Croatia 2-1 Germany

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. I need to tally the scores for the blog's bracket challenge, but I'd say no more than one person had Croatia prevailing in Klagenfurt on Thursday. ESPN announcers Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (who are great to listen to, and I love the effects that blend the crowd noise with their commentary so that it sounds like they're actually at the game when in reality they're in a studio in the middle of Connecticut) noted that the Germans looked flat-footed and very different from the team who took the field against Poland last weekend. I have to disagree with them on this point. I think that a smaller Croatian midfield surprised a lot of people by outplaying Michael Ballack and friends, but I don't think the Germans necessarily had a bad game in the midfield. They had their defensive lapses for sure, but so did Croatia; the real problem was that the Germans just didn't create a lot of good opportunities in this game. They did possess the ball well and show patience in advancing when the Croats buckled down in their own half. I state the obvious here, but soccer comes down to who finishes and who doesn't a lot of times; it was no different here. But to say the Germans were dominated, or played a terrible game, is inaccurate. They didn't play their best, or create the chances in the offensive third, but they had enough skill keeping possession to give themselves some opportunities all game. I think they're okay and still expect them to advance out of this group. Lukas Podolski netted his third goal of the tourney with a sizzling volley in the box, but it was too little too late for the Germans. Their game with Austria is huge all of a sudden, and a silly red card by Schweinsteiger in injury time leaves one of their greatest offensive weapons stranded on the bench for the next one.

Of course there's also the matter of giving Croatia a ton of credit for this upset. They demonstrated an awesome team possession on the first goal, which ended on the foot of Darijo Srna at the six-yard box after 15 passes that saw every player for Croatia touch the ball. Grant Wahl was right; watching it on DVR is beautiful, a testament to how patience, switching fields and staying in the play can reward a team. They could've had one and possibly two more in the first half, but couldn't convert point blank gifts in the penalty box. The second goal was more of an unlucky break and slight error by German keeper Jens Lehmann than anything (watching the replay convinces me that a goalie should never let himself get beat near post like that, deflection or otherwise), but the Croatians were there to take advantage, and we can't say that about every team who has had similar opportunities afforded them in this tournament so far. The Germans showed speed and power in both the last World Cup and their opening game against Poland in Euro 08, but the Croatian side didn't seem to be afraid. They were just as physical and played virtually mistake-free soccer after their defense was a bit shaky against Austria. Croatia will head to the quarters with confidence, an extremely animated coach, and a lot of very, very talented players whose last names end with the letter C. Let's just keep crossing our fingers for those checkerboard unis before their run/the tourney itself ends.