Croatia advances to quarterfinals, Austria stays in contention

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-13  |     ONLINE EDITION

CROTIA did the hard work early, beating tournament favorite Germany 2-1, and then spent the latter hours of yesterday watching Austria complete the job by getting a late 1-1 draw with Poland to ensure the Croats made the European Championship quarterfinals.

Croatia upset the three-time champions to clinch first place in Group B, getting goals from Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic in Klagenfurt. A few hours later in Vienna, Austria midfielder Ivica Vastic scored an injury-time penalty to keep the Euro 2008 co-hosts in the tournament.

"We played a phenomenal game," Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said. "We closed the lanes. We attacked them early. We shut them down where they are most dangerous."

Any of the other three teams in the group can still advance along with the Croats. The final set of Group B games will be played Monday when Austria plays Germany in Vienna and Poland takes on Croatia in Klagenfurt.

Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals on Wednesday by beating the Czech Republic 3-1 in Geneva, and co-host Switzerland was eliminated after a 2-1 loss to Turkey in Basel. Today, World Cup champion Italy needs to get at least a point in Zurich against Romania in Group C to stay alive, while the Netherlands takes on France in Bern looking for its second straight win.

Croatia took the game to the Germans, negating the strength of their forward line and taking advantage of a couple of defensive lapses. The Croats also beat the Germany in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals.

"We showed our real face today," Croatia midfielder Luka Modric said. "We showed that we can play well when we face a big team. We were very motivated."