adminRIO DE JANEIRO. — Croatia gave themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup soccer knock-out phase when they thrashed toothless Cameroon 4-0 in a Group A match at Arena Amazonia on Wednesday, helped by a needless first-half red card for Alex Song as defeat condemned the Africans to an early exit.
Evergreen striker Ivica Olic put Croatia ahead after 11 minutes and Cameroon, who cannot now qualify from Group A after losing their first two games, were reduced to 10 men five minutes before halftime when Alex Song was shown a straight red for striking Mario Mandzukic.
Ivan Perisic seized on a poor clearance by Cameroon keeper Charles Itandje to race forward and drive in the second shortly after the break.
An unmarked Mario Mandzukic, back after suspension ruled him out of the tournament opener, headed the third on his World Cup debut just after an hour and tapped in his second as Croatia strolled to a comfortable victory.
The result left the Croatians third in the group on three points from two games, one behind Brazil and Mexico ahead of Monday’s decisive clash with the Mexicans in Recife.
“We weren’t at our best in the opening five or 10 minutes but improved later,” said Croatia coach Niko Kovac. – Soccernet.
Online Reporter