Football euphoria in Croatia was brutally cut down in its tracks on Friday night after Slaven Bilic's side lost a
dramatic quarter final match against Turkey in Vienna.
"This is a dream cut short and it will leave a deep mark on the
players and fans," said one Croatian commentator after his team lost 3-1
on penalties.
"We've been robbed of something that belonged to us, " said another.
"The Turks were kissed by lady luck".
The game was scoreless after 90 minutes, but ended dramatically 1-1 after extra
time.
"We had one foot in the semi-finals when (Ivan) Klasnic scored in the
119th minute, but then the Turks scored a goal," daily Vecernji list wrote
on its web site.
In the shoot-out Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic shot wide, while Rustu Recber
saved Mladen Petric's penalty.
"Turkey survived Vienna thriller," wrote Jutarnji list on its web
site. "This is a huge blow."
"This is a great pity. This was a chance for this generation to enter the
history books, but we failed during penalties," web portal Javno.hr wrote
after the game. "Everything good on this tournament is gone with the
wind."
Turkey will now play Germany in the semi-final on Wednesday in
Basle, dpa reported.