As the Swiss defence tried unsuccessfully to enforce an offside trap at a free-kick, Josip Simunic was allowed to head goalwards from eight yards and when Ivica Olic moved on to Stiel's parry from three yards out he only managed to head against the bar.
Against this background it was difficult to see how Croatia could fail to score in the second half and that feeling grew when Vogel was dismissed.
Suitably encouraged, Croatia continued to press but, when Niko Kovac volleyed an inviting Ivica Mornar cross wide and then slashed another effort over, it was obvious that the quality of finishing was not likely to improve.
