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Post by Taxigirl on Jun 21, 2004 9:22:08 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/3787501.stm GROUP B Venue: Estadio Da Luz, Lisbon Date/time: Mon, 21 June, 1945 BST Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy) BBC coverage: Live on MOTD, 1930, BBC1 Live on Five Live TEAM NEWS Croatia are boosted by the news that skipper Boris Zivkovic is fit again after missing the game against France. Igor Tudor could move to a defensive midfield role, with Zivkovic, Dario Simic and Robert Kovac forming a three-man defence. England will be without midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who has a stomach upset. Paul Scholes, Sol Campbell and Steven Gerrard returned to training on Sunday after missing out on Saturday, but the game will come too soon for Nicky Butt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Croatia (probable): Butina, Simic, Robert Kovac, Simunic, Tudor, Bjelica, Rosso, Nico Kovac, Rapaic, Prso, Sokota England (probable): James, Neville, Terry, Campbell, Cole, Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, Rooney, Owen --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Post by Taxigirl on Jun 21, 2004 9:23:05 GMT
MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads
These nations have met on two previous occasions, both friendlies. On 24 April 1996, they drew 0-0 at Wembley in their warm-up campaign for Euro 96. On 20 August 2003, England defeated Croatia 3-1 in Ipswich.
21 players took to the pitch for England in their last friendly encounter with Croatia. 15 of the 21 were picked by Sven-Göran Eriksson in his 23-man Euro 2004 squad.
England got goals from David Beckham (penalty), Michael Owen and Frank Lampard that night. Ivica Mornar pulled one back for Croatia.
Croatia had 14 players on the pitch that are currently in their 23 man squad. This does not include goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa who has left their Euro 2004 campaign with a nagging thigh injury.
Among the 46 players present, only one featured in the first encounter between these nations eight years ago - England's Gary Neville.
Player facts - Croatia
Defender Igor Tudor became only the fourth player in European Championship history to score an own goal and the first since Yugoslavia's Dejan Govedarica in the Euro 2000 quarter-final match against Holland.
Nine players will be suspended for Croatia's eventual quarter-final should they receive a yellow card in this match. They are: Dado Prso, Robert Kovac, Igor Tudor, Giovanni Rosso, Jerko Leko, Boris Zivkovic, Nenad Bjelica, Milan Rapaic and Ivica Mornar.
If these players are not cautioned in the last group match and Croatia reach the quarter-finals, all will start with a clean disciplinary slate.
Ivica Olic's six international goals leads the scoring tallies of all of his team-mates in the Croatian squad.
The total of six has Olic in joint tenth place in the all-time top scorer top 10 of his nation. It would take another 10 to occupy second place. It would take another 30 to overtake record holder Davor ¿uker.
Dario Simic is the most experienced player in the current squad with 69 caps. He could move into sole possession of second place in his nations' all-time list. He currently shares second placing with Davor Suker.
He is still 12 matches short of the Croatian record which belongs to Robert Jarni, who was capped 81 times.
Player facts - England
Against Switzerland, Gary Neville played in his ninth European Championship match tying the English record previously shared by Tony Adams and Alan Shearer. Against Croatia, Neville can take sole possession of the record.
Wayne Rooney became the youngest ever goal scorer in the history of the competition by netting England's opening goal against Switzerland.
At 18 years, seven months and 24 days Rooney broke the record that had been held by Yugoslavia's Dragan Stojkovic since 19 June 1984.
Michael Owen was younger than Rooney is now, when he became the youngest English player to net in a World Cup match (against Romania in World Cup 98, Owen was 18 years, six months and months days old).
Rooney had already become the second youngest player to appear in a European Championship match on 13 June.
Switzerland's Johan Vonlanthen took that distinction away from Rooney, who dropped into third place of youngest appearance makers in the competition. Vonlanthen is the second youngest at 18 years, four months and 16 days.
With his second goal of the match, Rooney became the third Englishman to have scored a brace in a European Championship match.
He joins Teddy Sheringham and Alan Shearer who both scored twice against Holland on 18 June 1996. No English player has netted more than twice in a European Championship match.
Four players will be suspended for Croatia's final group match should they receive a yellow card in this game - Wayne Rooney, David James, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes.
If England players are not cautioned in the last group match and England reach the quarter-finals, all will start with a clean disciplinary slate.
