Op-ed
It was a
great opportunity and a success to be part of thegames.
We may do even better next time. Congratulations Vatreni !
Nenad Bach
Croatia Bows Out of World Cup
Thu Jun 13,
By EUGENE BRCIC, Associated Press Writer
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) – Up, down, and out.
Croatia’s stay at this year’s World Cup had some exhilarating thrills,
nerve-racking twists and at the end, a regretful feeling of nausea.
A semifinalist at the last World Cup, Croatia bowed out at the earliest
exit this time with a bitter sense of disappointment after a 1-0 loss to
Ecuador on Thursday night. Croatia needed a win to get to the final 16 and
certainly expected it after beating Italy in its previous game.
The Croats opened Group G with a 1-0 loss to Mexico and its hopes of
emulating the team’s bronze-winning effort at the ’98 World Cup were in
serious danger. Then came the win over Italy.
But Croatia couldn’t handle the newcomers from South America, who also
were eliminated as Mexico and Italy moved on.
“This is a major disappointment, to be a step into the next round and then
to have the door slammed in our faces,” said Croatia coach Mirko Jozic.
Edison Mendez got the winner in the 48th minute when he took a header from
Agustin Delgado and drilled the ball home with his right foot.
It was Mendez’ first and Ecuador’s second goal in the tournament.
“Everyone in Ecuador should celebrate because it’s a great joy, we won our
first World Cup game,” Mendez said. “We played poorly in the first game,
but we recovered and won the match.”
The Ecuadoreans celebrated the win with backslaps and hugs. The Croatian
players were stunned. Thousands of Croats in the crowd — most dressed in
the trademark red and white checked shirts — stood silent in the stands.
“That’s football,” veteran Alen Boksic said. “We had just one win and two
losses. What more can you expect than an early exit?”
Milan Rapaic came close to tying it, but his free kick from 25 yards was
headed wide by the defense.
Daniel Saric got into a one-on-one with Ecuador goalkeeper Jose Cevallos,
but was called offside. Then backup midfielder Davor Vugrinec slammed a
right-footed strike well over the crossbar in the 83rd minute.
Brilliant reflexes by veteran midfielder Alex Aguinaga got the ball off
his goal line after a powerful Croatian header two minutes later as the
Ecuadoreans clung to their slender lead.
“I’m very happy with my boys,” Ecuador coach Hernan Gomez said. “We were
eliminated, but with dignity.
“We’re going home with a lot of confidence after scoring our first World
Cup goal and getting our first win. This team has worked itself into
history.” Mendez had the only shot on target for Ecuador in the opening half, but
his right-footed shot from 20 yards was held on the second grab by keeper
Stipe Pletikosa in the 24th minute.
But Mendez found the net with Ecuador’s only shot on goal in the second
half. And Croatia was done.
“Despite explicit orders, my players failed to move the play away from our
goal and deeper into the field,” Jozic said. “We had our chances and our
half-chances because we were lucky, but they were not created out of set
plays. “We lost the match and we lost our chance to progress further. We did not
succeed in our goal and have to concede that our mission was a failure.”