FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°27

Deadly Davor Suker struck with 14 minutes remaining to give Croatia a 1-0 victory over Japan in a World Cup Group H match at the La Beaujoire stadium on a sizzling hot Saturday afternoon.

Suker, who had gone close several times, was on target when it mattered as Croatia scored their second straight win to close in on a second round spot. Japan suffered their second straight loss and were eliminated. Croatia won their tournament opener 3-1 over Jamaica, while Japan began with 1-0 loss to Argentina. Jamaica and Argentina face each other on Sunday. Only a pair of wins by Jamaica in their final two matches could threaten Croatia’s place in the final 16.

Croatia, playing without injured playmaker Zvonimir Boban, looked uncomfortable in the heat early on, but conserved energy and gradually grew in influence as the match progressed. Suker’s winner came after Aljosa Asanovic surged down the left and swung in a difficult cross. The Japanese defence failed to clear and Suker controlled the ball with one touch and steered it home with the second. It was a typical piece of masterful finishing from the 30-year-old maestro, although goalkeeper Yoshi Nawaguchi looked as if he could have stopped the ball crossing the line. Suker had chipped the ball onto the crossbar just minutes earlier, again after some fine build-up work by Asanovic.

The second straight loss was dismal reward for Japan’s determination-but they paid the penalty for their lack of punch in attack. Running as if their lives depended on it, the Japanese kept the pressure on for much of the first half, but were consistently let down by their poor passing in the final third of the field. They had pace and persistence aplenty but were woefully devoid of precision. They could certainly have done with the wise head of Kazu Miura, omitted from their 22-man squad. What the 2002 World Cup co-hosts badly needed was someone to slow play down and use a little thought.

The older members of the Croatian team, including Robert Prosinecki and Suker, elected to conserve energy and played at a far slower pace. In the end, the wise old pros prevailed over youthful enthusiasm. Suker had a couple of early half-chances but squandered them.Japan’s best chances of the first half came after 13 minutes, when Naoki Soma drove a cross-cum-shot across the face of goal, and in the 34th minute when Hidetoshi Nakata won the ball in midfield and freed Masashi Nakayama. The striker bore down on goal was but his shot was stopped one-handed by the spreadeagled goalkeeper Drazen Ladic. Suker had two more opportunities late in the first half. First he was thwarted by Kawaguchi and then Eisuke Nakanishi robbed him of possession in the penalty area. Suker’s half-hearted penalty appeal was turned down by referee Ramesh Ramhdan of Trinidad and Tobago.

Japan rued two missed chances by striker Shoji Jo soon after the break as Croatia increasingly took the initiative. First Suker hit the crossbar in the 72nd minute and then the Real Madrid star sealed matters with a piece of typical opportunism.

Disappointed Japanese coach Takeshi Okada said his team had failed to achieve their objective at the tournament-the first time they had qualified for the World Cup finals. ” Our ambition for this World Cup was to qualify for the second round and unfortunately we didn’t manage to do that, “ he said. ” The decisive factor today was the individual talent of the player Suker.  We tried to play a collective game, because we didn’t have the individuals capable of stopping him individually. We tried to work hard and to have two players for every Croatian. But that didn’t work. “

Plans by the World Cup organisers to separate fans from rival teams fell down completely at this game. Around the stadium were pockets of Croatian spectators mixed in with the far more numerous Japanese fans. Fortunately both sets of supporters were good natured and their were no incidents. Japanese fans made up close to half the sellout crowd and they were clearly downcast by their team’s failure.