Nicky Butt is one of two Euro 2004 players to have left his squad and to have not been replaced. The injured midfielder is joined by Russia's Alexandr Mostovoi who was sent home for disciplinary reasons.
The David Beckham free kick that set up Frank Lampard's header goal against France marked Beckham's fourth career assist in European Championship matches, tying the record jointly held by Ljubinko Drulovic, Dennis Bergkamp and Luis Figo.
Michael Owen has scored by far the most goals from the current England squad (25 goals). David Beckham and Paul Scholes are the next best with 13 goals each.
Owen needs one more goal to enter the top ten scorers list for England, equalling the total scored by Bryan Robson (26). Bobby Charlton leads England's top scorers list with 49 goals.
England have had only one player sent off in their 21 matches at European Championships. In their debut fixture in 1968, Alan Mullery was red carded.
Team facts - Croatia
With one round of matches remaining in Group B, no team has qualified or been eliminated from quarter-final contention.
Croatia need a win against England to be certain of progressing to the quarter-finals. Anything less than a victory will mean elimination for Otto Baric's men.
Croatia are the only team in Group B that did not qualify by winning their group.
Croatia are the most nomadic squad at Euro 2004, drawing only two of their 23 players out of their domestic league.
Hajduk Split's Mato Neretljak and Vartek Varazdin's Vladimir Vasilj are the only players among Otto Baric's men not to earn a living abroad.
In their only previous European Championship participation in 1996, Croatia started with victories over Turkey (1-0) and Denmark (3-0) before losing their last group match to Portugal (3-0).
In the quarter-finals they were eliminated by eventual winners Germany (2-1). In that match Germany scored the game winner two minutes after the Croatians had been reduced to ten men.
Croatia robbed France of a share of the European Championship record by denying them their fifth straight victory.
France also saw their run of fourteen straight triumphs in competitive matches come to a standstill.
Croatia have not won any of their last four matches at European Championships after starting with two victories in 1996.
Croatia were defeated in their first international match in 2004, a friendly against Germany, but have not suffered defeat in the six matches that followed.
Team facts - England
England need only a draw from their final group match against Croatia to clinch a quarter-finals berth.
Should a three way tie unfold with France, England and Switzerland all on four points, England will have a superior goal difference (+2) over France (now +1 but to decrease after projected defeat against Switzerland).
If England reach the quarter-finals it will mark their first survival of the European Championship group phase when not hosting the championship.
Only one nation came back to win the European Championship title after losing their opener. In 1988, Holland accomplished the feat.
Losing the first match is not necessarily the end as both Turkey and Spain reached the next phase in 2000 after losing their opening match. However, four others (England, Czech Republic, Sweden and Denmark) went out.
Czech Republic (1996), Holland (1988), and Denmark (1984) are the only other teams to progress to the knockout phase after losing their first match. The Czechs reached the final and the Dutch won the tournament.
England's best result at a European Championship final round is third place in 1968, and reaching the semi-finals in 1996.
The match against Switzerland produced England's first clean sheet in 2004.
The 4-1 victory against the Netherlands in 1996 marks England's biggest victory in the competition. The triumph against Switzerland is only the second occasion on which England have won by a three goal margin.
The victory was only England's sixth in European Championship matches.
England have failed to win in seven of their last 11 European Championship matches. They took the lead in five of the seven matches they failed to win.
England have squandered a 1-0 lead in a record six European Championship matches, of which they lost three.
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Post by Taxigirl on Jun 21, 2004 9:23:56 GMT
Miscellaneous stats
Only one of Croatia and England will progress to the quarter-finals.
This match will take place at Lisbon's Estádio da Luz, which was also the venue for France vs England.
The stadium has also hosted Russia vs Portugal and will stage the 24 June quarter-final between the winners of Group A and runners-up of Group B next, before hosting the final on 4 July.
Should Croatia be awarded a penalty, they will likely not turn to Dado Prso. After missing from the spot in Monaco's Champions League encounter with Lokomotiv Moskva this season, the striker vowed never to take a penalty again.
They will more likely stick with Milan Rapaic who netted a spot kick against France, making Croatia one of four nations to have taken more than one penalty in regulation and never missed.
England have had their share of problems from the spot with captain David Beckham not converting his last two penalties for England (against Turkey and France).
Michael Owen has missed 10 out of 23 career penalties, making him an unreliable alternative.
