Ebi Smolarek provided the only goal as Poland beat Croatia 1-0 in a World Cup warm-up match today.
Smolarek struck the decider after 54 minutes at the VW-Arena in Wolfsburg as the Poles picked up a morale-boosting win just six days before they play their first World Cup match with Ecuador in Gelsenkirchen.
Croatia coach Zlatko Kranjcar gave some playing time to all four players - Ivica Olic, Bosko Balaban, Jerko Leko and Dario Simic - who had been hit by a gastroenteritis bug 24 hours earlier.
Smolarek scored the goal in the second half when he headed home a corner.
The best chance for Croatia came when Darijo Srna rattled the Polish crossbar with a free-kick.
It was a good reaction by the Poles to their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Colombia in their previous friendly.
Croatia will open their World Cup against champions Brazil in Berlin on 13 June.
