February 15, 2021 - The 21st round of the Croatian First League was held from February 12 to 14, 2021. This round features the battle for first place, in which Dinamo tops Osijek, while COVID-19 rips through Hajduk, forcing the postponement of Hajduk v Slaven Belupo at Poljud.
Varazdin v. Lokomotiva (0:1)
Varazdin and Lokomotiva opened the 21st round on Friday, February 12, 2021, in Varazdin.
The only goal of the match came thanks to a penalty in the 29th minute, which Pivaric scored for 0:1. Lokomotiva's Leksic was sent off in the 2nd minute of added time at the end of the match.
Varazdin is currently in 8th place with 19 points, while Lokomotiva is in 9th with 18 points.
Gorica v. Sibenik (1:0)
Gorica and Sibenik met in Velika Gorica on Saturday, February 13, 2021.
While the first half went without goals, Babec scored for Gorica to make it 1:0 in the 71st minute, which was the final score of the match.
Gorica is currently in 3rd place with 39 points, while Sibenik is in 6th with 24.
Dinamo v. Osijek (1:0)
Dinamo and Osijek met for the highly anticipated derby on Saturday, February 13, 2021, at Maksimir Stadium.
Yet another low-scoring match, the only goal came in the 15th minute thanks to Orsic, which give Dinamo the 1:0 victory. Ristovski received a red card in the 77th minute, forcing Dinamo to play with a man down for the remainder of the match.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 48 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 45.
Rijeka v. Istra 1961 (1:1)
Rijeka and Istra closed out the 21st round at Rujevica Stadium on Sunday, February 14, 2021.
Grzan gave Istra the early lead in the 6th minute, but only two minutes later, Rijeka's Muric came back to equalize for 1:1, which was the final score of the match.
Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 31 points, while Istra is in last place with 14 points.
Hajduk was ravaged by COVID-19, which forced the postponement of their match against Slaven Belupo at Poljud on Sunday. The biggest derby against Dinamo on February 21 is under question as well.
The Split club announced that it would ask for the match to be postponed because as many as 20 of the 33 members who traveled to Osijek and Rijeka have been infected. Namely, 12 players and eight staff members are COVID-19 positive.
Split epidemiologists will send samples to Zagreb on Monday to find out if it is a new strain of coronavirus, or the UK variant.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
February 10, 2021 - For the second time in four years, Damir Mišković has allegedly managed to overthrow the Croatian Football Referees' Committee.
The Referees' Committee of the Croatian Football Federation is being abolished, and a new one will be formed, which is the epilogue of yesterday's HNS meeting, according to numerous Croatian media, including Sportske Novosti, Index.hr and HRT.
The Referees' Committee, consisting of Ante Kulušić (president), Domagoj Vučkov (member and head of VAR education), Draženko Kovačić, Ante Vučemilović-Šimunović Jr., Vlado Svilokos and Igor Pristovnik thus ceases to exist, and a new Committee will be formed later.
Namely, five regional centers, Split, Rijeka, Varazdin, Zagreb, and Osijek will nominate candidates for the new Committee, and the Executive Board will appoint the new Committee probably in March. That is the plan at the moment.
The meeting was convened by the executive director of the HNS, Marijan Kustić, and the decision to dissolve the Committee was accepted by all present, except Ante Vučemilović-Šimunović, the first vice president of HNS, who demonstratively left the meeting, Sportske Novosti writes. The executive board members must also state officially by 3 pm today whether they are in favor of dissolving the Committee, but it seems that this is just a formality.
"There's not much to say that you don't already know. The executive board has to confirm the decision by 3 pm, but there won't be any problems from that side. It's just proof that a lot is changing in the Federation and that we really want to have healthy football. This is just the beginning of the necessary changes," a source from HNS told Index.
Ivan Novak will continue to delegate referees for First League matches, and from now on he will also appoint VAR referees, which was done by Ante Kulušić as the head of the Committee. It will be up to Kulušić to send controllers to the matches until further notice.
