Sunday Jun 18 2006 17:48
Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar is confident his side will qualify for the last 16 at the World Cup despite seeing them held to a disappointing goalless draw against Japan on Sunday.
Darijo Srna saw a first-half penalty saved and Croatia squandered a series of chances after the break to leave them with just one point from their opening two games.
Victory against Australia in their final Group F match could be enough for them to progress and Kranjcar can see no reason why his players cannot do it.
He said: "We saw a very hard and tough game which we dominated.
"We had a lot of chances but again we didn't score and that is a problem for us. We were better organised but we had a bit of bad luck.
"If we win the next game we go to the next round - the players still have enough strength to get a good result."
Japan coach Zico was disappointed about his side's display and the result, which means the Blue Samurai have to beat Brazil in their final game to have any chance of reaching the first knockout round.
"We lost our way a little bit in the second half," said Zico.
"But while you're still breathing you're still alive and we'll do all we can to stay alive."
Have your say on this article