Giant killer kill giants | France have a point to prove

May be Croatia is the team to look for in Euro 2008. They eliminated England in the qualifiers of the championships and now they defeated the tournament favorites Germany in their second match and became only the second team to qualify for the quarter finals.

Croatia defeated Germany 2-1 after a first half goal from Darijo Srna who trickled german goal keeper Jens Lehmann.



Later in the second half Croatia extended their lead by a second half goal from Ivica Olic. Few minutes later German forward Lukas Podolski gave some hope to his team but at the end it was too far for them to win.


Germany was reduced to 10 men in injury time when Bastian Schweinsteiger was given a red card for pushing Croatia substitute Jerko Leko to the ground.

The Germans, meanwhile, never found their pace and looked out of ideas against a crafty Croatian team that often changed the pace of the game.

Austria held to a draw

Poland were held to a draw by Co-hosts Austria after a late penalty gave austria a priceless draw.

Brazilian-born playmaker Roger Guerreiro gave Poland the lead by tapping in a 30th-minute cross from Marek Saganowski for his first international goal since he received Polish citizenship in April.

Austria dominated early, with a 7-1 edge in shots, but Boruc was impenetrable. The co-hosts lost that momentum after Roger put in a short shot.

Roger had only been a substitute in Poland’s opening defeat to Germany, but earned a starting place Thursday after a second-half appearance in which he livened up Poland’s previously moribund attack.

The goal temporarily silenced the previously deafening Austrian fans in a sold-out crowd of 51,428 and lifted Poland’s players.

But the Austrians benefited from the late call to gain the tie—and many complaints from Leo Beenhakker, Poland’s coach.


“With referees I have never had any problem and have never been suspended, but this is something I really, really cannot understand,” Beenhakker said. “There was someone pushing, I suppose. Well, you tell me.

“If you lose a game and it goes to the other guys and they score two goals, it’s tough, but you can expect it. But sometimes you don’t get what you deserve,” Beenhakker said. “This hurts a lot more than the first match.”