ECUADOR 1 : 0 CROATIA
by FIFAworldcup.com

June 13, 2002

With Italy's draw to Mexico, Croatia needed to beat Ecuador to advance to the second round. However, the South Americans got a goal from Edison Mendez early in the second half to claim their first FIFA World Cup™ victory in their debut tournament.

There was little to separate the teams, but when Croatia was searching for an equalizer, Ecuador defended resolutely to preserve their lead.

Ecuador took control of midfield early. They focused their attacking efforts on serving crosses into the area for forwards Agustin Delgado and Carlos Tenorio. Croatia, meanwhile, did not resemble the team that scored two goals against Italy. The Croats were not able to build much from midfield and had to settle for counter-attacks.

Although Ecuador were getting their crosses into the area, none of them reached their targets, and they began to settle for some hopeful shots from long range. And although Ecuador seemed to be carrying the play, it was Croatia's Alen Boksic who went close first, when he swivelled and shot off the left post from just inside the area (35').

Minutes later, Boksic seemed likely to get another dangerous shot off when he got loose on goal, but Ivan Hurtado came in with a saving tackle at the last instant. With the half about to expire, it was Boksic again who was the danger man. This time he chipped the ball over Ecuador goalkeeper Jose Cevallos only to see it cleared away by a defender (46'+).

After Ecuador created virtually no dangerous situations at all in the first half, they scored a goal in the opening moments of the second half. Delgado played a ball back to Edison Mendez, who fired a wonderful half-volley from eight metres past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa (1:0, 48').

The goal did little to change the tempo of the game. Chances continued to be hard to come by for either side as the clocked ticked past the hour mark. But in the final 10 minutes, Croatia began to attack with more urgency, and weaknesses in the Ecuador defence started to show.

Croatia missed a great look at goal when Boksic served a cross from the left to Davor Vugrinec, whose volley went well high and wide (83'). Then Mario Stanic headed a corner kick on goal but had it cleared off the line by a defender (87').

But no goal would come for Croatia, and time ran out on their hopes of reaching the second round. Ecuador had their first-ever win in a FIFA World Cup finals, and both teams had played their last match in Korea/Japan.

ECU : CRO -- TSG post-match analysis
by FIFAworldcup.com
Andy Roxburgh
It was really an unusual match. Ecuador play in a fluid and simple manner. Their players were enjoying themselves, while Croatia had pressure to produce and the anxiety showed. Alen Boksic is a great player and he tried his best but was limited by what the crosses gave him. They had some crosses, but they never quite threatened.

Croatia didn't produce what they were capable of. The pressure just really got to them. This is a major disappoint for Croatia, and I think they will be really ruing the fact that they didn't produce when they get back home, especially after the big result against Italy. There was an anxiety that we just didn't have from Ecuador.

The main problem was that they could never thread the telling through pass. The back line of Ecuador seemed to feel quite comfortable tonight.

Ecuador had most of their attack come through overlapping runs on the right. That's where the goal came from, when Agustin Delgado laid it back and it was finished brilliantly by Edison Mendez. Ecuador played well and justified themselves being here. -->

13 June 2002, 23:39 Seoul - Tokyo
Budweiser Man of the Match 44, ECU:CRO - Edison Mendez
by FIFAworldcup.com
Edison Mendez was named Budweiser Man of the Match after his second-half goal gave Ecuador a 1-0 victory over Croatia in Yokohama, Japan. Although the three points were not enough to take Ecuador to the second round, it was their first-ever win in a FIFA World Cup™ finals.

The goal came when Agustin Delgado played a ball back from the by-line to Mendez, who struck home perfectly past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa from eight metres.

In a match that saw little in the way of scoring chances, Mendez was the most dangerous man for Ecuador. He took three shots on the night, putting two of them on goal. He also made a pest of himself by pressuring the Croatian defenders whenever they had the ball, committing five fouls during the match.

After the match, Mendez expressed his bitter-sweet feelings about winning but not reaching the second round. "It was important for the country," he said. "We are not satisfied totally with the result because we could not make it to the second round, but the victory was very important so that we didn't have to go home empty-handed." -->