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Today, on June 22, the national teams of Croatia and Australia, who realistically contend for the second place in Group F, will play their final match. In case of a victory or a draw, Australia would likely secure their spot in the knockout stage, while Croatia needs a win and would still have to wait for the outcome of the match between Brazil and Japan in the same group.
Group F, Croatia - Australia Location: Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadium, Stuttgart Time: 22:00 Lithuanian time Referee: Graham Poll (England)
Australia is in a better position before this match, as they might only need a draw, considering it is difficult to expect Japan to convincingly beat Brazil in the other match. Croatia has no other option - a team that has not yet scored a single goal needs to not only score but also score more times than their opponents. If the Croatians manage to do so, barring a surprise in the other match, they could clinch the second place.
Interesting fact: seven players on the Australian team have Croatian roots, while the Croatian national team includes 3 players born in Australia.
In their first match, Croatia lost 0-1 to Brazil, their second match against Japan ended in a goalless draw, while Australia celebrated a 3-1 victory over Japan and lost 0-2 to Brazil.
Croatia's coach is expected to make several changes to the starting lineup: Stjepan Tomas will replace Robert Kovac, who received two yellow cards, and Ivica Olic should form a striking tandem with Dado Prso.
In the Australian team, defender Tony Popovic will be replaced by Brett Emerton, who will play in the right-back position.
Prior to the match, Croatia's coach Zlatko Kranjcar stated in an interview that he expects a very tough game and he highlighted Australian forward Mark Viduka as the biggest threat to his team. Moreover, the coach mentioned that one of the Croatian defenders will personally mark Viduka during the entire match.
Australia's coach Guus Hiddink stated before the match that even though a 0-0 result would guarantee a spot in the next stage, the team will try to play attacking football and strive for a victory. Additionally, the coach expressed his belief in the team and their ability to progress further.
Previous encounters: Australia and Croatia have played 4 friendly matches against each other: Australia won twice, Croatia won once, and one match ended in a draw. The last encounter, where Croatia celebrated a 7-0 victory, took place in 1998.
Predicted lineups: Croatia: Pletikosa, Tomas, Simic, Simunic, Srna, Tudor, Niko Kovac, Babic, Kranjcar, Olic, Prso. Australia: Schwarzer, Emerton, Neill, Moore, Chipperfield, Grella, Culina, Cahill, Bresciano, Kewell, Viduka.
