Austria 0-1 Croatia

Conventional wisdom would have had an early goal for Croatia offering up the platform for a resounding win. Conversely the Austrians would have been expected to fold given the form guide going into the tournament. As it was the early penalty kick turned into a curse for Croatia and a blessing for Austria.

The early goal (a dead-cert penalty decision) seemed to dull Croatia’s appetite for the game as they failed to string passes together in any meaningful way. Without Ivica Olic the Croatian attack would have been completely anemic with Petric utterly anonymous.

With Croatia showing little ambition to increase their early lead the Austrian’s slowly settled into the game, grew in confidence and from the 30th minute onwards they dominated large chunks of the match.

Croatia allowed Austria far too much space in midfield as time and time again the co-hosts were allowed time to look up and to pick out their targets. Modric and Srna were particularly culpable as Austria regularly found Martin Harnik on the right side with raking crossfield passes.

Substitutions by Croatia’s manager Slaven Bilic failed to turn the ever increasing tide of Austrian attacks while each change rung by opposite number Josef Hickersberger upped the pressure on the Croatian defence.

In the end Croatia played poorly but still took three points; for Austria a glorious loss.

Three games gone and no surprises - so far.


Germany 2-0 Poland

After an early goal in the first game of the day, we could have had two in the first five minutes of this one. The first chance fell to Poland after Lehmann chose to try and gather a cross under pressure rather than punching clear. The fumble dropped awkwardly to Jacek Krzynówek who shot over from just outside of the box.

Only a couple of minutes later Klose caught the Polish back four flat-footed and square and was left with a clear run on goal. Rather than shooting Klose opted to pass to Gomez who in arriving late had to stretch to make contact.  It made for a weak connection  and the ball rolled agonizingly past the post.

Both incidents were to be harbingers as the first half progressed. Krzynówek was the central focus of most of the Polish attacks, while Klose again beat a stagnant Polish defensive line to find himself one-on-one with Boruc.

Once more Klose opted to pass but this time it was Lukas Podolski who was in support and he potted the chance. By half time it could well have been 3-1 as Germans continued to press with purposeful play and although Poland continued to look shaky under pressure they still carved out a great chance for Zurawski.

Half time substitute Roger Guerreiro helped Poland to their best period of pressure in the first twenty minutes of the second half but after Podolski scored with twenty minutes left a German win was never in doubt.

Podolski produced the best individual performance of the tournament so far and it was not just down to his two goals. Starting on the left side of midfield Podolski worked hard getting up and down the park and was a constant irritant to Poland.

Germany will be happy with the result and satisfied with the performance. Poland can take something away from this game as well. The defence and midfield settled down after a wobbly start but they look to have same problem as a number of other countries at his tournament – no one to finish at the business end.




Comment of the Day

In my Spain preview I included this comment - "Spain’s soft spot might be in midfield and that in turn may put the centre of defence under stress and strain. In midfield tidy passing types pervade but they may turn out to be lightweight over potentially three weeks of competition. Ball possession may not be a problem but moving the ball quickly to the strikers could be".

Writing in The Times Gabriele Marcotti provided his thoughts on the Spanish dilemma and in the process he included some memorable alliteration.

"Cesc Fabregas may be the best foreign midfielder not named Michael in the Premier League, but it holds little stock with Luis Aragones, the Spain manager. His place with Spain is in serious jeopardy which, frankly, seems extraordinary until you look at the midfielders at Aragones' disposal. For whatever reason, Spain excels at producing pint-sized pass-happy pixies: Xavi, David Silva and Andres Iniesta are all in the same mould, creative little fellas who can pass the ball to death. The problem is, you can only fit so many of them in your team.

Already Aragones is having to deploy Iniesta and Silva wide, despite the fact that both are probably more suited to a central role. And while deploying Xavi and Cesc together in the middle is a sexy idea, Spain need at least one holding midfielder, otherwise they'll be steamrollered. And that spot goes to Marcos Senna. Which means that Aragones has two options: he can either go with a 4-5-1 formation (but that would mean leaving out the in-form David Villa) or he can make a difficult choice between Xavi and Cesc. And, in that case, Xavi would be favored by a mile. It's debatable that he's a better player, less debatable is that he's more experienced and plays his football in Spain which means that, if things go horribly wrong, Xavi's exclusion is likely to haunt Aragones for far longer."

This game may have only produced a single goal but it was entertaining throughout as both sides contributed to an excellent game of football. Austria settled more quickly into the game and it took Chile fifteen minutes or so to establish their usual pattern to the game.

