Blanco calls time on Croatia's waning veterans

Croatia 0 Mexico 1

No man can defy the ageing process but to watch a once outstanding football team growing old together can be a dispiriting process. The heady days of 1998, when Croatia took third place at the World Cup finals, looked long gone as their collection of thirtysomethings staggered to defeat in the opening game of Group G yesterday.

After an uneventful first hour, it seemed that the Big Swan Stadium, where Cameroon and Ireland had offered rich entertainment two days earlier, would see the tournament's first goalless draw. Instead a red card was produced for the first time, for a careless lunge by Croatia's defender Boris Zivkovic, and the subsequent penalty brought Mexico a deserved victory and genuine hope of qualifying along with Italy.

For Croatia, already on the wane when eliminated from Euro 2000 by the Irish, a meeting with the Italians on Saturday must look daunting unless the coach, Mirko Jozic, either galvanises his veterans, or takes the brave step of leaving them out. Davor Suker, 34, and Alen Boksic, 32, yesterday's strikers – in every sense, on this showing – hardly had a kick and were withdrawn soon after Mexico scored on the hour. Portsmouth's Robert Prosinecki, 33, did not even last beyond half-time.

Robert Jarni, another 33 year-old, summed up the attitude, or lassitude, when he ambled over to take a corner with four minutes left and defeat looming.

The Mexicans, who had needed a change of coach when their qualifying campaign was faltering against such modest opposition as Honduras and the United States, eventually showed the craft and invention that Croatia lacked, summed up in their goal. In an extended first-time passing movement, Jared Borgetti played a delicious backheeled flick to his striking partner, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who was tripped by Zivkovic, caught out of position and sliding in from the side. The penalty, confidently tucked away by Blanco, and the red card were both perfectly correct decisions by the Chinese referee Jun Lu.

From that point, Mexico were in control. Judging by the conditions at the finals they hosted in 1970 and 1986, they possibly found temperatures of 25c a little on the cool side, whereas Croatia were kept huffing and puffing as their opponents astutely used the whole width of a large pitch against 10 men.

Jozic vainly changed both strikers, taking the bizarre step of sending on Chelsea's wide midfielder Mario Stanic to play at centre-forward. He had predictably little joy until the final minute, when a flicked back-header led to a shooting chance for Josip Simunic and a good save by the capable Mexican goalkeeper, Oscar Perez.

For once the Mexican wave was an appropriate form of expression by vividly exuberant supporters, who will now feel that their team are more than capable of defeating Ecuador at the weekend and reaching the second round, as they did four years ago.

As for the Croats, Jozic insisted: "The first battle is over, but the war is not lost." Although battle-hardened troops are all very well in this situation, it may be necessary to prevent a few old soldiers sadly fading away.

MATCH DETAILS

Goal: Blanco 61 (pen 1-0).

CROATIA (4-4-2): Pletikosa (Hajduk Split); Zivkovic (Bayer Leverkusen), Simunic (Hertha Berlin), R Kovac (Bayern Munich), Jarni (Panathinaikos); N Kovac (Bayern Munich), Soldo (VfB Stuttgart), Prosinecki (Portsmouth), Tomas (Vicenza); Boksic (Middelsbrough), Suker (1860 Munich). Substitutes: Rapaic (Fenerhahce) for Prosiniecki, h-t; Saric (Panathinaikos) for Suker, 64; Stanic (Chelsea) for Boksic, 66.

MEXICO (3-5-2): Perez (Cruz Azul); Vidrio (Pachuca), Marquez (Monaco), Carmona (Toluca); Mercado (Atlas), Caballero (Pachuca), Torrado (Seville), Luna (Necaxa), Morales (Guadalajara); Blanco (Valladolid), Borgetti (Santos Laguna). Substitutes: Hernandez (America) for Borgetti, 67; Palencia (Espanol) for Blanco, 77.

Referee: J Lu (China).

Sent off: Croatia: Zivkovic.

Attendance: 32,239.