Pletikosa	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	5	5	0
4	Robert Kovac	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	29	1	3
22	Danijel Pranjic	0	1	0	1	2	0	1	29	14	2
5	Vedran Corluka	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	34	0	2
3	Josip Simunic	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	15	4	2
7	Ivan Rakitic	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	35	10	2
10	Niko Kovac	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	23	6	3
14	Luka Modric	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	39	10	1
11	Darijo Srna	1	3	1	4	1	0	0	19	2	2
19	Niko Kranjcar	0	4	2	2	2	0	0	25	7	5
18	Ivica Olic	1	2	1	2	1	1	0	14	5	1
16	Jerko Leko	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	6	0	0
8	Ognjen Vukojevic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	Vedran Runje	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Dario Knezevic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
6	Hrvoje Vejic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	Mladen Petric	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	1	0
13	Nikola Pokrivac	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Dario Simic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Igor Budan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Mario Galinovic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Ivan Klasnic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Nikola Kalinic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Germany
Num	Name	G	S	SoT	F	FW	O	AP	BP	T
1	Jens Lehmann	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1	0
21	Christoph Metzelder	0	2	1	2	2	0	45	4	4
2	Marcell Jansen	0	0	0	1	2	0	19	10	2
4	Clemens Fritz	0	0	0	0	1	0	25	1	3
16	Philipp Lahm	0	0	0	0	1	0	59	22	5
17	Per Mertesacker	0	0	0	0	1	0	48	1	1
8	Torsten Frings	0	1	0	2	2	0	45	13	6
13	Michael Ballack	0	2	1	5	2	0	47	12	5
11	Miroslav Klose	0	1	0	0	2	0	14	2	1
9	Mario Gomez	0	1	0	1	0	3	14	6	0
20	Lukas Podolski	1	2	1	3	2	0	41	21	1
15	Thomas Hitzlsperger	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Simon Rolfes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	René Adler	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Piotr Trochowski	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Heiko Westermann	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	Kevin Kuranyi	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Robert Enke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Arne Friedrich	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	David Odonkor	0	0	0	2	0	0	12	0	2
10	Oliver Neuville	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Tim Borowski	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Bastian Schweinsteiger	0	2	1	0	1	0	15	8	3

Summary
- 90+1' Petric's low cross from the left goes right across the face of goal and eludes Modric by inches! And Schweinsteiger is off! The Bayern Munich man's frustration gets the better of him, and he pushes Leko, who is booked. Lehmann is also carded for his protests.
- 83' Pranjic goes down under a challenge from the backtracking Odonkor inside the Germany area, but the referee says play on! There was little contact.
- 79' GOAL! 2-1! Podolski buries a left-footed volley into the bottom-left corner after Lahm's cross is headed into the air by Robert Kovac! Game on!
- 76' Kranjcar tests Lehmann with a low shot from distance that is comfortably gathered.
- 73' Schweinsteiger beats Srna on the German left before flashing a low shot in that Pletikosa diverts wide of the back post for a corner!
- 71' Srna's corner flashes right across the face of goal before Pranjic sends a low left-footer skidding across goal and wide from the left-hand edge of the area.
- 62' GOAL! 2-0 Croatia! Srna's cross from the right deflects off Podolski and bounces against the right-hand post before being tucked away from close range by Olic! Desperately poor luck for Germany, and they've got it all to do now.
- 52' Modric tests Lehmann with a well-struck long-ranger that squirts out of the German keeper's grasp before being reclaimed!
- 49' Lahm's inswinging cross from the left is punched away by Pletikosa and falls to Ballack on the edge of the box, but he hurries his left-footed shot and it sails well over the crossbar.
- 42' Great save Lehmann! Corluka's low cross from the right is dinked into the middle from the left by Olic, and Kranjcar lashes in a volley that Lehmann parries!
- 40' Great chance for Germany! Frings picks out Metzelder with his corner but from 10 yards out the Real Madrid man puts his header over the crossbar!
- 33' Great hit from Ballack! The German captain drills in a thumping right-footed drive that Stipe Pletikosa pushes away! The ball is played back into the box, and Pletikosa is forced to knock the ball away from Klose!
- 30' What a miss! Rakitic's cross from the left is headed into the path of Niko Kranjcar by Olic, but the Portsmouth man blazes the ball over the crossbar from 15 yards! He really should have hit the target.
- 26' Chance for Germany! Jansen bends a lovely ball into the box from the left and Gomez heads the ball over the crossbar from eight yards!
- 23' GOAL! 1-0 Croatia! They string some passes around on the left flank, before Pranjic swings a cross into the box from deep and Srna gets ahead of Jansen to volley the ball home at the back post! Excellent goal.
- 20' Metzelder produces a superb challenge to deny Olic inside the German box! The Hamburg striker was looking to get on the end of Modric's pass down the inside-right channel, but Metzelder timed his tackle to perfection.
- 4' Opening for Germany! Klose gets away down the German right and squares the ball to Fritz, who's in space just inside the Croatia box, but he opts to help the ball on rather than shoot and Croatia are able to clear.

Live Team Line-Up

Referee: Franck de Bleeckere
Croatia

Manager: Slaven Bilic

Captain: 10. Niko Kovac

Starting line-up
- S. Pletikosa
- V. Corluka
- R. Kovac
- J. Simunic
- D. Pranjic
- D. Srna
- N. Kovac
- L. Modric
- I. Rakitic
- I. Olic
- N. Kranjcar
Subs
- 17. I. Klasnic
- 2. D. Simic
- 22. I. Budan
- 23. V. Runje
- 21. M. Petric 72′
- 16. J. Leko 80′
- 12. M. Galinovic
- 13. N. Pokrivac
- 6. H. Vejic
- 8. O. Vukojevic
- 15. D. Knezevic 85′
- 9. N. Kalinic
Injured

None

Suspended

None
Germany

Manager: Joachim Löw

Captain: 13. Michael Ballack

Starting line-up
- J. Lehmann
- P. Lahm
- P. Mertesacker
- C. Metzelder
- M. Jansen
- T. Frings
- M. Ballack
- C. Fritz
- L. Podolski
- M. Klose
- M. Gomez
Subs
- 10. O. Neuville
- 18. T. Borowski
- 15. T. Hitzlsperger
- 6. S. Rolfes
- 22. K. Kuranyi 81′
- 3. A. Friedrich
- 12. R. Enke
- 7. B. Schweinsteiger 65′
- 14. P. Trochowski
- 19. D. Odonkor 46′
- 23. R. Adler
- 5. H. Westermann
Injured

None

Suspended

None