Thus, for the second time in four years, the President of Rijeka, Damir Mišković, managed to overthrow the Referees' Committee. After the Rijeka-Šibenik match at Rujevica, which ended in a 2:2 draw thanks to a VAR debacle in the final minutes, Mišković called out the refereeing organization, attacking the VAR referee Goran Gabril from Split. The president of Rijeka announced changes, and it seems that he succeeded.
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February 9, 2021 - The 20th round of the Croatian First League was held from February 6 to 8, 2021. Osijek tops Hajduk in this round, and Dinamo narrowly defeats Istra to remain in first place thanks to a better goal differential.
Osijek v. Hajduk (2:0)
Osijek and Hajduk opened the 20th round at City Garden Stadium on Saturday, February 6, 2021.
While the first half went without goals, a Hajduk red card for Mujakic in the 51st minute significantly changed the game, and Osijek's Kleinheisler scored for 1:0 in the 59th minute. Mierez increased Osijek's lead in the 89th minute for 2:0, which was the final score of the match.
Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 45 points, while Hajduk is in 5th with 23.
Lokomotiva v. Rijeka (2:3)
Lokomotiva and Rijeka met in Zagreb on Saturday, February 6, 2021.
Lokomotiva was the first to score with a goal by Kallaku in the 11th minute. Pivaric increased Lokomotiva's lead to 2:0 from a penalty in the 56th minute. A red card for Cipetic began Lokomotiva's decline, and a penalty from Muric made it 2:1 in the 71st. Another penalty for Muric gave Rijeka the equalizer in the first minute of added time (90+1'), and Kulenovic scored two minutes later for the Rijeka win.
Lokomotiva is currently in 9th place with 15 points, while Rijeka is in 4th with 30.
Sibenik v. Varazdin (0:0)
Sibenik and Varazdin met on Sunday, February 7, 2021, in Sibenik.
The match ended without goals.
Sibenik is currently in 6th place with 21 points, while Varazdin is in 8th with 19.
Istra 1961 v. Dinamo (0:1)
Istra and Dinamo met on Sunday, February 7, 2021, in Pula.
The only goal of the match came in the 36th minute when Atiemwen scored for 0:1, which was the final result.
Istra is currently in last place with 13 points, while Dinamo is in first place with 45.
Slaven Belupo v. Gorica (0:1)
Slaven Belupo and Gorica closed out the 20th round on Monday, February 9, 2021, in Koprivnica.
The only goal of the match came in the 59th minute when Lovric scored for the 0:1 win.
Belupo is currently in 7th place with 20 points, while Gorica is in 3rd with 36.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
January 25, 2021 - The 17th round of the Croatian First League was held from January 22 to 24, 2021. This round saw wins for Osijek, Dinamo, and Hajduk, while Rijeka suffered a surprising loss to Varazdin.
Lokomotiva v. Osijek (0:3)
Lokomotiva and Osijek opened the 17th round on Friday, January 22, 2021, in Zagreb.
Osijek’s Mierez scored two goals in the first half - the first in the 18th minute, followed by a penalty in the 35th minute for 0:2 at the half.
A red card for Papadopoulos saw Lokomotiva play with 10 men from the 48th minute, and Bohar scored for Osijek 10 minutes later for the final score of 0:3.
Lokomotiva is currently in the last place with 12 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 36.
Sibenik v Hajduk (0:1)
Sibenik and Hajduk met on Friday, January 22, 2021, in Sibenik.
While the first half went without goals, Teklic scored for Hajduk in the 62nd minute. Caktas missed a penalty to increase Hajduk’s lead in the final minutes (90+3’), and the match ended 0:1.
Sibenik is currently in 8th place with 13 points, while Hajduk is in 5th place with 20.
Varazdin v. Rijeka (2:1)
Varazdin and Rijeka met on Saturday, January 23, 2021, in Varazdin.
Urata scored an early goal for Varazdin for 1:0 in the 3rd minute. Obregon increased Varazdin’s lead to 2:0 at the half. Kulenovic slightly reduced Varazdin’s lead with a goal for Rijeka in the 80th minute. The game ended at 2:1.
