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Croatia appoint Bilic as new coach
 Bilic helped Croatia to finish third at the 1998 World Cup finals. ZAGREB, Croatia -- Former Croatian international Slaven Bilic was selected as the team's new coach on Tuesday, replacing Zlatko Kranjcar after a poor performance at the World Cup. The 37-year-old former defender, who was part of Croatia's team that finished third at the 1998 World Cup, had received widespread support since the search for a new coach began earlier this month. The terms of Bilic's deal were not immediately disclosed. Bilic played with Hajduk Split, German club Karlsruhe SC, and England's West Ham and Everton. He retired from playing in 2001 and started coaching the Croatian youth team. He will have another former Croatian international, Aljosa Asanovic, as his assistant. Bilic said his first task was to prepare for the 2008 European Championship qualifiers against England and Russia. "We face a tough, bumpy road in qualifying, but we're not afraid," Bilic said. His first fixture as coach will be a friendly against world champions Italy in Taranto on Aug. 16. Croatia were knocked out of the World Cup in Germany in the first round.They scored only two goals in three games, losing to Brazil and drawing with Japan and Australia. Federation officials had earlier conceded they could not afford a foreign coach, instead hoping that a member of the "golden generation" of Croatian soccer could help the team find form. 
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