This match features a couple of 2003/2004 club mates squaring up to each other. Croatia's Robert Kovac is up against England's Owen Hargreaves. Both donned the Bayern Münich colours last season.
Croatia boss Otto Baric is the oldest head coach at Euro 2004. Baric celebrated his 71st birthday on Saturday 19 June. The oldest team boss ever at a European Championship was Romania's Emerici Jenei (73) in 2000.
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HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Games Won Drawn Lost GF GA
Croatia 2 0 1 1 1 3
England 2 1 1 0 3 1
VENUES/CATEGORY BREAKDOWN
Total Croatia England Draws
All venues 2 0 1 1
In Croatia 0 0 0 0
In England 2 0 1 1
Neutral 0 0 0 0
Competitive matches 0 0 0 0
European Ch'ship 0 0 0 0
LIST OF MEETINGS
Date Comp Res
24 Apr 1996 Friendly England 0-0 Croatia
20 Aug 2003 Friendly England 3-1 Croatia
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Post by Salem6 on Jun 21, 2004 13:47:56 GMT
England and Croatia both entertain realistic thoughts of reaching the quarter-finals ahead of their UEFA EURO 2004™ encounter at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon on Monday.  Croatia's Niko Kovac and Steven Gerrard of England will meet again on Monday (©Getty Images) Different priorities England, buoyed by their emphatic win against Switzerland, know that a draw will guarantee them a place in the quarter-finals, while Croatia, their own confidence on a high after a draw with defending champions France that could easily have been a win, need a victory to advance. Croatia distractions Croatia's preparations have hardly been ideal with the distractions of the failed drugs test of Ivica Olic, who subsequently escaped punishment after UEFA's control and disciplinary body ruled that he did not commit any fault, and the reported criticism of Baric from forward Ivan Klasnic. Klasnic role The Croatian camp subsequently insisted that the young SV Werder Bremen player's comments had been misinterpreted and Klasnic, who has yet to feature at EURO 2004™ despite playing a key role in Bremen's German league and cup double, looks set to be called into action from the substitutes' bench should Croatia need a late goal against England. Živkovic return Otherwise, Baric is expected to stick with the team that impressed against France, with the return of captain Boris Živkovic from injury in place of Nenad Bjelica the only change to the starting eleven. Živkovic's return from a knee injury into the centre of defence will see Igor Tudor move forward into midfield. Pršo praise Dado Pršo and Tomislav Šokota will resume in attack and Pršo has been identified as a key player by both sides after his goal and overall display against France. Baric said: "His level of responsibility in the team is like Zinedine Zidane's with France." Terry tribute Meanwhile, England's Chelsea FC pair John Terry and Frank Lampard, who came up against Pršo when he starred for AS Monaco FC in their UEFA Champions League victory against the London side, both voiced their concerns. Terry said: "He's a fantastic player. He scored a great goal the other night and he's always going to be a threat. Hopefully, having played against him a couple of times, I've learned from that and, hopefully, if I play, I can stop him." Previous meetings Lampard concurred, saying: "He's big, powerful, scores goals and has had a great season. I think any defender who plays against him will know they've had a game. He will be a big threat." Lampard scored his first England goal in a 3-1 win when the sides last met in August 2003. The teams' only other previous meeting came in 1996 when they drew 0-0 at Wembley. Rooney risk Such a scoreline seems unlikely in Lisbon given the form of Pršo and the competition's outstanding young player, England's Wayne Rooney, who scored twice in the win against Switzerland. In that game, Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in a UEFA European Championship match but also picked up a booking. Same side However, England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson will resist the temptation to rest Rooney in case he picks up another yellow card that would rule him out of any quarter-final match. Eriksson said: "As a manager, I can't think about leaving him out. He has to play against Croatia and that's it." So Eriksson seems certain to field the same team that started again Switzerland, although reserve midfield players Nicky Butt and Owen Hargreaves are both ruled out through injury. Croatia (probable): Butina; Šimic, Robert Kovac, Živkovic, Šimunic; Rosso, Tudor, Niko Kovac, Rapaic; Šokota, Pršo. England (probable): James; Gary Neville, Terry, Campbell, Ashley Cole; Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham; Owen, Rooney. Referee: Pierluigi Collina (ITA) www.euro2004.com/tournament/matches/Round=1581/Match=1059182/index.html |
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