Croatia ready for Ukraine clash

October 9, 2008

On Saturday the 11th, Croatia will make a short trip over to the Ukraine for the third match of their qualifying campaign. As of now, the Ukraine ranks second on the group table with two wins, and in fourth place Croatia is found with one win and one loss. This will not be the first time that these two sides have met in World Cup qualifying.

After the break up of the Soviet Union, the Ukraine placed second in their group table for the World Cup of 1998; though, a crucial loss to Croatia denied them a place for the finals in France. In 2002 they played almost a repeat from their previous campaign, but this time it was the Germans who sent them packing. They finally found a place in the World Cup of 2006, after advancing from a very difficult group. In 2007, they saw former Soviet Union player, Alexi Mikhailichenko take over as the new coach.

Croatia’s golden years in football came in the year 1998, in which they made it to the last three teams of the finals. Unfortunately, it ended there, but they set a new standard for Croatian football. In both 2002 and 2006, they were a bit unlucky, leaving shortly after the group stages. After the 2006 World Cup, former player Slaven Bilic took the title of coach and since has made many improvements.

Earlier this week, the Croatian players met in a training session ahead of Saturday’s game. However, still missing from the squad is Eduardo Da Silva. The team has high hopes for their team mate to return soon and Eduardo has said he hopes to be back before Christmas. Speaking to UEFA.com, Slaven Bilic said, “Eduardo is our most important player and fits unbelievably well with the way Croatia plays. We miss him a lot.” He added, “We need a good result in the Ukraine and then welcome back a fit and hungry Eduardo either for the return Andorra match in March or perhaps the Ukraine in Croatia next June.”

Regarding the aspect that Croatia lost 4-1 in their last match with England, Bilic and the team feel confident that Croatia indeed holds a place in the 2010 final stages. Bilic announced, “We are not going to sink simply because of one defeat. We are going to come back stronger because we have great self belief and quality. With a little bit of luck, it’s quite realistic that we’ll be in South Africa.”

Jill Guthrie

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