National cup

National stadium
Spectators: 5149 (Terracing: 3862, Seating: 1184, VIP seats: 103) Croatia's Nikola Vlašić started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. A throw-in in the 7th minute of the game was made by Antonio Perišić with Miran Tudor as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. An unexpectedly hard shot by Grzegorz Gdaniec in the 10th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Emil Cvitanović to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 15th minute Grzegorz Gdaniec shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Emil Cvitanović saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Radomil Michnik hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. In the 17th minute of the match John Terry shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Daniel Kieca showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. 18 minutes into the match, Croatia's goalkeeper Emil Cvitanović had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Gilbert Cipinski. The crowd rose to their feet as Poland's Gilbert Cipinski slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Emil Cvitanović. That made the score 1-0 after 18 minutes of play. Emil Cvitanović took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Grzegorz Gdaniec, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 24th match minute, Poland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Radomil Michnik to maneuver through the defense. After 34 minutes Croatia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Fernando Morientes who took care of the corner kick. Daniel Kieca made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nikola Vlašić in the 37th minute of play. The supporters of Poland booed when Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 43 match minutes in a wonderful position. Antonio Perišić didn't get a good kick on the ball. Emil Cvitanović showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Fernando Morientes, who was totally free with the ball in the 47th minute.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Grzegorz Gdaniec stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Emil Cvitanović took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tadeusz Raschke, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 54th minute the ball was on its way in behind Poland's goalkeeper Daniel Kieca, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. An unexpectedly hard shot by Grzegorz Gdaniec in the 58th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Emil Cvitanović to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 60th minute, Joško Poklepović managed to get in a good position for a shot. Croatia's supporters rose to their feet, but Joško Poklepović was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Daniel Kieca breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Poland made a substitution. Korneliusz Trochowski replaced Jan Plaski. Poland's Konstanty Janiczek was substituted for Grzegorz Gdaniec. Croatia's Emil Cvitanović played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Konstanty Janiczek in the 68th minute of play. The audience was convinced that Konstanty Janiczek's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Emil Cvitanović was relentless in the 73rd minute of the game. Emil Cvitanović made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Konstanty Janiczek in the 75th minute of play. Emil Cvitanović showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Konstanty Janiczek, who was totally free with the ball in the 77th minute. 78 minutes into the match, Konstanty Janiczek had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Emil Cvitanović. Croatia's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Konstanty Janiczek was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. Croatia's Antonio Perišić quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Leon Piekarczyk, made in the 81st minute of the game. Emil Cvitanović made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Konstanty Janiczek in the 90th minute of play. Emil Cvitanović showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Konstanty Janiczek, who was totally free with the ball in the 93rd minute. Poland's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.