Monday, June 09, 2008

austria vs croatia

it is less than 30 mins of the game however, croatians have already stamped their mark by scoring penalty. olic was gunned down by pogatetz right in front of the referee and modric put it nicely at the back of the net. looks like croatia have indeed determined to warn other big guns that they came for a victory and they mean business. i like the way they play and hoping to see them at least until the quarter. i know i am not supposed to support croatia after beating england in their last euro qualifying match in 07. croatia are not shy to attack and they are good at it. austria meanwhile, have yet to look dangerous in the last 30 mins or so. their system doesn't look sharp at the time being which allowing croatia to dominate possession in the 35 mins  of the first half. it was an entertaining 45 mins seeing croatia terrorizing austria's half for most of the time. a true football match i would say as none of the last two matches  in the first day of the tournament showed such intensity. i can't wait to watch the second half...wait for it..

second half...

a much better performance from austria in the second half. they seem determine to get the three points they desire. as a host, they will of course, do anything to be on top of the table, it's pretty 50-50 at the time being and i don't see how both of the teams knock their rivals out of the way in this match. i like the way croatia dominate the match and put so much of anything in this game, however, they do not have the edge to put the ball inside the penalty area. i think they are missing dudu a lot and looks like they need to focus on the task at hand. austria dominated the second half and not letting croatia to make a single chance to double their lead. it's good to see a very balanced performance from these two teams and i am looking forward to see who will come up as a winner tonight as some people have dismissed croatia as a favorite in this tournament. if austria lost their first match, it would be a massive blow for the host. we already in the added mins and croatia have shaken off every bits of austria attacking force. and now, croatia got what they wanted, a full 3 points. a well deserved win for the croatians as they can rest and wait for the next game to unfold. next game will be one of the most anticipated one which is germany vs poland. these two countries have their stories of their own. it started when nazi invaded poland with their monstrous bombs and countless rivalry in football terms. so far, poland haven't been able to defeat germany. in last WC 06, poland had to swallow a bitter defeat from the host. who will come up as a winner? i assume it will be a tough match and germany will not get their win easily. c ya till the next match....

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