Both goalkeepers were forced into some excellent saves in the first half but when the goal came it was from an unlikely source. As the first half moved into injury time a Chile cross was swung into the penalty area where centre back Hans Martinez connected from about ten yards out. Hit with accuracy more than power it was still enough to give Chile a half-time lead. A defender on the left post would have cleared the ball but there was none to be found.  

The start of the second half mirrored that of the first with Austria out of the gate more quickly. Okotie cracked one of Chile’s crossbar and when the rebound fell to Harnik his shot forced a great toe save out of Toselli.

Five minutes later Austrian centre back Madl was sent off for a second yellow card but Austria continued to press forward. However, with a more predictable and slow build up they did not create as many clear-cut chances as they should have.

In turn Chile looked to the counter attack and on more than one occasion they should have put the game beyond any shadow of doubt. Peralta was particularly at fault when he was clean through with only Lukse in the goal to beat. After pushing the ball wide Peralta was about to pull the trigger when the Austrian keeper picked the ball of his toe.

But there was still more drama left in this one. With only two minutes to go Austrian substitute Martin Harnik finally beat Toselli only for Martinez to save the day. He was able to block the ball on the ball and as it spun in the air back towards the goal line Toselli recovered to paw the ball away.

This was an unexpectedly good game with some excellent defending from both sides. Goalkeepers Lukse and Toselli produced some top-drawer saves while at the heart of the Chile defense the underrated Martinez and Larrondo were again outstanding. Both come from the Carlos Gamarra School of Defending that emphasizes the minimum of fuss and desperation. And finally a mention to Austrian captain Sebastian Proedl. The Sturm Graz centre back has already been capped for the full national team and we can be certain that will see more of him next summer as Austria co-host Euro 2008.

Oh and Padraig Harrington just beat Sergio Garcia in a play off at the British Open.   

 

I expect peace and love to break out for this game. Chile will be on their absolute best behaviour while I'm sure that Austria haas also been told to go easy.

Chile has made three enforced changes with Medel, Currimilla and Grondona all suspended. The first two for the red cards they received during the game against Argentina while Jamie Grondona has been suspended "as a result of the physical incidents with match officials he was involved in on the pitch during the Chile-Argentina semi-final match on July 19."

Coming in for Chile is Sepulveda (missed the Argentina game through suspension), Mauricio Isla (started on the bench against Argentina after scoring in the quarter final vs. Nigeria) and Michael Silva who has so far logged one minute in the tournament.

Austrian coach Paul Gludovatz has rung the changes with five starters against the Czech Republic replaced. Out goes defender Daniel Gramann, midfielders Martin Harnik and Tomas Sinkovic, striker Erwin Hoffer and goalkeeper Michael Zaglmair.

The referee will be Martin Hansson from Sweden.

The referee for the final later today is 33-year-old Spaniard Alberto Undiano Mallenco. He has officiated the following games in this tournament - Canada v. Chile, Czech Republic v. Korea DPR, Brazil v. USA and Argentina v. Mexico. Snr. Mallenco was also in charge of the second leg of Champions League semi final in May between Liverpool and Chelsea.

(EDMONTON, CANADA)

Austria vs. Czech Republic

Time (EST), date & location – 19:45, July 18 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton

Few would have picked Austria or the Czech Republic to make it to the last four of the FIFA under-20 World Cup let alone both of them. Neither country arrived at the tournament with much of a pedigree at the youth level.

Past Performance

It is only Austria’s third trip to the finals and in 1977 they finished 15th while six years they dropped down a place. For the Czech’s it is a 5th appearance in their present guise or as the former Czechoslovakia. The best performance before this tournament was quarter final loses in 1983 and 2001.

How they reached the semi-final

During the group stage both countries continued to fly under the radar. Austria recorded one win (1-0 over Canada), drew with Congo (1-1) and with eventual group winners Chile (0-0).

The Czech’s started with a 0-0 draw against Argentina in Ottawa and then allowed a 2-1 lead to disappear as North Korea equalized late in the game. It meant the last game against Panama was a must-win in order to ensure a place in last eight. It was mission accomplished as the Czech’s recorded their only win in regulation time in their five matches so far.

Both qualified as second place finishers and while Austria drew the Gambia (runners up in group C) the Czech Republic had the much tougher task in facing group F winners Japan.

Austria progressed after a late goal from substitute Erwin Hoffer broke a 1-1 draw against 10-man Gambia. Later that same evening the Czech’s were 2-0 down early in the second half to Japan before two penalty kicks inside a three minute drew then level. Extra time went scoreless and the game was decided on penalty kicks.

It was déjà vu in the quarter final as the Czech’s once again won on penalty kicks - this time over Spain. Despite being under sustained pressure the Czech’s took a shock lead in extra time before Spain finally drew level. But once more the Czech’s kept their nerve as Spain missed twice.

