TNT Sports
Dogged France beat Croats
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Published 30/01/2007 at 21:54 GMT
France produced a highly disciplined performance to grind out a 21-18 victory against Croatia to reach the World Championship semi-finals. Les Bleus stifled the previously unbeaten Balkan side's attack while at the other end Luc Abalo weighed in with eigh
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Having strolled through six pool matches without defeat, Croatia managed a shooting return of just 37 percent, with no player topping the five-goal mark.
The French, meanwhile, relied on their core players, with five men playing every second of the 60-minute contest.
Abalo was among the ever-presents, hitting the Croatian net eight times from 13 shots.
Despite losing twice in the group stages and finishing fourth in their pool, the French were always more than dark horses.
They controlled the pace of the game, frustrating their opponents and opening up a 10-9 half-time lead.
The second period provided more of the same, with the underdogs beating fatigue to set up a semi-final encounter against hosts Germany, who have already beaten them once in this tournament.
In the final quarter-final, Denmark prevailed in a high-scoring extra time thriller, defeating Scandinavian rivals Iceland 42-41.
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