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Stunning a giant
First-time finalist Croatia upsets Germany 3-0
Posted: Saturday July 04, 1998 07:56 PM
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First blood: Jarni (12) fired a shot from 27 yards out into the right corner past the diving arms of Kopke (AP) |
LYON, France (AP) --
Germany's
Oliver Bierhoff lost his golden touch and his aging teammates ran out of
comebacks. Croatia stormed
into the semifinals of the World Cup with a 3-0 victory over the three-time
champion in one of the biggest upsets in soccer history.
Left with 10 men when its best defender Christian Woerns was sent off in
the 40th minute, Germany collapsed against a team playing in its first
World Cup.
"It's a historic result for us," Croatia's coach Miroslav Blazevic said.
"It's true that the expulsion made things easier for us, but I don't think
it diminishes our merit."
Robert Jarni scored on a 25-yard shot at the end of the first half
Saturday eight minutes after Woerns was ejected for hauling down Croatian
striker Davor Suker, who would have had a breakaway on goal if he hadn't
been fouled.
Goran Vlaovic added a second goal on a 20-yard shot with about 10 minutes
left, and Suker scored the third five minutes later.
Croatia, which became a nation just seven years ago after breaking away
from Yugoslavia,
is the first team since Portugal in 1966 to advance to the semifinals in
its first World Cup. The Croats meet France on Wednesday at the Stade de
France just outside Paris for the right to play in the final against the
winner of the Brazil-Netherlands
semifinal.
"This is not the end, we are going all the way," said Croatian goalkeeper
Drazen Ladic, who made two spectacular saves to deny Bierhoff.
Woerns (2) tackle on Suker earned him a red card that left Germany a man short for the final 50 minutes of the match (AP) | |
"We always believed we could win. Like our coach says, we are the best in
the world. After the expulsion, everything went our way."
It was the second straight quarterfinal defeat for the Germans, who were
knocked out of the '94 Cup by Bulgaria. Six
of Germany's starters and six of its substitutes are 30 or over. The oldest
is 37-year-old defender Lothar Matthaus.
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, regarded as a lucky fan because he hasn't
seen the German team lose since 1986, was in the crowd at the Stade de
Gerland for one of its lowest moments.
"I think you could say that the referee lost us the game," said German
defender Juergen Kohler, complaining about the ejection. "It's a great
shame because I don't think it was fair to lose in this way."
The game featured rough play and fouls throughout. Croatia's Igor Stimac
and Dario Simic and Germany's Jorg Heinrich all were given the yellow-card
warning in a seven-minute period early in the game for needless tackles
that sent opponents sprawling.
The Germans nearly struck first when Dietmar Hamann's 8-yard header
grazed the crossbar after a free kick from Thomas Haessler.
Ladic then made an impressive double save in the 31st minute when
Bierhoff jumped to head another crossing pass. Ladic saved the header at
the foot of the post and, with Juergen Klinsmann swooping in to try to
score on the rebound, the keeper reacted quickly to kick the ball safely
away.
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Suker scored a third goal for Croatia with five minutes left in the match to fully ice the Germans (AP) |
Once Woerns was ejected, the Germans' attacks lost their punch and the
Croats were able to take advantage.
With the ball 40 yards from the German goal, Suker dribbled inside Woerns
and appeared to have a breakaway. The defender missed the ball and swept
Suker's legs from under him, and with the Croat writhing on the ground, the
referee reached into his back pocket for the red card.
Eight minutes later, Jarni collected a pass from Mario Stanic and drove a
low left-footed shot past goalkeeper Andreas Koepke for the first score.
At that point, the Germans needed another amazing comeback. Against
Yugoslavia, they came back from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 tie and then they
beat Mexico
2-1 on Bierhoff's third goal of the Cup after trailing with 15 minutes to
go.
They came close to coming back against Croatia just five minutes into the
second half, but a shot from Bierhoff on a 6-yard volley was blocked by
Ladic at the goal line. And with about 12 minutes left, German midfielder
Michael Tarnat fired a low 25-yard shot from a free kick that was deflected
and hit the outside of the post.
A minute later it was all over for the Germans.
With the German defense retreating, Vlaovic moved into a shooting
position on the edge of the area and fired a low drive that flew past
Koepke and just inside the post.
With the Germans committed to attack, they left huge gaps at the back and
Suker easily got round a defender with five minutes to go to fire a low,
close range shot under Koepke.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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