by Guy Lerner
July 11, 1998
Holland 1 Croatia 2
If you suspected that Holland was completely demoralised after losing to Brazil
on penalties, you were right. You wouldn't have been able to tell from the sparkling
performance it gave against Croatia in the fight for third place, but look closer and you
would have seen that fighting spirit was all but gone. Not that Croatia wasn't worth the
win. On the contrary, the Croatians surprised many by getting so far in the tournament,
and were unlucky to succumb to the French in the semis. Much of the credit must go to the
most underrated striker of the tournament, Davor Suker. After a poor start, he showed that
his club form meant nothing on the world stage, and set about beating the likes of Ronaldo
and Batistuta to the Golden Boot for the highest number of goals scored in France 98.
Going into the match, he was level with Argentina's Batistuta and Italy's Vieri on five
goals, but his 35th minutes strike - perhaps his finest of the six - won top prize. The
goal came after Holland's Zenden equalised Prosinecki's opener with a vicious, swerving
shot that beat the otherwise impeccable Ladic. The delight on Suker's face was
unmistakable as he looked skywards repeatedly and kissed the ground in joy.
To win the coveted prize in his debut appearance in the finals, and for Croatia to go as far as it has - beating some of the world's best along the way (including Holland, arguably the best all-round team in the tournament) - is no mean feat. Doing so with an attractive style of play, against all the odds of such a small nation behind it, is something special. For its part, Holland was clearly disillusioned with its efforts, having dominated Croatia for most of the match with no reward. It seems to be the story of its tournament, being the best but losing when it mattered most nonetheless. They rushed most of the may chances they had in the match, and even though Croatia was chasing shadows from the moment it went ahead, it did so from a winning position. The result will mean little to the majority who looked to Sunday's finale as the pinnacle, but for Croatia, it's bronze was worth more than its weight in gold. If there was ever a story of tragedy and romance all in one, perhaps this game summed it up as best as football can.
Copyright © 1998 by Guy Lerner
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