Croatia stunned pre-tournament favourites Germany 2:1 on June 12, while Austria only managed a 1:1 draw against Poland, in the second round of group B matches at the European football championship finals.
Having barely escaped with victory in their first match against Austria, Croatia stepped up their game against Germany, the first time the two teams met since the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal, when Croatia won convincingly 3:0.
Ten years later, Croatia picked up where they left off, dominating early exchanges and opening the scoring in the 24th minute through Darijo Srna, who took advantage of Germany's defensive uncertainty to score from the edge of the six-yard box.
A period of frantic German attacks followed, with Croatia occasionally threatening to extend their lead but the score remained unchanged at half-time. Germany continued to dominate possession after the re-start, but was unable to convert any of its chances, its players growing increasingly frustrated.
Against the run of play, Croatia scored a second goal in the 63rd minute, Ivica Olic making no mistake on the rebound of Ivan Rakitic's shot, which German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann diverted onto the goalpost.
Germany pulled one goal back through Lukas Podolski ten minutes later, his third in the tournament, but looked to have run out of steam at the end of the game and almost conceded a third goal from Luka Modric.
In the late game, Austria once again dominated proceedings against their opponents, much like they did in their opening game against Croatia, but terrible finishing and a referee mistake let them down again.
Helped by a dreadful Polish defence, Austria looked more dangerous from the start, but found itself down at the half-hour mark, when English referee Howard Webb failed to spot offside and allowed the goal scored by Brazilian-born Roger Guerreiro to stand.
The Poles worked their way gradually into the game and just as it looked like they would take all three points, Webb awarded a penalty two minutes into added time, which Ivica Vastic duly converted to become the oldest ever goalscorer in European championship finals, aged 38. The point won by Austria is the first won by either of the two co-host countries, the other being Switzerland, at the tournament.
In the last round of games, Croatia, who have secured top spot in the group by beating Germany, will meet Poland on June 16. Austria will meet Germany on the same day, with both matches played at the same time.
