Sport | Football
Austria to avoid losing self-control against Croatia
Austria must avoid losing self-control in front of a cheering home crowd in its European Championship opener against Croatia on Sunday, according to Austria team manager Andreas Herzog.
- AP
- Published: 00:05 June 8, 2008
Stegersbach, Austria; Bad Tatzmannsdorf: Austria must avoid losing self-control in front of a cheering home crowd in its European Championship opener against Croatia on Sunday, according to Austria team manager Andreas Herzog.
"The public will want us to attack, but finding the right balance is key," Herzog said.
"We have to put pressure on Croatia and go for our chances, but we can't get too enthusiastic and must play compact and controlled as well," Herzog said.
The team manager warned about Croatia's ability to start aggressively.
"That's how they quickly went 2-0 up against England in their decisive qualifier," Herzog said.
Merciless
"The worst thing that could happen to us is dropping behind soon in the match due to some tactical errors."
As co-host, Austria automatically qualified for the European Championship and did not play a competitive match in two years.
Except defender Martin Hiden and midfielder Ivica Vastic, who played at the 1998 World Cup but were not expected in today's starting lineup, none of the players in Austria's 23-man squad have participated in a major tournament before.
"You can feel that the pressure is on now, that some get a little nervous. That's obvious," Austria captain Andreas Ivanschitz said.
Meanwhile, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic will use an offensive lineup for his team's opener.
"Even though football can be unpredictable and merciless, we will be better than the hosts," Bilic said.
Croatia sees itself as a favourite in the match and are considered a contender for the title.
Bilic announced his starting lineup for the match by saying "we have nothing to hide."
He said Stipe Pletikosa will be in the goal, with Vedran Corluka, Robert Kovac, Josip Simunic and Danijel Pranjic in the defence.
The midfield, the strongest section in the team, will be led by two skillful playmakers, Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar, helped by Dario Srna and veteran captain Niko Kovac.
In attack will be Mladen Petric and Ivica Olic.
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