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Stunning a giant
First-time finalist Croatia upsets Germany 3-0
Posted: Saturday July 04, 1998 05:57 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) --
World Cup rookie Croatia
produced one of the biggest upsets in soccer history Saturday when it
ousted three-time champion Germany 3-0 to
reach the semifinal. Robert Jarni fired home a 25-meter shot
in the third minute of first half injury time eight minutes after German
defender Christian Woerns had been expelled for hauling down Croatian
striker Davor Suker. Goran Vlaovic drove a 20-meter shot past
goalkeeper Andreas Koepke 10 minutes from the end and Suker netted the
third in the 85th minute as Croatia became the first debutante since
Portugal in 1966 to make the semifinal. It also was a second
quarterfinal defeat in a row for the Germans. In 1994, they were ousted by
Bulgaria.
What made it even more historic for Croatia, which only came
about after the splitting of Yugoslavia
seven years ago, was that this was its first attempt to qualify. And it
reached the last four by beating a soccer giant which also was a three-time
losing finalist. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who is
regarded as a lucky fan as he has not seen the German team lose since 1986,
was in the crowd at the Stade de Gerland to witness one of its lowest
moments. Thomas Haessler made an ambitious attempt to put the
Germans ahead when Croatian goalkeeper Drazen Ladic kicked a clearance
straight at him. The Karlsruhe midfielder saw Ladic momentarily away from
his goal and decided to shoot from 45 meters but the ball curled wide.
Croatia's Igor Stimac and Dario Simic and Germany's Jorg Heinrich
all saw the yellow card in a seven-minute period early in the game for
needless tackles that sent opponents sprawling. Dietmar Hamann
went close to giving the Germans the lead when Thomas Haessler swung in a
free kick from the right and the defender's header shaved the crossbar from
eight meters. Croatian goalkeeper Drazen Ladic made an
impressive double save in the 31st minute when Oliver Bierhoff climbed to
meet another right-wing cross. Juergen Klinsmann swooped in to try to force
home the rebound, but Ladic did well to block the header at the foot of the
post and reacted quickly to kick the ball to safety. Woerns
expulsion came eight minutes before halftime. With the ball 40
meters from the German goal, Suker pushed the ball inside the defender and
appeared set to run direct for goal. Woerns' tackle missed the
ball and swept Suker's legs from under him and, with the Real Madrid
striker writhing on the round, Norwegian referee Rune Pedersen reached to
his back pocket for the red card.
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) | |
It looked worse for the
Germans when the Croatians went ahead. Jarni, who plays in Spain for Real
Betis, collected a sideways pass from Mario Stanic and drove the ball with
his left foot past Koepke to pile more misery on the short-handed Germans.
Woerns' dismissal and Jarni's goal stung the Germans who
needed to produce another of their amazing comebacks. Against Yugoslavia,
they hit back from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 tie and ousted the Mexicans 2-1
after trailing with 15 minutes to go. The Germans almost tied
it up five minutes into the second half when a left-wing corner flew to
Bierhoff at the far post but his hip-high volley from less than six meters
was blocked by Ladic on his line. Then Stanic fired a low
center into the German ox from the right and Suker turned it wide of the
near post with Koepke beaten. An acrobatic save by Koepke,
palming over a 20-meter drive by Zvonimir Boban in the 67th minute, kept
his team in contention. Then Goran Vlaovic fired high and wide from the
edge of the area after a swift break from defense. Twelve
minutes from the end, German midfielder Michael Tarnat fired a low,
25-meter shot from a free kick which took a deflection and hit the outside
of the Croatian 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 his right hand 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 for the third. Lineups:
Germany - Andreas Koepke; Lothar Matthaeus, Juergen Kohler,
Christian Woerns; Joerg Heinrich, Thomas Haessler (Ulf Kirsten, 69th), Jens
Jeremies, Dietmar Hamann (Olaf Marschall, 79th), Michael Tarnat; Juergen
Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff. Croatia - Drazen Ladic;
Igor Stimac, Slaven Bilic, Dario Simic, Robert Jarni; Zvonimir Soldo,
Aljosa Asanovic, Zvonimir Boban, Mario Stanic; Davor Suker, Goran Vlaovic
(Zoran Mamic, 83rd).
Referee - Rune Pedersen, Norway.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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