PBP: (EURO 08 Group B) Croatia v. Germany [R]

Before this game I'm feeling..."collectively strong"

A 2-0 win is quite feasible I think.

 

Seeing how well Austria was able to stand up to Croatia, and with Germany's mildly strong opposition to Poland, Im gonna say this one's
2-1 for germany.

 

Burnt Chicken Brigade will be be here!!

 

I had initially predicted that Germany and Croatia would play an exciting 2:2 draw. After watching Sunday’s matches I really think that Croatia will need to step up its game considerably to threaten Germany. If we can build on our performance against Poland there is no reason to expect anything less than a victory.

 

Okay, it's the Burnt Chicken up against the Chess Board. And I think the Chicken will win. First I though Kroatia would be a major problem for us but not anymore. I am sure they will step up but so will we.

 

after the first game, I certainly feel more confident. I hope Loew sticks with the podolski-klose-gomez trio. Let's ATTACK the crap out of croatia.

 

Germany's the favorite, but it's not like we're scared. We have a great burden off our backs and will play much better than on Sunday. Should be a very entertaining match and I predict a scoring draw.

 

Nah, no draws, no prisoners! A-HAHAHAAAH!

Don't take me too serious, mate. I am a bit hyped up today.

 

I'm very confident about our chances here but not overly so. I wouldn't write the Croats off, I don't think they expected the Austrians to come out and play so strong and attack them for most of the game. It may have overwhelmed them a bit. Bilic most likely learned from that and could pack the midfield a bit more to try and control the game.

No room for errors in defense in this one. If the team keeps their cool I'm and our attack continues to click we shouldn't have a problem here.

 

I think that Croatia's biggest weakness is central midfield. They had difficulty winning the ball back from the Austrians, and for all his hype Modric does not look ready to compete at this level yet. If Germany continues to improve Croatia is going to have a lot of difficulty containing our attack.

 

Modric was pinned back and forced to defend and help Kovac because they're playing without a real DM. It would be like us playing with only Frings in CM, no Ballack to help out. Modric is not used to playing such a role and therefore struggled yesterday. It also prevented them from moving the ball and attacking like they've done so well in qualifying.

 

My impression from the last couple of games was that Kroatia have a goalscoring problem. They lack a clincal finisher since Eduardo is out. If our defense stays focused I think we won't have to fear for more than one goal against and I am not worried about our attack at all. But no doubt Kroatia will play better than against Austria. We had the same problem with Austria because even a small team can give you some trouble by closing you down constantly, playing with passion and topping it off with some pretty rough play at times. The difference might be that we simply score more goals and punish defensive mistakes more often.

We'll see. The team has certainly gained some confidence now and they will only get better.

 

im still up in the air over this one. will wait and see.

 

Very difficult game. I think Germany will win convincingly though.

 

Believe me, they will do that! It would be a huge mistake to rate their quality just on the 2nd half against Austria ... especially as we don't cope very well with their playing style (despite the positive stats against them).

Croatia (with its 2 playmakers Modric and Krancjar) has more quality than Poland in my eyes (if they perform on their normal level) ... and how we could see, Poland was pretty strong on Sunday.

Everybody who expects an easier game than against Poland, will be negatively surprised on Thursday...


Gute N8


PS: I predict a draw.

Normally not.

But we also know very well about the qualities of players like Olic, Klasnic, Petric and Rakitic...

 

You forgot about "great defender" Simunic

 

I think it will be another victory for us. Ballack and Frings simply have too much quality in the middle of the field for Modric and Kovac to deal with. There backline is weak and will be exposed against our new dynamic attack coming from everywhere. Not to mention if you can't score against in open play against Austria, do you think you can score against us? Come on. I don't see them as a challenege. But then again, I'm in fanboy mode.

 

Count me in. Germany wins this one!

 

Good! At least there is someone who is with me... I think we win 9-0!!

 

Tight match, we have slightly better chance to win this one BUT consider the way how the Croatians play, i just do not hope any of our players will get injured.

Jansen should remember he is a LB and he needs to run back to help out the defense instead of keep going froward and keep losing possession and not being bother to come back.

Schweini should be benched. First, Fritz isn't bad at all: Fritz has made some nice challenges, crosses and great runs on the right flanks. If he could just dribble a little bit less(lossing possession quite often in the 2nd half), he could be better. Second, I think Schweini looked better as a sub, he looked more motivated after realizing he is no longer a definite starter.

I think we'll win 2-1. With Klose nad Ballack scoring

 

Yea I think the score will be something like that, I wouldn't count out a draw either. The momentum is on our side of course but anything can happen and we don't know how Croatia will react.

Just because Croatia underperformed in the first game doesn't mean they can't get back on track. Bilic is no fool, he knows what they did wrong against Austria and if they play to their potential, it is the perfect counter to our attacking style.

 

i think Schweini looked good when he came on as a sub, i personally feel he should start over Fritz for this match against Croatia.

--------------Lehmann
Lahm---Metzelder---Mertesacker---Jansen
----------------Frings
Schweini----------------------Podolski
----------------Ballack
--------Klose------------Gomez

 

Why should Schweinsteiger start over Fritz?