Croatia can challenge for Euro 2008 title after stunning Germany, says Bilic

Klagenfurt (Austria): Croatia coach Slaven Bilic ignored the footballing cliche of taking it one game at a time after his team had beaten Germany 2-1 in a stunning upset at the European Championship.

"The way my players played today, I think we can go far at the championships," Bilic said. "The title? Why not."

The Croatian midfield, led by playmaker Luka Modric and his superior passing skills, controlled Thursday's Group B match against the Germans, allowing them few chances and driving their attackers to despair.

"We really played a phenomenal match. We showed our strength against the mighty Germany," said Modric, who at the final whistle collapsed to the grass before hugging his teammates and Bilic.

Darijo Srna gave Croatia a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute, sweeping the ball past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann on Danijel Pranjic's left-wing cross.

The Croats then closed ranks in defense to launch counterattacks, which paid off when Ivica Olic scored on a rebound from the post in the 63rd.

Germany midfielder Lukas Podolski managed to pull a goal back in the 79th, but the three-time champions never looked like earning a draw.

Bilic compared the victory to Croatia's 3-0 win over the Germans in the 1998 World Cup quarterfinals, which had been its most impressive since splitting from Yugoslavia in 1992. Croatia went on to place third at the World Cup in France.

"There is a lot of similarities between this victory and the one in 1998," Bilic said. "We were playing for the love of our country in 1998, as we did today. The emotions were identical."

Bilic said Thursday's victory is more important than its 3-2 qualifying win at Wembley in November which kept England from reaching Euro 2008.

"For us, that match was not as important as for the English, because we had already qualified for the Euro," Bilic said. "This victory was much more important as it was played for key points at the championship."

Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar was also elated.

"We dominated the field, never letting the Germans develop their own game," Kranjcar said. "Besides the goal, I cannot recall any other big chance that they had."

Croatia central defender Josip Simunic said it was an "historic victory."

"We showed that we can play and win over the best — and Germany is one of the best," Simunic said. "We all gave our utmost, it was a miracle."