Polandia 0-1 Croatia

Ivan Klasnic fired the game's only goal for Croatia as Poland's unlikely bid to reach the last eight ended in failure.

Needing to beat Croatia by at least two goals, and for Germany to lose to Austria, only a string of Artur Boruc saves kept Poland's losing margin down.

Danijel Pranjic, Ivan Rakitic and Klasnic had all been denied before the latter lashed in the winner left-footed from 12 yards early in the second half.

Ebi Smolarek wasted late Poland chances but Group B winners Croatia held firm.

Slaven Bilic's team will be full of confidence ahead of their quarter-final against Turkey on Friday after a side boasting nine changes to the one that beat Germany last time out maintained their 100% record in the 2008 tournament.

And the story of the match was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Klasnic only underwent a kidney transplant last year, having suffered kidney failure in January 2007 - and his emotional celebrations told a story all on their own.

Poland came into the match still feeling aggrieved at English referee Howard Webb's decision to award Austria a penalty in injury time in the previous group match to deny them victory.

But any hopes they had of proving they deserved a place in the last eight fell flat, despite an encouraging opening 10 minutes.

First Wojciech Lobodzinski forced a hurried save from Croatia keeper Vedran Runje with a fine, whipped cross and then Dariusz Dudka headed inches wide of the goal from Jacek Krzynowek's corner.

But with Smolarek, their leading goalscorer in qualifying, left on the bench, Poland lacked any penetration and when Croatia settled into their stride, it was left to Boruc to keep the Poles in the game single-handedly.

Even having made so many changes, Croatia showed glimpses of their class, and Hrvoje Vejic was unlucky not direct his header home on 20 minutes from Ivan Rakitic's cross.

Thereafter, it was the Boruc show, Klasnic twice denied by the big Celtic keeper after dashing through a static Polish back line, and Rakitic and Pranjic both seeing firm drives beaten away in the closing stages of the first half.

Minutes after the restart, news filtered through from Vienna that Michael Ballack had put Germany ahead against Austria, effectively ending Poland hopes of qualification.

And, almost as if the news had finally broken their resistance, Poland found themselves behind just seconds later, Klasnic latching on to Pranjic's cut-back and lashing into the far corner left-footed.

Poland raced up the other end, Rafal Murawski sending a drive wide of the upright from 20 yards, but in truth their challenge was done and dusted.

To their credit, Leo Beenhakker's side plugged away and, after Smolarek had been introduced, Roger Guerreiro nearly levelled when he turned in the box and drilled wide.

Southampton striker Marek Saganowski also forced a save from Runje with a firm header, but Croatia always looked relatively comfortable - their main concern being to get through the game without injury.

With that in mind, match-winner Klasnic was removed from the action 16 minutes from time, allowing the last member of Croatia's squad not to have tasted Euro 2008 action - Nikola Kalinic - a piece of the action.

There was still time for Smolarek to twice drill decent efforts narrowly wide of the target and Thomasz Zahorski to waste Poland's best chance of the night - denied by Runje after sprinting clear of the Croatia defence.

But the Croats played out the last few minutes comfortably to extend their recent record to just two competitive defeats in four years and underline their potential as one of the tournament's dark horses for the title.


Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Dudka, Wawrzyniak, Lobodzinski (Smolarek 55), Murawski, Roger, Lewandowski (Kokoszka 46), Krzynowek, Saganowski (Zahorski 69).
Subs Not Used: Kowalewski, Fabianski, Jop, Golanski, Bak, Gargula, Pazdan.

Booked: Lewandowski, Zahorski.

Croatia: Runje, Simic, Vejic, Knezevic (Corluka 26), Pranjic, Leko, Vukojevic, Pokrivac, Rakitic, Klasnic (Kalinic 74), Petric (Kranjcar 75).
Subs Not Used: Pletikosa, Galinovic, Simunic, Robert Kovac, Nico Kovac, Srna, Modric, Olic, Budan.

Booked: Vejic, Vukojevic.

Goals: Klasnic 52.

Att: 30,000

Ref: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/

Austria 1-1 Poland

Austria veteran Ivica Vastic levelled three minutes into injury time to earn a point against Poland after English referee Howard Webb awarded a controversial penalty.

Roger Guerreiro's first goal for his country looked to have given Poland a win against the Euro 2008 co-hosts Austria in Vienna.

Guerreiro, the Brazil-born playmaker, took advantage of an offside flag not appearing, another decision from the English officials that will cause debate.

Josef Hickersberger's side will not be happy with the team led by Webb, despite being given a way back into the game.

Notwithstanding another little-known UEFA interpretation of the laws, Guerreiro looked offside when he tapped in his first for his adopted country.

Before the opener, the focus had been on how Austria did not open the scoring.

They picked up where they left off against Croatia, attacking in numbers and applying pressure.

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc made three early saves that kept Poland level.

Two were from Martin Harnik, who firstly latched onto a Marcin Wasilewski backpass and raced through, only for Boruc to deny him with an instinctive save using his feet, diverting the ball just past the upright.

Umit Korkmaz then weaved his way down the left before crossing for Harnik, with Boruc initially diving the wrong way but then using his feet to save, before showing great presence of mind to kick away when Michal Zewlakow passed back to him.

Poland's defence was fragile and exposed again with a ball over the top - and Boruc this time had to deny Christoph Leitgeb.

The Austrians were playing with confidence, spurred on by a home crowd, belying their world ranking of 92nd and looking the more likely to score.

Inevitably, Poland grabbed the opener totally against the run of play, on the half-hour mark.