Varazdin is in 7th place with 15 points, while Rijeka is in 4th with 23.
Gorica v. Dinamo (3:4)
Gorica and Dinamo met on Saturday, January 23, 2021, in Velika Gorica.
Dieye scored Gorica’s first goal for 1:0 in the 11th minute, while Ivanusec equalized in the 34th for 1:1. Orsic scored for the Dinamo lead seven minutes later for 1:2, and just two minutes after that, Gorica’s Lovric equalized for 2:2 at the half.
Spikic made it 3:2 for Gorica in the 61st minute, and a Petkovic penalty saw Dinamo equalize again in the 89th minute. Theophile-Catherine scored in the 5th minute of added time for the 3:4 Dinamo win.
Gorica is currently in 3rd place with 30 points, while Dinamo is in first with 36.
Istra 1961 v. Slaven Belupo (2:1)
Istria and Belupo closed out the 17th round in Pula on Sunday, January 24, 2021.
Glavcic put Belupo in the lead in the 10th minute, which was the result going into halftime. Spoljaric equalized thanks to a penalty in the 81st minute for 1:1, before scoring again in the first minute of added time for the 2:1 Istra win.
Istra is currently in 9th place with 13 points, while Belupo is in 6th place with 17.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
January 15, 2021 - The U-21 Croatia football team will play their group stage matches of the European Under-21 Championship in Koper.
HNS reports that the European Football Federation (UEFA) has announced the final schedule of the European Under-21 Championship, which will also feature the young Croatia national team.
The U-21 Euros will be played in two parts. The first part, the group competition, is scheduled from March 24 to 31, and the knockout phase will be played from May 31 to June 6.
The young Croatia side will play all matches in Group D in Koper. In the first match on March 25 at 9 pm, they will face Portugal, followed by matches against Switzerland on March 28 (6 pm) and England on March 31 (6 pm).
The two first-placed teams from the group will advance to the knockout phase of the competition. The quarterfinal matches will be played on May 31 in Budapest, Szekesfehervar, Maribor, and Ljubljana, the semifinal on June 3 in Szekesfehervar and Maribor, and the final on June 6 in Ljubljana.
Euro, U-21, Group D match schedule:
March 25:
Koper: CROATIA - PORTUGAL
Koper: ENGLAND - SWITZERLAND
March 28:
Koper: CROATIA - SWITZERLAND
Ljubljana: PORTUGAL - ENGLAND
March 31:
Koper: CROATIA - ENGLAND
Ljubljana: SWITZERLAND - PORTUGAL
Recall, after a turbulent but successful journey through the qualifications, the Croatia U-21 side secured a spot at the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
After a huge victory against Lithuania in Pula (7:0) and Greece’s victory against Scotland (1:0) back in November, the young Vatreni won second place in the qualifying Group 4 for the European Championship, and the results in other groups allowed them to place among the five the best runners-up.
Before the final round, Croatia was in a difficult, almost hopeless situation. After they played 2:2 in Scotland and the Czech Republic defeated Greece, it was clear that Croatia lost their chances for first place.
The only hope for qualifying for the Euros was to get through among the top five runners-up. However, coach Igor Bišćan's side did not depend only on themselves, but on other matches' outcome.
In the end, it all came together.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
December 23, 2020 - As 2020 comes to a close, Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic interviews with FIFA about a hopefully bright year ahead.
Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic interviewed for the official website of the International Football Federation, FIFA, in which he commented on the turbulent world of football in 2020 and announced the challenging 2021 for the 'Vatreni,' which is just around the corner.
FIFA introduced Dalic by remembering Croatia's fairy tale at the 2018 World Cup, where they lost in the final to France.
A lot has changed since then.
With Mario Mandzukic, Danijel Subasic, and Vedran Corluka retiring shortly after the World Cup silver, Dalic was forced to bring in promising young stars to the squad, hoping they could fill their shoes.
With talented youngsters, Dalic's Croatia qualified for the Euros, but that is nothing compared to the grueling 2021 ahead, with World Cup qualifiers beginning in March and the European Championship next summer.
