that was a clean tackle and he would have been one on one with lehman..croatia showed today that when they run they can play some nice football..that run by corluka where kranjcar should have scored was great..
In case some people got it the wrong way, I KNOW croatia can play very nice football as I followed some of their qualifying campaign and especially the two games against england where they played them off the park. I expect a lot from croatia in terms of footballing style. It's in that context that I made comments about croatia today.
yeah of course. many, many full chances are missed because players do not make a simple pass at the end...
You're over-complicating matters. A full chance means merely a great chance to score, which that play clearly was.
i was definining that as getting an opportunity to shoot from a great position anyway, doesnt matter now
Croatia appeared to be closer to the third goal than Germany to the equaliser, so we don't have to talk about a deserved win or the number of scoring opportunities. Such a performance happens if you play a little above average performance in the first game and afterwards you believe to be superb. Also against Poland the left side was the big defensive problem, there was one Polish attack after the other over this wing - talked down as Podolski was affected who had to be hyped up as the big game winner. Sure, offensively he was excellent but a left mid - which is his position - also has to work defensively. Jansen already had a bad game against Poland where his problems were obvious. Also Löw seemed to be overstrained with the situation. In an interview yesterday he told that he is tactically prepared for every situation - leading, trailing, getting a red card and so on. Today he didn't seem to know what to do, he appeared helpless already after being down in the first half. What do you want with Odonkor when you have to rally up a goal? Odonkor can run fast, that's his quality - a counter attacking player when you have the space but at half time it was very clear that Croatia would concentrate on the defence and would not allow any space. Schweinsteiger came in too late, the midfield was not creative at all and it urgently needed structure and new ideas. Also foolish to stick to Klose to the end who obviously is out of shape and was not involved in the game at all I still believe that Germany will advance but it won't be as easy as it sounds. Austria is playing promising games - let them score the lead and this team is able to care for a second Cordoba.
I was not able to see the game today because I am at work but I can categorically commend both Germany and Croatia on the beauty of their women. Your 2 nations easily have the best looking women in the tournament.That alone is worth tuning in for. In any event I suspect both countries will advance and hope that they do, if for nothing more than the lovely scenery! Good Luck to both.
Well that was the same way that England lost to Croatia at Wembley. Germany completely lost the central midfield battle. It wasn't until Schweiny came on and he and lahm got some combination going on the left that germany had any parity, How many times in the first 60 mins did we see Croatia pouring through the middle by attacking and running into space. That said, both goals came off defensive blunders and that has to be a concern.
I just got finished watching the match so I would like to add my observations. First off: Congratulations to Croatia and its fans you earned a well deserved victory. Footyfan1: I was wrong about Croatia’s quality. I guess that’ll teach me to let my emotions cloud my judgement. Ok to the match. In the opening ½ hour I felt that the match was mostly even but Croatia was slightly better. They were quicker to the ball and their passes were quick and accurate. Conversely Germany looked tired and many passes were wayward or generally off the mark. After the opening goal Germany looked shocked and Croatia took complete control for the remainder of the first half and should have gone 2-0 through Krajncar. At half-time I was very disappointed in the addition of Odonkor. He is only useful if we are in the lead and the opponent is chasing the game (IE as a threat on the counter). Germany did, however step up its game early in the second half and was very unlucky not to equalize. We had three gilt edged chances to equalize, but squandered all of them. The first was a cross to Gomez, who unmarked headed over from close range. The second was from a very poor clearance by Croatia’s keeper that gave Ballack an empty net to shoot at. Had his touch been better today he would most likely have scored, but it seemed every ball he touched was hit too hard. The third was a corner from the left that Metzelder headed over (also completely free and unmarked). Shortly after this series Gomez beat his man on the left, charged into the box, and fed a pass just behind Klose, who was wide open at the penalty spot. After this scene Croatia countered down the right flank and made it 2-0. It was at this point that I knew the match was over as a contest. We resorted to long balls and desperation type plays. Luckily Podolski continued his good goal scoring form to rescue our goal differential. We never looked like scoring a second though, but Schweini did have a few good scenes before being sent off.
Yep.. as group winners. Personally, I hate head-to-head results as a way of determining tie breakers. Goal difference should be used instead. Results against all four teams should be the primary method of determining the final standings.
No, it's decided by head-to-head before goal difference. Croatia beat Germany, so Croatia will finish first.
Nope.. it's head to head that determines teams tied on points.. they could lose 20-0 and they'd still win the group now.
The Austria goal is actually bad news for the neutral observer. Would've been a very interesting night on Monday had Poland won today. Now it's a no brainer: Croatia v winner of Turkey/Czech Rep. in one quarterfinal, Germany v Portugal in the other. But good for me since I'll be in Dubrovnik the week of the semis.
omg 4 people replied to the head-to-head rule lol .. yep you are right, i forget about that dumb@ss rule!
Heh It doesn't make much sense that they include the goal difference on every group table but don't indicate head-to-heads, when that is actually the more relevant criteria for who advances.