Croatia took charge of Group C with a comfortable 3-1 victory as Ireland's usually reliable defence crumbled in their first game of the tournament in Poznan. Mario Mandzukic got the Balkan side off to a great start with an early goal but Sean St Ledger restored parity midway through the first half. Ireland then began to take a back seat in the match and they were punished with two more...
02:06 AM, Jun 11, 2012
Poznan: Anyone who found the manner of Chelsea's Champions League triumph hard to digest is advised to look elsewhere when rank outsiders Ireland face Croatia in their Euro 2012 opener on Sunday. Chelsea proved it is possible to overcome vastly more gifted opponents with well-organised blanket defence, the odd counter-attack and a generous portion of luck in their wins over Barcelona and Bayern Munich. It remains to be seen how...
01:52 PM, Jun 09, 2012
Their squad may lack in quality and depth as compared to their more formidable group opponents, but Croatia will certainly not be short of motivation at Euro 2012. The tournament will be the last for the coach Slaven Bilic, who has agreed to take over at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow following the European Championship. With the popular Bilic having overseen one of the most successful periods for the national team...
11:34 AM, Jun 03, 2012
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