Dalic was first asked about Croatia's World Cup qualifying group, including Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta.
"There are no easy groups because qualifying for the World Cup is a dream for every nation. We have a tough group, but we accept our position as a favourite in the group - we're the best-seeded team, and we are current World Cup silver medallists. We truly respect all opponents in the group," Dalic began.
"Obviously, the schedule will be very tight in March and September with three games in one week. It leaves almost no time for training, and with the long travels, it's very challenging for the players to play three so important games, especially with their club schedule also being quite exhausting. It will be important to plan very well and try to manage our resources the best that we can, to protect the players while going for the best results. However, it's the same for everybody, so we won't use that as an excuse.
The other issue is the fact that we have the EURO in the middle of the qualifiers, which is unusual, and it will also present a problem for all EURO participants. For instance, you are starting the qualifiers with one team, but it's possible that after EURO, some players retire from the national team, so you have to make important changes in the middle of the cycle," he continued for FIFA.
Asked about if he feels even more pressure because Croatia reached the World Cup final in 2018, Dalic replied:
"I think people understand that 2018 was special and that you can't repeat that every two or four years. I think we had more pressure in 2018 when we knew it was probably a last chance for some of our senior players. Now, our pressure is to qualify - we want to be there, among the best.
Once we're there, we know that we have the quality, talent, and self-belief to beat anyone on a given night, but we also understand that Croatia is not in the first row of favourites - that's reserved for the biggest teams, such as France, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, England, Italy, Belgium or Portugal. Of course, as we showed in 1998 and 2018, that doesn't mean Croatia can't make a historic run, but I don't think we have pressure to do that."
Dalic spoke about how much the Croatia squad has changed since that final:
"Players such as Rakitic, Mandzukic, Subasic, and Corluka are no longer with us, and we have talented youngsters coming in and taking on bigger roles. We used the UEFA Nations League in 2018 and 2020 to give a chance to several new players, and we got through the EURO 2020 qualifying cycle quite well.
Luka Modric is still our leader, and with Brozovic and Kovacic alongside him, we still have one of the best midfields in the world. Senior players such as Perisic, Vida, and Lovren give us much-needed experience, and we also have young guns, such as Brekalo and Vlasic, who proved their potential, so we feel pretty good ahead when it comes to our future."
And what can Croatia achieve at the Euros next summer?
"We fulfilled our dreams in Russia - that was unforgettable for everybody involved, and for our fans as well. But it also gives us an extra motivation because we know how special it is to make the whole nation so joyful and proud. With the current pandemic going on, and so many lives lost, we understand that the whole nation will look at us to make them happy once again, and it's our obligation to do our very best to try to replicate that magic from Russia.
As I mentioned before - there are a few teams that are, objectively, ahead of us at the moment. But, we're pretty confident in our quality, and we surely won't admit to anyone they're better than us until they prove that on the pitch. And that's very difficult to do, because not only do we have the quality, but we also play with so much passion and togetherness for Croatia," Dalic said.
You can read the full interview on the FIFA website HERE.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
December 21, 2020 - The 16th round of the Croatian First League was held on December 19 and 20, 2020. Only three games were played in the winter season's final round, putting Dinamo and Osijek on the top of the table.
Osijek v. Sibenik (1:0)
Osijek and Sibenik opened the 16th round on Saturday, December 19, 2020, at City Garden Stadium.
The only goal of the match came in the 17th minute, thanks to a stellar header by Skoric for the 1:0 Osijek win.
Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 33 points and 16 games played, while Sibenik is in 7th with 13 and only 14 games played.
Dinamo v. Varazdin (4:0)
Dinamo and Varazdin met at Maksimir Stadium on Saturday, December 19, 2020.
A goal by Orsic in the 23rd and Petkovic in the 31st put Dinamo up at 2:0 at the half. A penalty awarded for Dinamo in the 79th minute scored by Petkovic made it 3:0, and Hajrovic secured Dinamo's victory in the first minute of added time for the final 4:0 result.
Dinamo is currently in 1st place with 33 points, however, with only 14 games played, while Varazdin is in 9th place with 12 points.