Euzebiusz Smolarek swung the ball over from left to right, Marek Saganowski checked back and his deflected shot fell into the path of Guerreiro, who tapped in as the flag stayed down.

Jacek Krzynowek then had a couple of efforts from long range as Poland gathered momentum.

It continued after the interval as well, with Smolarek having a 25-yard shot saved.

Austria's efforts were more speculative as Webb turned down a woeful penalty appeal when Andreas Ivanschitz dived in the area without a touch from Pawel Golanski, who had come on at the break for Mariusz Jop.

Leitgeb then tried to catch out Boruc with a 45-yard free-kick but the effort sailed over.

Webb took 56 minutes before reaching for his pocket. Korkmaz was the player who received the yellow card for his trip on Saganowski as the winger checked back from the right byline.

Krzynowek also picked up a booking for having a shot after the whistle had blown, then Wasilewski was carded for pushing away Korkmaz.

Jurgen Macho was having a quiet time in goal for Austria but the former Chelsea stopper was called into action in the 63rd minute when he denied Jacek Bak at close range after Guerreiro had found him unmarked with a cross to the far post.

Krzynowek then had a powerful free-kick tipped over the bar by Macho when he tried his luck from 35 yards.

To compound Austria's problems, Sebastian Prodl was booked and will miss their final game of the group stages.

Austria brought on veteran Vastic for inspiration and he got his chance from 12 yards when Mariusz Lewandowski held Prodl as Poland defended a free-kick.

Who joins Croatia from Group B will now go down to the wire.

from: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/euro2008/

Germany 2-0 Poland

LUKAS Podolski scored both goals yesterday to give three-time champions Germany a winning start at the European Championships with a 2-0 win over his native Poland, who remain winless against their bitter rivals.

The Bayern Munich player was born in Poland but came to Germany and took citizenship, but that didn't stop him excelling against the country of his birth.

Normally a striker, Podolski started as a left midfielder and justified the selection by scoring in the 20th minute. The in-demand Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez, who was expected to be the Germans' big star of the tournament, flicked the ball through the defence to Miroslav Klose, who squared to Podolski with Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc scrambling to get back.

In the 73rd minute, Bastian Schweinsteiger shook off a half-hearted challenge by Pawel Golanski and fed Klose, who mis-kicked the ball, but it bounced to Podolski, who volleyed home from close range.

Almost unbelievably, it was Germany's first victory in the European Championship since Euro '96, the only sour note being the combination of flying bottles and raised tempers in the streets. The police detained 140 mostly German fans as it became clear to the people of this unassuming little south Austrian town that, even without England's involvement, there is still the potential for trouble in this tournament.

"Some 140 high-risk fans were detained following dangerous attacks, administrative offences and the suspicion of having committed legal offences," a spokesman for Klagenfurt police said. "Most of them are German, though we are still in the process of checking everyone's identity."

On the list of things you did not want to see on the opening weekend, a group of Poles clutching beer cans in one hand and doing Hitler salutes with the other would be pretty close to the top. The mood was very different to the other cities that are hosting games; in Salzburg, for example, where the lamp-posts are decorated with placards declaring "Fans will be Friends", or in Vienna where visitors to the Stephansplatz find themselves confronted by around 50 men and women holding up posters offering "free hugs". Yet the atmosphere inside the stadium was friendly enough and the din was sufficiently loud to blot out the constant whirring of the police helicopters.

There were also enough moments of open, expansive play to make sure that the focus did not stray too long. Opposing managers will have noted some of Jens Lehmann's more erratic moments, and his apparent inability to control his area makes the former Arsenal goalkeeper prone to embarrassment later in the tournament. Otherwise, this was an impressive opening from the three-time winners, who were quick to the ball, organised and attacked with width and penetration.

They also have an attacking trio of Podolski, Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose who could trouble the most accomplished defences and, even though Poland are entitled to feel that the match officials had a bad night, there could be no real sense that the result was an injustice.

Poland's argument was that an offside flag should have been raised before Klose set up Podolski for the first goal, a six-yard finish that was as simple as his second goal was stunning. Leo Beenhakker, the Poland coach, will also reflect on the moment in the second half, with the score at 1-0, when another generous decision in the Germans' favour denied Euzebiusz Smolarek a chance to run through on Lehmann.

Germany, however, were comfortably the better side. Michael Ballack recovered from a careless start to become the game's most influential midfielder and there were chances to make it an even more handsome win. Joachim Löw's side should also have been ahead before most of the Poles had warmed up, Klose and Gomez contriving to waste a two-on-one with Artur Boruc when it seemed easier to score.

Boruc was left exposed once again for Podolski's first goal whereas the second was a case of supreme talent coming out on the highest stage, a stylish and controlled volley from just inside the penalty area, the ball arrowing into the top right-hand corner. In between, the Celtic goalkeeper saved splendidly to tip a Ballack shot over the bar. Germany do not look like a side willing to say Auf Wiedersehen to Euro 2008 without a prolonged argument.

Germany: Lehmann, Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Jansen, Fritz, Frings, Ballack, Podolski, Gomez, Klose. Subs: Enke, Friedrich, Westermann, Rolfes, Schweinsteiger, Odonkor, Trochowski, Hitzlsperger, Borowski, Neuville, Kuranyi, Adler.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Bak, Golanski, Dudka, Lewandowski, Lobodzinski, Zurawski, Krzynowek, Smolarek. Subs: Fabianski, Jop, Wawrzyniak, Zahorski, Kokoszka, Pazdan, Gargula, Murawski, Roger, Piszczek, Saganowski.

Man of the match Lukas Podolski (Germany)