Croatia

A country that didn't even exist seven years ago has made a sweet, stunning climb to the heights of the World Cup. Set ablaze by patriotism and German put-downs, Croatia claimed a triumph for soccer's small powers and for its fledgling nation's pride. "When I heard [German coach] Berti Vogts called us a small country, this raised our morale by 200 percent," exulted star striker Davor Suker. "We were fired up to send the Germans packing. This shows that small can beat big. " Croatia is the first team since Portugal in 1966 to reach the semifinals in its World Cup debut.

Argentina and Yugoslavia opened their World Cup campaigns with hard-fought, 1-0 victories over Japan and Iran, respectively, while Croatia went to the top of Group H after a 3-1 win against Jamaica. Croatia opened the scoring yesterday with a goal by Mario Stanic in the 27th minute. Jamaica, making its first World Cup appearance, tied the game just before halftime when Robbie Earle headed home Ricardo Gardener's cross. Croatia put the game out of reach with two second-half goals in 16 minutes.

Toni Kukoc, the best basketball player Croatia has ever produced, won't play for his country again after these Olympics, his coach said yesterday. "We lost a lot of time with Toni because he was injured and he was with the Chicago Bulls during our preparation time," coach Petar Skansi said. "This is definitely the last time he will be on the team. " Playing with a broken thumb on his shooting hand, Kukoc scored 33 points Saturday in a triple-overtime loss to Lithuania, and had 12 assists yesterday in a win over China.

BRUSSELS - Croatia will become a European Union member in two years, officials said Friday, making it the first new country to join the bloc since 2007 and offering hope to other nations from the former Yugoslavia seeking to join. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the decision historic. "I hope everything will be ready to welcome Croatia as the 28th member of the EU the first of July 2013," Barroso said at the end of a two-day summit of EU heads of government.

My boyfriend, Thomas, and I were vacillating on whether to stay an extra day at Jele's sobe, or guesthouse, in Dubrovnik, but it turned out to be the most magical day of our two weeks floating along the Dalmatian coast. I struck up a conversation with a young girl, a native of Croatia, who raved about her day-long adventure over the rocky coastline and valleys of Croatia's wine region, the Peljesac peninsula. Croatia has a thriving wine region, and you can drive there for the day - who knew?

Ivan Ljubicic beat Andy Roddick in a five-set marathon yesterday to give Croatia an insurmountable 3-1 lead over the United States in the opening-round Davis Cup matches in Carson, Calif. Ljubicic won, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11), 6-7 (7), 6-2, in a match that lasted almost four hours. The 25-year-old Ljubicic began the round with a straight-set win over Andre Agassi, then teamed with Mario Ancic to hand Bob Bryan and his twin brother, Mike, their first Davis Cup loss in six matches.

The United States was eliminated by Croatia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals when Marin Cilic beat James Blake to clinch the victory in Porec, Croatia, yesterday. Cilic won, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, on indoor clay to give Croatia its first semifinal berth since winning the competition in 2005. Croatia won, 3-2, after American doubles specialist Bob Bryan beat Roko Karanusic, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in the final match. "I think I played a perfect match against Blake," the 20-year-old Cilic said.

Croatia eliminated the United States in the first round of the Davis Cup yesterday in Zagreb when James Blake was beaten in four sets in the opening singles match. The United States, which lost the best-of-five series by 4-1, has won more Davis Cups than any other nation, but has been ousted in the first round in two of the last three years. Neither Croatia nor the former Yugoslavia has ever reached the Davis Cup final. Croatia will play in Spain in the quarterfinals. Blake was beaten, 6-3, 6-7 (5)

Teenage tennis star Mirjana Lucic has fled her native Croatia after accusing her father of being abusive. "Beatings . . . there have been more of them than anyone can imagine," the 16-year-old Lucic told a Zagreb newspaper, Slobodna Dalmacija. "Sometimes it was because of the lost game, in other cases for the lost set or badly played trainings. I don't want to even say what happened after the matches I lost. " Marinko Lucic, who also was his daughter's coach and adviser, denied the accusations that he mistreated her because of tennis.

In a blow to one of Europe's most respected basketball teams, Croatia was ousted by Germany in the European Championships yesterday and will miss next year's Sydney Olympics. Germany, behind 32 points from Drazan Tomic, won, 102-85, in Le Mans, France, to advance to the quarterfinals. Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks added 21 points for the Germans. Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc led Croatia with 14 points, eight assists and three steals. But Kukoc made only 5 of 13 field-goal attempts in what was likely his final game for the national team.

