Unconvincing Croatia beat Austria 1-0, Moderate Modric

Mission Accomplished

Mission accomplished for Croatia but in a rather unconvincing way. They started off with an excellent first half hour with Luka Modric in a controlling central midfield position, dictating the tempo of the game. At the 4th minute mark, Croatia earned a penalty which Modric converted to a goal with style. However after the first half hour, Austria took over the initiative. Using their powerplay style, they started to physically over class the Croats, this was especially noticeable at the end of the game. Luckily for Croatia, Austria was rather limited in their technical abilities, not being able to convert their chances. After a tense second half, the game came to an end with Croatia winning unconvincingly 1-0 in their first EURO 2008 match. Players worth mentioning were Srna and Olic who were both very lively and hardworking on the pitch today.

Moderate Modric

Contrary to earlier belief that Modric would play behind the strikers, in a attacking midfield position, he played in a controlling position together with Kovac. Still he acted as a playmaker dictating the tempo of the game. However, with the whole team getting into a defensive stance luring on the counter, Modric became a less and less involved in the play. Nevertheless he also had a big share in the defensive part and he did convert the penalty into the winning goal.

Germany Next

With the next game against Germany, Croatia will have to recuperate quick in order to counter the physically strong Germans. Much will depend on their fitness, since they will face another physically strong opponent!