Rakitic hits 2 for Croatia against Slovenia

August 24, 2008

The Croatian National team has played their first game together since their defeat at the Euro 2008. They met with their neighboring country Slovenia, in Maribor, to get in some practice before the big qualifying day. They were without the presence of some key players and shortly after the start of the game, Niko Kranjcar picked up an injury and had to leave the field; but our Croatian team pulled through.

The match started out looking like it had already been decided when Slovenia scored in only the 4th minute; but in the 37th minute, Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic netted the ball making it 1-1. In the second half, Darijo Srna scored and put Croatia up by one goal. Slovenia was quick to act and soon after evened the score once again. Then, needing one goal to determine who would win, Rakitic answered the call and Croatia left victorious. For Rakitic’s two goals he received the Man-of-the-Match award along with Slovenia’s Schalkea. Dario Simic also received an award for playing his 100th game with the Croatia National team. Now with a confident victory pocketed, they should be ready for their World Cup qualifier on the 6th of September, where they will meet Kazakhstan. They will play on home soil in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia; so let’s see what luck that will bring.

Croatia was not the only country to meet in a friendly on Wednesday, the 20th. Our European champions, Spain, played their first national game without Luis Aragones, and the new coach, Vicente Del Bosque, led them to a 3-0 victory over Denmark. Some more impressive friendlies from Europe are: Russia tied 1-1 with the Netherlands, Italy tied 2-2 with Austria, Germany beat Belgium 2-0, and Portugal took a 5-0 lead over the Faroe Islands. From the United Kingdom: England tied 2-2 with the Czech Republic, the game between Scotland and Northern Ireland ended scoreless, and Wales lost 1-2 to Georgia. Now that everyone is practiced and ready to go, let’s get the World Cup qualifiers under way!

Jill Guthrie

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