Austria vs Croatia [R]

[el-capitano]

Austria- one of the host nations goes into this game on the back of a few friendlies......

Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria, in need of a lift after recording one win in 14 games, were held to a 1-1 draw by Nigeria in a friendly on Tuesday.

The home team were on top early on and took the lead in the 12th minute when Roman Kienast converted a cross from Roland Linz.

But Nigeria, ranked 39th in the world to Austria’s 101, snatched the equaliser seven minutes later through Kalu Uche.

Austria went close to grabbing a winner when substitute Erwin Hoffer struck the post in the 48th.

Coach Josef Hickersberger, who will announce his Euro 2008 squad on Wednesday, used 14 players against Nigeria including 38-year-old Ivica Vastic.

“Of course we wanted to win but they were a very strong Nigerian team,” Hickersberger told reporters.

Goalkeeper Juergen Macho, vying with Alex Manninger as first choice, made several good saves in Graz.

Earlier, third choice Helge Payer withdrew from the squad due to a stomach problem.

The Austrian Football Authority (OEFB) said in a statement that keeper Ramazan Ozcan had been called up as a replacement.

The final warmup for Hickersberger’s side will be against Malta on Friday.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-euroaustria&prov=reuters&type=lgns

[el-capitano]

Croatian news......

Croatia’s chances of making progress at Euro 2008 will be closely linked to the fortunes of the country’s exciting young playmaker, Luka Modric.

The 22-year-old has outstanding vision and supplies defence-splitting passes with impressive ease, though his tireless running and work rate are his greatest strengths.

Born in the coastal city of Zadar, Modric started his senior career at Dinamo Zagreb but spent two seasons on loan with local rivals Inter Zapresic and Bosnia’s Zrinjski Mostar. He score 11 goal in 40 games before returning to Croatia’s most heralded club in 2005.

At Zrinjski, he won the Bosnian League Player of the Year award in 2004 at the age of 18 and followed up with Croatia’s Football Hope of the Year award at Inter after guiding them to second place in the league.

Good performances in the Under-19 and Under-21 teams earned him a place in the World Cup 2006 squad and he made two appearances as a substitute.

Modric then scored his first international goal in a 2-0 friendly win over world champions Italy shortly before starting Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, in which his incisive playmaking abilities and Eduardo da Silva’s finishing drove Croatia to the finals.

With Brazilian-born Eduardo having suffered a badly broken leg in February, Croatia will be hoping Modric can get forward more and shoulder some of the goalscoring burden.



http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-eurocroatiaplayer&prov=reuters&type=lgns

[cromagnum]

the goal scoring burden will be relied upon mladen petric who scored 18 goals in 35 games for dortmund this year..

[Kyryacos]

Thrashing victory over Poland for the Croatians. ... even with a handicap

[Hrvat]

I'm going. That's all I know :D

[Marbur66]

Thrashing victory over Poland for the Croatians. ... even with a handicap
Is this the right thread for that....?

[BlitzKrieg]

I think it'll be very very tough in the first game. Austrians will bite on the field and run like mad dogs. We (Croatia) have a much better team and individuals but that was never the key for winning. It'll be really hard and plus all that I also think that if we don't win that first game we won't pass the group. I'd go 1 : 0 for Croatia or even more likely 0 : 0. GO CROATS!:)

[Hrvat]

0-0? No way. Both teams are better upfront than in the back. Our strikers have been pretty barren lately but we have a very productive midfield and Austrians leave a lot of space in their defense. On the other hand, our defense has been shaky and prone to mistake for a while now and Austria has a couple of players (Ivanschitz, Linz, Vastić) that could take advantage of it.

I think Croatia takes this 2-1 :)

[ajsU3C]

Croats would be lucky not to loose actually. I know that they are way better but the host almost always wins the opening game. Sad but true.

[Hrvat]

Croats would be lucky not to loose actually. I know that they are way better but the host almost always wins the opening game. Sad but true.

That's because hosts are usually powerhouses and even with that being fact there are exceptions (Portugal four years ago).

[ajsU3C]

That's because hosts are usually powerhouses and even with that being fact there are exceptions (Portugal four years ago).

Well, not always powerhouses (Korea, Japan). I know that Austria is virtually the weakest team in our group, but I felt a lil' reliefed when it turned out that Poland's first game is against Germany.

[Hrvat]

Japan didn't win their opening match. Anyway, I don't believe in traditions and stuff like that. I expect us to win, and even if we don't we'll simply have only ourselves to blame.

[ajsU3C]

Japan didn't win their opening match. Anyway, I don't believe in traditions and stuff like that. I expect us to win, and even if we don't we'll simply have only ourselves to blame.

Of course you do. I also want Croatia to win. All I mean is that Austrians will feel more adrenalin and more fever in their opening game than in the following games.

[Emperor_Norton]

I think this group will be extremely interesting...I grew up next to the Austrian border and have followed Austrian football since my early childhood as a consequence. Two or three years ago, there wasn`t much too talk about - it was absolutely awful. But now for the first time in a decade, the Austrains have developed some awesome talents. Everyone thinks the Austrian team is total cr*p, but I expect them to be the surprise team of the tournament (although they won`t win it). Look out for Erwin Hoffer - he is top-class.

[Marbur66]

Croatia is the overwhelming favourite in this game, home team advantage or not. That being said, as a Poland fan, I'm hoping for a surprise draw in this one.

[Borussia]

OMG, I see more Germany & Poland fans than Austrians & Croatians in this thread...:eek:;)

[cromagnum]

thats because all of our fans are in austria already getting drunk for sundays game..:D

[milicz]

Since Austria deserves one win and I'm rooting for Poland I would guess this would be the game for Austria to do it.

[everythingfootball]

Austria 0-2 Croatia

[Tuco]

The last time I saw Austria play a competitive game was when they were playing in the qualifiers for WC 2006, so I can't say for sure how well they'll do.


I expect they'll surprise a few people who only know of the NT by their 101st FIFA ranking, but their hard work on the field won't necessarily translate into a good result.

Austria 1-2 Croatia =D