So before I get to the game, I’d just like to share with you my little adventure on what I had to do to actually watch the game. Denis and I decided to watch the Croatia-Kazakhstan match at Croatian Hall in San Pedro,Ca. It’s something we never do because of exactly what happened today.
So we show up 15 minutes before kick-off and pay the $10 cover, that’s fine. And then it all goes to hell from there. We find out that they are only showing the game in the bar area instead of the large ballroom which has a projector and screen. So there’s about 75 angry people watching a 22″ TV. Then we find out that there is absolutely no satellite feed at the Hall; meaning no game. A couple rowdy, arrogant older Croatian guys start running their mouths off, so we decide to make other arrangements for the game.
We finally end up at Agent Argentina’s house to catch the 2nd half of the game on the internet. As me and Denis are watching the Croatia game with our noses 4 inches away from the computer screen, our good friend Ben (Agent Argentina) is having a meltdown watching the Argentina-Paraguay game because his team let in an early own goal in the 1st half. So between Croatians not having their stuff together on game day and our friend losing his mind watching his team implode; I only got to see about the last 30 minutes of the game plus the highlights, so please forgive me.
From what I saw, Croatia was in total control of the game. There was even some showboating going on as fans were given a ‘curtain call’ from Olić when he was subbed out for Leko and when Pletikosa made a nice clear and started waving to fans after they were cheering “Pleti, Pleti, Pleti…!!!” It was a successful win for Croatia as they scored 3 goals against Kazakhstan. It looks good on paper as England could only muster up a 2-0 win in Barcelona against poor Andorra.
Captain Niko Kovač started off the scoring as he put in a beautiful cross off a corner in the 12′. Luka Modrić then absolutely crushed a ball into the top left corner of the net for a 2-0 Croatian lead. Only a few minutes after Petrić was brought in for Ivan Klasnić late in the game, he received a nice pass in the box, which his Hamburg teammate, Ivica Olić, beautifully ‘dummied’ for him as he struck the ball high but just below the crossbar to beat the Kazak goalkeeper.
All I wanted from this game was 3 points and no injuries; and that’s what happened so I’m happy. I didn’t catch the whole game so if there is anything else worth mentioning please let us know. The England game is now only 4 days away and can be seen in America on Setanta Pay-Per-View. You can count on me NOT being at Croatian Hall for that game, or any other game after that for what they pulled today.
As for CSR Pick’em, Joze and Denis (the guy with that ‘other’ Croatian soccer website) got their picks correct with 3-0 results. So they’re one up on everybody else right now. The England post will be up shortly for a new round of picks.
Let me know what you guys thought about today’s game.
It’s still Andorra. Their team is all comprised of ski instructors for goodness sake. Even if England had their eye on us, you still got to put at least 4 goals past them. But we won’t be talking about the Andorra-England game come Wednesday, will we?
True, England probably had one eye on the game against us.
Still I think we will win so my tip is 2-1 to Croatia aswell
Joze,
I wouldn’t think much about the Andorra-England game. England will be ready for Croatia. If Croatia doesn’t show them respect we won’t get the result(meaning victory, anything less is lost points).
I will post the first England-Croatia prediction…..
Croatia 2 England 1 in a hard fought battle. Bilic will know how to prepare our boys. We will show the world who is “daddy”…
Remember, respect…..
Maksimir will be rockin….. 4000 British will get a Bir-kir-kara beating on Wednesday….
I think we played very well. Although we were playing Kazakhstan, the goals were class.
I’m very happy that Modric is playing well for Croatia, even though he is finding it hard to play good for spurs.
After Englands 2-0 win against Andorra I have no doubt we can win this week.