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Under-par Germany shocked by Croatia double

12/06/2008

Germany were the victims of the first major upset of Euro 2008, losing to Croatia 2-1 in Klagenfurt.

Croatia looked to have wrapped up the game after going two goals ahead midway through the second half, but were forced to cling on for victory after Lukas Podolski scored with less than 12 minutes remaining.

An impressive finish from Darijo Srna in the first-half and Ivica Olic's fortuitous second-half goal eventually proved enough to shake group B up, however, meaning Austria will go out if they lose later tonight.

Germany looked a shadow of the side that beat Poland 2-0, struggling to influence the game in a first half dominated by strong-looking Croatian attacks.

It was no surprise, therefore, when Danijel Pranjic's accurate left-footed cross turned out well for the Croats. He delivered the ball in early behind the defenders to Darijo Srna, who coolly finished the move. Left-back Marcell Jansen was left rueing his poor reactions as the prospect of a major upset began to become a serious proposition.

Niko Kranjcar should have made it two on 42 minutes. He chested down a great ball from Olic but could only drive the ball to Jens Lehmann.

Germany were unable to reverse the momentum in the second half, despite Jansen's removal. Lehmann needed some good fortune to cope with Luka Modric's attempt from distance. He fumbled the ball as the referee judged he had been fouled. Replays suggested he had barely been touched.

The luck quickly turned against Lehmann, however, when a deflection sent Ivan Rakitic's cross on to the post via the German keeper's diving gloves. The ball rebounded to Olic, who turned the ball into the back of the net to double Croatia's lead.

The prospect of imminent defeat stung German coach Joachim Low into further action, taking Mario Gomez off in favour of Bastian Schweinsteiger. And after a Kranjcar free kick went into the wall the Germans began to take the action to the opposing half for the first time in the game, with Stipe Pletikosa forced to make a save from Schweinsteiger's angled shot.

The game remained alive in the 79th minute when Germany pulled one back. Phillip Lahm's cross found Michael Ballack, who headed the ball to Podolski's feet via a Croatian defender's head. Podolski made no mistake, taking his third goal of the tournament.

Croatia coped well with the German attack, soaking up the remaining minutes to frustrate the Germans. Two minutes into stoppage time a Croatian corner prompted a suspicious challenge on Schweinsteiger from behind by Jerko Leko, prompting the former to push Leko to the ground.

He was handed his marching orders as a result to earn first dismissal of the tournament so far. A flurry of further yellow cards for Lehmann, Leko and Josip Simunic saw the match end in acrimony, but that failed to stop the wild celebrations of the Croatian fans as the final whistle blew.