Croatia keep 2010 World Cup dream alive

April 3, 2009

Despite all of the injuries and worries to Slaven Bilic’s squad, they won 2-0 over Andorra on April 1st, and did so rather easily. With six changes made to Croatia’s regular lineup, their squad was composed of Stipe Pletikosa in goal, a back line of Vedran Corluka, Hrvoje Vejic, Ivica Krizanac, and Hrvoje Cale. In midfield were Darijo Srna, Niko Kranjcar, Ivan Juric, and Ivan Rakitic, and their strike force was Ivan Klasnic and Eduardo Da Silva.

Everyone seemed very confident going into the match, particularly Slaven Bilic, who was already thinking ahead to hosting Ukraine in Zagreb on June 6th. From the start, Croatia took immediate control and tested Andorra’s keeper multiple times. Down the right wing, Darijo Srna provided excellent crosses for the two strikers. Finally, with 15 minutes gone, Ivan Klasnic opened the scoring for Croatia and Eduardo then finished off the first half with their second goal. During the second half, Croatia yet again dominated, as Andorra were only allowed one chance on goal.

Elsewhere in group 6, Belarus took all three points from a 5-1 win over Kazakhstan, and England won over Ukraine. Now, in their group table, England place at the top with 15 points. In second, Croatia have 10 points, and behind them are Ukraine with 7 points. With South Africa getting closer, teams will find it more difficult in the closing stages of qualification.

From what we have heard from the Croatia players, 1st place on the group table would be ideal; however, 2nd place would be alright. They are all quite confident that there is a spot in South Africa with their name on it. Like they have said earlier in their campaign, “We will come out on top in the end.”

Jill Guthrie

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.