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Croatia all but clinches
1-0 win over Japan puts squad on cusp of 2nd round
Posted: Saturday June 20, 1998 10:49 AM
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Mario Stanic (middle) and Croatia now have six points in Group H (AP) |
NANTES, France (AP) --
Davor Suker finally converted in the 77th minute after several near misses,
giving Croatia a 1-0
victory over Japan on Saturday
and putting it on the edge of the second round of the World Cup.
Suker had several chances that went wide or high in the first half and put
another off the top of the crossbar in the 72nd. His frustration seemed to
be at capacity when he settled a cross from Aljosa Asanovic, and, with
Eisuke Nakanishi unable to recover, drove a ball from 10 yards off keeper
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's left hand inside the post. The victory
virtually assured Croatia's place among the final 16 and all but ended
Japan's chances in its first World Cup. Japan showed some spark at
the start of the second half, especially when Shoji Jo sent a scissors kick
wide of the post in the 58th minute. But most of the game was
Croatia's. Suker put his chip off the top of the crossbar, the
closest of several near misses before the goal. Suker ran on to a
ball he had touched past a defender and caught Kawaguchi off his line. As
he neared the edge of the penalty area, Suker lofted a ball over the keeper
but it had too much and bounded off the top side of the bar as Kawaguchi
fell back into the goal. Suker had three shots at goal in the first
13 minutes but poor accuracy plagued Croatia early. Suker sent a
header a yard wide of the post from the top of the penalty area in the
eight minute; volleyed a cross high from 11 yards in the 11th; and then
curled a free kick less than a half yard wide of the post in the 13th.
Mario Stanic had Croatia's best chances in the first half, breaking in
alone on Japanese keeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi in the 19th, but hit a
right-footed shot from 10 yards that bounced several times before missing
wide left. Japan's best chance was thwarted when Croatian keeper
Drazen Ladic was able to get half of his left hand to a shot by Japanese
forward Masashi Nakayama. Nakayama had broken inside on a feed from
Hidetoshi Nakata against the run of play, but the shot hit Ladic's hand as
he was falling away from it. Croatia still must play Argentina in
its final first-round match, a game that likely will decide the Group H
winner. Japan, which lost 1-0 to Argentina in its World Cup debut on
June 14, extended its scoreless streak to five full internationals, having
gone without a goal since Naoki Somo scored in the 86th minute of a 1-1
draw with Paraguay on
May 17. Lineups Japan: Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi; Akira
Narahashi (Hiroaki Morishima, 79th minute), Yutaka Akita, Masami Ihara,
Naoki Soma, Eisuke Nakanishi; Hiroshi Nanami (Wagner Lopes, 84th),
Hidetoshi Nakata, Motohiro Yamaguchi; Shoji Jo, Masshi Nakayama (Masayuki
Okano, 61st). Croatia: Drazen Ladic; Zvonimir Soldo, Igor
Stimac (Goran Vloavic, 46th minute), Slaven Bilic, Robert Jarni, Dario
Simic; Krunoslav Jurcic, Aljosa Asanovic, Robert Prosinecki (Silvo Maric,
67th), Mario Stanic; Davor Suker. Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan,
Trinidad and Tobago.
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