Hajduk v. Gorica (2:4)
Hajduk and Gorica closed out the 16th round on Sunday, December 20, 2020, at Poljud Stadium.
Dieye scored the first goal for Gorica for 0:1 in the 6th minute. Atanasov equalized for Hajduk in the 24th. A penalty was awarded to Gorica in the 53rd, which Lovric scored for 1:2. Diamanatakos scored for 2:2 in the 63rd.
Another penalty was awarded to Gorica in the 76th minute, putting them back in the lead for 2:3. Moro scored a final-minute goal for the 2:4 Gorica victory.
Hajduk is currently in 5th place with 17 points, though with only 14 games played, while Gorica is in 3rd place with 29 points and 14 games played.
Istra 1961 and Lokomotiva already played their last matches this year. They were supposed to meet at Aldo Drosina Stadium in the 16th round, but the match was postponed due to COVID-19 infections in the Istra squad. Istra also had to postpone their two previous games against Sibenik in the Cup and the championship.
HNS also postponed the 16th round match between Slaven Belupo and Rijeka.
The Koprivnica club has four positive COVID-19 cases, and the competent epidemiologist determined a measure of self-isolation for three other players because the contacts of the infected were close. According to the decision of the HNS Competition Commission, any team that has six or more players in self-isolation can request a postponement of the match.
Rijeka will welcome the winter break with 20 points in 4th place, with five games behind, while Slaven Belupo is 6th with 17 points and one game behind.
The match between Slaven and Rijeka was supposed to be played on Sunday, December 20.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.
December 17, 2020 - The Croatian Football Federation has announced the schedule for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in March when Croatia meets Cyprus and Malta.
The Executive Board of the Croatian Football Federation decided on the host of Croatia's qualifying matches against Cyprus and Malta in March 2021.
On March 24, 2021, the Croatia national team will open the European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 away against Slovenia.
The 2018 World Cup finalists then have two matches at home, against Cyprus and Malta, and the HNS Executive Board has decided that the two matches will be played at the HNK Rijeka stadium (Rujevica).
The match against Cyprus will be played on March 27 starting at 18:00, and three days later, the match against Malta is scheduled at 20:45.
Croatia has played 16 games in Rijeka so far and has never lost, with 13 wins and three draws.
Croatia's qualifying cycle for the World Cup in Qatar will continue with three September matches, against Russia (September 1, 20:45) and Slovakia (September 4, 20:45) away, and against Slovenia (September 7, 20:45) at home. Zlatko Dalić's team will play two matches in October next year, against Cyprus (October 8, 20:45) away, and Slovakia (October 11, 20:45) at home.
In the final part of the qualifications in November 2021, Croatia will play in Malta (November 11, 20:45), and in the last qualification round at home, they will meet Russia (November 14, 15:00).
As a reminder, the ten group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, and the ten second-placed teams will try to win the same in the playoffs, which will be played from March 24 to 29, 2022.
In addition to the ten runners-up from the group stage, the playoffs will also include the two best national teams in the overall standings of the UEFA Nations League for the 2020/2021 season, which will not directly qualify for the World Cup, nor will they win the playoffs as the second-placed teams in the group. Twelve teams in the playoffs will be divided into three "pots" and will fight for the three remaining European places at the World Cup in March 2022.
The 2022 World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022, in five Qatari cities (Doha, Lusail, Al Khor, Al Wakrah, Al Rayyan).
Source: HNS
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December 16, 2020 - Hajduk and HNS met on Tuesday in Split to discuss installing a new Poljud pitch, which should begin in May next year.
An operational meeting was held on Tuesday at Poljud between representatives of HNK Hajduk, led by the President of the Management Board Lukša Jakobušić, and the Croatian Football Federation, led by the Executive Director Marijan Kustić. The topic of the meeting, which lasted a little less than an hour, was installing a new lawn on the main pitch of Poljud Stadium.
