We recently said that Croatia were a touch overrated and the manner in which Slaven Bilic’s team made such a meal of beating Austria confirmed our beliefs.
Despite being handed a penalty after four minutes the Croats really toiled to win 1-0 against the poorest side at Euro 2008.
Croatia supporters will say that a win is a win but they should note that the Austrians enjoyed an eye-watering 65% of the possession.
There is little doubt that Bilic’s side need to vastly improve for the match against Germany, who won 2-0 against the Poles.
Ironically it was a Polish born German that did for Poland. Lukas Podolski’s double inflicted the damage for Joachim Low’s side but Poland did show some promising signs in defeat.
They should really have drawn level in the first half when Celtic hit man Maciej Zurawski dragged his shot wide when it looked easier to score.
Surely if that had gone in we would have witnessed a different game. However, Germany as always must be respected for their all round resilience. They will surely be too strong for the Croats.
Group B’s other fixture sees Austria play Poland in Vienna.
Leo Beenhakker’s Poles must be supported to win the game. Poland’s performance against the Germans means they can head into this game with optimism of getting a much needed three points under their belts.
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