Croatia coach detects chinks in defensive armour

ZAGREB, June 5: Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar has criticised his team's defending after the 1-0 defeat by Poland in their latest World Cup warm-up.

Kranjcar said after Saturday's game that he was happy with Croatia's dominance but he has now zoomed in on a defence whose blunders in the previous friendly helped Iran earn a 2-2 draw.

''It is evident that our defence is repeatedly showing weaknesses after corners or free kicks, when we often concede goals,'' Kranjcar told the Vjesnik daily on Monday.

''It also happened in the qualifiers that our opponents did not create chances but managed to score due to our occasional lack of concentration,'' he added.

Croatia conceded a second half goal by Ebi Smolarek against Poland after the striker found space in the box to head home a Maciej Zurawski corner in the 54th minute Kranjcar said the game also showed how crucial Rangers Dado Prso is to Croatia's attack after the striker was sidelined with a mild viral infection that also struck several other players.

''Prso is our key force and we missed him a lot against Poland. I've yet to decide whether to pair him with Ivica Olic or Ivan Klasnic,'' Kranjcar said as he pondered the lineup for their opening match against world champions Brazil on June 13.

Croatia's final warm-up game against Spain in Geneva on Wednesday should remove one more uncertainty.

''That game will open the way to our first choice of goalkeeper,'' Kranjcar told the big-selling Vecernji List daily.

The candidates are Tomislav Butina and Stipe Pletikosa who have both shown solid form peppered with occasional mistakes.

Croatia open their Group F campaign against Brazil in Berlin before facing Japan on June 18 in Nuremberg and Australia on June 22 in Stuttgart.

REUTERS