"Shame on you Hospital and whole America!" "You can not be so arrogant as Croatia can be generous!" "How can you be so cruel????!!???????" "America has always been laughing matter in entire world with their 'pay for health' policy . . . " "Go f--- yourself!" The Facebook page for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was overflowing this morning with nasty comments related to the case of a little Croatian girl with cancer. Nora Situm, 5, has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to reports, and, to try to save her life, a campaign in the economically distressed Balkan country collected contributions from thousands of people, raising $600,000 to pay for experimental treatments.

GOLI OTOK, Croatia - It rises up from the pristine waters off Croatia's coast, a forbidding mound of rock known as the Adriatic Alcatraz. The amount that former political prisoners are being offered for each day they spent on this hell: $9. The paltry compensation Serbia's government is granting people imprisoned by late Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito in one of Europe's most notorious post-World War II labor camps has triggered outrage among...

Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen sparked a 21-0 run to help the U.S. women's basketball team beat Great Britain, 88-63, on Wednesday night in an exhibition game in Manchester England. Moore scored 18 points and Whalen added 13. Jo Leedham scored 21 points to lead Great Britain while Stef Collins added 14. The Americans trailed by 11 points in the first seven minutes before the second unit took over. "The good thing about them is they are all young and bring tremendous energy to the court," coach Geno Auriemma said.

Spain and Italy confirmed their heavyweight reputations at the European Championship on Monday, advancing to the quarterfinals after winning their final group matches. Defending champion Spain sealed top spot in Group C by beating Croatia, 1-0, in Gdansk, Poland, on a late goal by substitute Jesus Navas. Navas, who replaced Fernando Torres, struck in the 88th, tapping into an empty net. In Poznan, Poland, Mario Balotelli came off the bench to score Italy's second goal in a 2-0 victory against Ireland, lifting the Azzurri above Croatia in the standings.

NICKLAS BENDTNER paid a heavy price for his underpants on Monday. The Denmark forward was banned for one 2014 World Cup qualifying match for revealing an unofficial sponsor's name on his underwear while celebrating a goal at the European Championship in Warsaw, Poland. UEFA said its disciplinary panel found Bendtner guilty of "improper conduct," and fined him $126,000. The punishment rules him out of the Danes' opening World Cup qualifier, at home to the Czech Republic on Sept.

Fernando Torres scored a goal in each half, and David Silva and substitute Cesc Fabregas added the others as Spain beat Ireland, 4-0, in Gdansk, Poland, and eliminated the Irish from the European Championship with their most lopsided loss in 41 years. The Spaniards' dazzling ball control, dizzying passing game, and deluge of shots were way too much for the Irish. Spain, which leads Group C along with Croatia with four points, dominated the tempo and scoring opportunities through its quick combinations and precise passing.

PODGORICA, Montenegro - An avalanche hit a village in Kosovo's mountainous south Saturday, killing a married couple and their 17-year-old son and leaving nine others missing, police said, as heavy snow continued to blanket the Balkans. The village of Restelica, where the deaths occurred, and its region bordering Macedonia and Albania have been blocked by snow for several days, Kosovo police spokesman Baki Kelani said. NATO peacekeepers have been called in to help local authorities in the rescue operation.

ZAGREB, Croatia - Croatians voted Sunday in favor of joining the European Union despite a poor turnout for the referendum, a sign of how much the debt-stricken 27-nation bloc has lost its appeal within countries aspiring to join. Croatia's state referendum commission said that with nearly 100 percent of the ballot counted, about 66 percent of those who took part in the referendum voted in favor. About 31 percent were against, while the rest of the ballots were invalid. An estimated 47 percent of eligible voters took part, illustrating voters' apathy toward the EU. "The people are obviously tired," Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said.

It's only the preseason, but the NHL has handed out two suspensions after the Blue Jackets-Wild game. Minnesota winger Brad Staubitz and Columbus defenseman James Wisniewski were suspended indefinitely Saturday for chippy play during the Wild's 4-3, overtime win. Staubitz was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct Friday after checking Cody Bass from behind at 4 minutes, 24 seconds of the third period. Wisniewski received a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head of Cal Clutterbuck in the third.

NEW YORK - Top-ranked Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 1 at the U.S. Open for the first time, followed by defending champion Rafael Nadal and five-time winner Roger Federer. The tournament followed the ATP rankings for the men's singles seedings Wednesday. It did the same for the women's seedings, with Serena Williams 28th. Djokovic is having one of the best seasons in tennis history: 57-2 with nine titles, including at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. He is seeking his first championship at Flushing Meadows, where he was runner-up to Nadal in 2010 and to Federer in 2007.