After conceding an early goal to the USA in their quarter final match, the Austrians rallied to draw level before half time. A key move late in the first half by Austrian coach Paul Gludovatz helped to turn the game. Right midfielder Bernard Morgenthaler was replaced by Martin Harnik and suddenly the USA were on the back foot.

In extra time Gludovatz made his second decisive move when Hoffer was brought into the game and this time he scored the winner with his first touch of the ball.

Goalkeeping

Austria used three goalkeepers in the first three matches and all through choice rather than injury. Michael Zaglmair started the first game against Congo before being replaced by Andreas Lukse for the match against Canada. Despite recording a clean sheet Lukse returned to the bench and his spot was taken by Bartolomej Kura for the game against Chile.

Perhaps Kuru wasn’t surprised when he was dropped after blanking Chile and back came Zaglmair for the knock out round games against the Gambia and USA.  

There has been no such shuffling of keepers for the Czech Republic with Radek Petr playing all 510 minutes of the tournament. What is more he has faced 12 penalty kicks over the five games and has saved three of them.

Edge – Czech Republic

Defense

Both teams have been pretty settled as far as the back four is concerned. Austria has relied on the centre back pairing of Sebastian Proedl and Michael Madl to shore up the defense and they have been very effective. Proedl even chipped in with a goal against the Gambia. However, Madl picked up a second consecutive yellow card against the USA and will be suspended. No team has scored more than a goal against Austria and in five games they have recorded two shut outs.

On the other hand the Czech Republic’s only clean sheet came against Argentina in their opening game in which they were badly outplayed. In all they have conceded six goals in five games which isn’t overly impressive. Czech Coach Miroslav Soukop has also looked to a core of defenders. Lukas Kuban, Marek Suchy and Jan Simunek have played in all five games.

Edge – If Austria had Madl available defense would go in their favour but his absence will be difficult to overcome. Call it even.

Midfield

Michael Stanislaw has been a stand-out as a defensive midfielder for the Austrians. If he hasn’t been winning tackles and driving the team forward he has been plugging the passing lanes and intercepting passes. An ever present up to now but Stanislaw has also run into yellow card trouble and will miss the game.

Martin Harnik has shown that he can torment with his strong running and dribbling while Zlatko Junozovic has been a real work horse. Listed as a midfielder Junozovic has been tasked to get forward and support the normal lone Austrian striker.

Five of the seven Czech goals have come from midfield players with Lubas Kalouda scoring three alone. Others to watch for in an exceptionally hard working midfield are Ondrej Kudela and Petr Janda. 

Edge – With Stanislaw in the Austrian starting eleven this would have been a much tighter call. Without Stanislaw the Czech Republic gets the nod.

Attack

Erwin Hoffer started all three group games for Austria but the striker was relegated to the bench for the last two matches against the Gambia and the USA. It didn’t seem to faze him as both times he entered the game and scored the winner. Against a strong physical Czech side there is no reason to think that Austria will change the tactic. It will be a surprise if Rubin Okotie (2 goals) does not start in the lone striker role. He is strong in the air and a willing worker. However, his finishing could be much better.

On paper the Czech’s have the more impressive forwards but so far it has not necessarily shown in goal scored. Marek Strestik’s pre-tournament billing was impressive but at present he has collected twice as many yellow cards (2) as goals. Spurs Tomas Pekhart has yet to score in regulation or extra time and Martin Fenin has looked to be the best of the bunch.

Edge - Austria

Coaching & Intangibles

Both teams must be feeling good about their progress to the last four. The coaches have done what they are paid to do - to produce the best possible team with the players available. Gludovatz and Soukup have instilled a tremendous spirit in their sides and tactically they have been outstanding.

The Czech’s have had the tougher road and will enjoy the confidence boost of coming back from two goals down to beat Japan as well as winning twice on penalties. When the two teams met in last summer’s Euro qualifying the Czech Republic won 3-1.

Edge – Czech Republic

Prediction – the Czech Republic to win 2-1.

Notes

We are guaranteed a Europe vs. South America final. It will be the fifth such match-up in sixteen finals. The previous finals were Argentina vs. USSR (1979), Brazil vs. Spain (1985 & 2003) and Portugal vs. Brazil (1991).

Sergio Aguero (Argentina) and Adrian Lopez (Spain) are currently tied as top scorers with five goals.

There is the possibility that the final match will be a repeat of one of the group games. Earlier Chile played Austria and Argentina played the Czech Republic but both games finished scoreless.

 In 1962 the then Czechoslovakia made it all the way to the final of the World Cup and played Brazil twice as well. They drew 0-0 in the group stage and lost the final 3-1.