Emotions high for Australia-Croatia match

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OEHRINGEN, Germany, June 21: Emotions will be high when Australia and Croatia meet tomorrow in a tantalising Group F match that will almost certainly decide who joins Brazil in the second round of the World Cup.

The advantage is with Australia, who are striving to get through to the second stage for the first time.

A victory in Stuttgart will guarantee them a place in the last 16 while they can also get through with a draw, as long as Japan do not beat Brazil by three goals.

The equation is even simpler for Croatia. Semi-finalists in 1998 but no longer the force they were eight years ago, they must win to stay alive in the competition.

Tomorrow's match was looming as the decisive one in the group when the draw was announced earlier this year and everything points to an even contest that could go either way.

They have similar personnel and styles of playing, and are bonded by ancestral links -- seven of Australia's players, including captain Mark Viduka, have Croatian parents, while three of the Croats were raised in Australia.

''There's a lot of Australian-Croatian people that live in Australia and I think if we weren't playing against each other they'd be supporting Australia,'' Australia's assistant coach Graham Arnold said.

''I don't think you can get more mirror-imaged sides in the competition than us and Croatia. They've got similar style players to us, big, physically-strong, good technical players with a huge work rate. It's going to be a very intriguing game.'' Croatia started the competition as favourites to go through with Brazil. They beat Australia 7-0 when they last played, in 1998, although much has changed since then.

Croatia were hugely impressive in their opening match when they lost 1-0 to world champions Brazil but lost their way against Japan, finishing with a scoreless draw after blowing a series of chances, including a penalty.

Coach Zlatko Kranjcar has been forced to rearrange his defence after stopper Robert Kovac was suspended, with Stjepan Tomas playing right back and Dario Simic shifting in.

''I'm satisfied with the team. We are well organised in defence, also in midfield,'' Kranjcar said.

''The only issue is that that we haven't put away our chances. I have no doubt we have left a better impression than Australia even though they have three points.'' Australia have been impressive in their first two games.

They came from behind to beat Japan 3-1, with all three goals coming in the last eight minutes, then gave as good as they got against Brazil before going down 2-0.

Their Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, who took Netherlands then Korea to the semi-finals of the last two World Cups, has again been a shrewd tactician, orchestrating moves like a grandmaster, flooding midfield and ordering his players to attack in waves.

But, like the Croatians, Australia also have problems even though the mood in the camp remains upbeat.

Defender Tony Popovic has been ruled out with a calf strain and winger Harry Kewell was lucky to escape a ban for verbally abusing German referee Markus Merk after the Brazil match.

''If you said to me before this competition started that going into the third game against Croatia we only needed a draw or a win to go through then I would have signed off on that straight away,'' Arnold said.

''I envisioned before the competition started that it would get down to goal average or we would have to win and now we've got a 66 percent chance instead of 50-50.''

REUTERS