Croatia beats Sweden 1-0 in qualifying

GOTEBORG, Sweden (AP) -- Darijo Srna scored with a free kick in 71st minute, giving Croatia a 1-0 win over Sweden in World Cup qualifying.

Sweden disputed a referee's decision in the 77th minute, a call that voided an apparent game-tying goal. Croatian goalkeeper Tomislav Butina fumbled a high shot and dropped the ball over the goal line.

Spanish referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez ruled Butina was fouled, apparently by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but television replays clearly showed the Juventus striker never touched the Croatian goalkeeper until the ball had passed the line.

The Swedish players protested, but to no avail.

"As a Swede, you think it was a crystal clear goal," Swedish defender Alexander Ostlund said.

Swedish coach Lars Lagerback said he couldn't see the incident from his vantage point.

"But the guys who were close thought it was a correct goal," Lagerback said. "Henrik Larsson, who always is very reliable, said the goalie was not pushed. This loss feels even more bitter now."

The victory moved Croatia to the top of European Group 8 with six points after two matches. Sweden, hoping to make the World Cup finals for the 11th time since 1934, is second with three points.

"We came here with a lot of respect for Sweden, not the least after its successes in the European Championship," said Croatian coach Zlatko Kranjcar, refering to the Swedish team that went unbeaten in round-robin play in Portugal and then lost on penalties to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

"I'm very happy with my players tonight, to win away against Sweden is a big accomplishment. This creates possibilities for the future ... now we know that first or second in the group is not impossible."

The Croatian goal was a blunder by Swedish goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson that stunned many of the 40,000 fans at Ullevi Stadium.

Srna, a midfielder, curled a free kick from 27 meters over the three-man Swedish wall and the ball dipped just inside the left post as Isaksson reacted slowly.

Ibrahimovic nearly equalized in the 77th minute when a Croatian defender deflected his back heel attempt inside the area and Butina fisted the ball over the crossbar.

With only second remaining, Butina saved an angled shot with his fingertips by Swedish substitute Marcus Allback, who came on as a third Swedish striker.

Both sides started the match cautiously and the first scoring chances came late in the first half.

Niko Kranicar fired a low shot in the 37th when he found space just outside the box and the ball went just wide Isaksson's post.

Henrik Larsson, who didn't play in Sweden's opening qualifier against Malta, missed the best opportunity of the half when he broke through in the 40th, but Butina came out a few meters to cut the Barcelona striker's angle and blocked the shot with his legs.

Three minutes later, Ibrahimovic set up Anders Svensson, who drove a shot just over the crossbar from about 15 meters.