The following conclusions were reached:
"The common conclusion is that it is not possible to carry out the complete works for laying down a new pitch until January 30. The reason is the upcoming holidays, i.e., the impossibility to acquire and begin the construction process, preparatory works, installation, and putting the lawn into full operation in such a short time. The option to start work in January was considered. Still, the completion would be only at the beginning of March, which would prevent Hajduk from playing at least four championship matches in the month of the Club's 110th birthday, which includes the biggest Croatian derby at its stadium.
- It was agreed that due to logistical, technical, and time constraints, the replacement of the lawn would start in May, which gives enough time to enter the next season with a new pitch.
- HNS and Hajduk will sign an agreement on the installation of a hybrid lawn at the beginning of 2021. The city will give consent to Hajduk to change the pitch.
- An additional reason for setting up the pitch in May is the possibility to donate our current field to one of the second division teams in Dalmatia. According to the previous request, it was agreed in principle that the field would be donated to the Dalmatian second league club Croatia Zmijavci, and this is possible only after the end of our and their season," stated Hajduk on its official website.
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December 14, 2020 - The 15th round of the Croatian First League was held on December 12 and 13, 2020. This round featured an exciting derby at Rujevica, which saw Rijeka and Dinamo draw, while Osijek and Hajduk suffered two heavy away defeats.
Gorica v. Osijek (4:1)
Gorica and Osijek opened the 15th round on Saturday, December 12, 2020, in Velika Gorica.
Dieye was the first to score for Gorica in the 13th minute for the 1:0 lead, which was the result going into halftime. An equalizer by Mierez in the 49th gave Osijek hope before Kalik scored two goals for Gorica in the 54th and. 65th for 3:1. Mitrovic scored the final goal of the game in the 77th minute for the final 4:1 result.
Gorica is currently in 3rd place with 26 points, while Osijek is in 2nd with 30.
Varazdin v. Hajduk (4:2)
Varazdin and Hajduk met on Saturday, December 12, 2020, in Varazdin.
Posavec was the first to score for Gorica in the 4th minute for the early lead. Grgec increased Varazdin's lead in the 32nd minute for 2:0 at the half. Senic increased Varazdin's lead further in the 58th minute for 3:0. It wasn't until the 72nd minute that Caktas gave some hope to Hajduk for 3:1 and scored another goal five minutes later for 3:2. However, a final minute goal by Obregon locked in Varazdin's 4:2 victory.
Varazdin is currently in 9th place with 12 points, while Hajduk is in 5th with 17.
Lokomotiva v. Slaven Belupo (2:1)
Lokomotiva and Slaven Belupo met on Sunday, December 13, 2020, in Zagreb.
Prce put Belupo in the lead in the 38th minute for 0:1 at the half, though a quick equalizer at the start of the second by Tuci made it 1:1 in the 51st. Ibrahim put Lokomotiva in the lead with a goal in the 72nd minute for 2:1, which was the final result of the match.
Lokomotiva is currently in 8th place with 12 points, while Belupo is in 6th with 17.
Rijeka v. Dinamo (2:2)
Rijeka and Dinamo closed out the 15th round on Sunday, December 13, 2020, at Rujevica.
Dinamo took the very early lead with a goal by Ivanusec in the 1st minute of play for 0:1 Dinamo. Galovic equalized for Rijeka in the 28th minute, before Menalo put Rijeka in the lead in the 35th for 2:1 at the half. Lauristen scored Dinamo's equalizer in the 82nd minute for 2:2. which was the final score of the match.
Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 20 points, while Dinamo is in first place with 30.
The 15th round match between Sibenik and Istria in 1961, which was to be played on Sunday, December 13 at 3 pm at Šubićevac, was postponed due to players infected with COVID-19 on both teams.
"After testing the complete teams of HNK Sibenik and NK Istra 1961 on December 3, coronavirus was confirmed in a large number of players in both clubs. Since the players have to be in isolation for at least ten days, it was impossible to play the 15th round match at the previously scheduled time," announced Sibenik.
Sibenik and Istra 1961 should also meet in the Cup at Šubićevac, which has been moved a day forward and is scheduled for December 15 at 3 pm.
You can see the full HNL table HERE.
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