Prso strike puts Croatians through
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Croatian players Stjepan Tomas, center, Giovanni Rosso, left and Robert Kovac, right, celebrate.
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EURO 2004 PLAYOFFS
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Netherlands win 6-1 on aggregate
Spain win 5-1 on aggregate
Croatia win 2-1 on aggregate
Latvia win 3-2 on aggregate
Russia win 1-0 on aggregate
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| EURO 2004 QUALIFIERS |
Portugal (hosts), France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Greece, England, Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Spain, Latvia, Netherlands, Russia.
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LJUBLJANA, Croatia -- Ten man Croatia booked their place in next year's European Championship finals with a 1-0 away win over Slovenia in the second leg of their playoff.
Monaco striker Dado Prso scored the decisive goal for Croatia on 61 minutes with a shot from 10 meters out after Tomislav Sokota had set him up with a pass from the right.
Just two minutes earlier Igor Tudor was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for a foul on Amir Karic.
Croatia went through 2-1 on aggregate after the first leg in Zagreb on Saturday ended in a 1-1 draw.
The visitors had enjoyed the better start and midfielder Robert Kovac hit the post after just six minutes with a strike from just outside the box.
Slovenia had settled into the match by midway through the first half but it was Croatia who again went close to scoring just before the break when Giovanni Rosso struck a rebound from a corner that cleared the bar.
"We dominated the whole 90 minutes of this second match although perhaps in the last few minutes it was a bit harder because we were reduced to ten men," said Croatia coach Otto Baric.
"We have 25 excellent players who can do very well in Portugal. We can play better and we will play better," Baric added.
Slovenia coach Bojan Prasnikar was disappointed his team had failed to threaten Croatia's goal but he remained upbeat.
"We have been through a change of generations but have managed to achieve something. The result shouldn't be characterized as that bad," said Prasnikar.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
