PREVIEW: Euro 2008 Group B, Poland v Croatia

Poland

vs

Croatia

Monday, June 16th, 2045 CET
Klagenfurt (Austria) - Travel to Klagenfurt

THE BIG PICTURE

Poland still has a chance to make it through to the next round after their karma draw with Austria, but that hope resides with Austria beating Germany, which means there’s little hope at all (miracles do happen, though….right, Virginia?). Basically Poland has to beat Croatia by a greatest score than Austria beats Germany. So they have to win by at least two. Good luck with that.

For Croatia it’s all about avoiding injuries, maintaining some sense of continuity on the pitch, avoiding injuries, getting some guys who could prove to be key backups later on some pitch time and avoiding injuries.

POLAND

Three Key Players:
Artur Boruc - You could make the case he’s been the keeper of the tournament so far. Asking Poland to score more than 3 goals, though possible, seems like asking a lot. So he’ll need to be on the very top of his game for them to have a chance. Unfair to put the onus on him at this point after he’s been their best player, but that’s just the way it is - ask Petr Cech.
Ebi Smolarek - One of Poland’s best players and perhaps their biggest disappointment in their first two games, especially after scoring 9 in qualification. They need a rabbit from a hat, and someone’s gotta score the goals…
Roger Guerreiroski - The opposite of Smolarek in that he’s done anything but disappoint thus far, and his patented Brazilian flair has contributed a goal along with countless chances. This one’s about scoring and hoping Boruc does his job, he and Smolarek will have to play a big part.

Team News: Maciej Zurawski is still out, meaning Jacek Bak will get the captain’s armband.

Poland squad
Poland Team Profile

Visit Tomasz at the Poland Euro 2008 Team Blog for more.

Buy Poland team gear here.

CROATIA

Players On Yellow….and thus not playing: Robert Kovac, Josip Simunic, Luka Modric and Darijo Srna.

Aside from that, I’d suggest checking out Mario’s preview for his insider thoughts.

Team News: Igor Budan is a bit roughed up, so you can assume he’ll play little part, if any.
Croatia
Croatia Team Profile

Visit Mario at the Croatia Euro 2008 Team Blog for more.

Buy Croatia national team gear here

It’s impossible to tell Big Battles when you have absolutely no clue who will even be on the pitch and with what sense of purpose. There’s no doubt Croatia will not lay down, but it certainly won’t be the last game of their lives. Some will be fighting for a spot, but the key is to stay uninjured.

So, with that said, here’s Leo Beenhakker’s take:

“Maybe I can call my old friend Slaven Bilic and ask him to play his mother-in-law as a striker against Poland. But, apart from that, I can’t do much more. All we can do is try to win our game.”

Or how about Slaven lacing them up one more time?

Bet on Euro 2008

LIVEBLOG

Follow the Poland vs Croatia LiveBlog here.