Another exciting year of Croatian football is nearing its end. From miserably bowing out of Euro 2024 to a 98th-minute equalizer to qualifying for the UEFA Nation League Playoffs, we’ve seen a wide range of players sport the checkers for the Vatreni this calendar year.
Ahead of a year in which Zlatko Dalić and co. will look to rebuild the Croatian national team’s roster, Ante, Markus, and I put our minds together to power rank Croatia’s top-10 footballers at this time. We evaluated players based on three main criteria — form, current ability, and potential.
Without further ado, let’s get into CroatianSports.com’s 2024 Croatian Power Rankings.
(All grading is done on a scale from 1-10)
10. Josip Stanišić, 24, Bayern Munich
Form: N/A (injury)
Current Ability: 7
Potential: 8
Stanišić has been out with an injury for most of the 2024 season, and it has immensely impacted the Vatreni on the right side defensively. This forced Dalić to scramble into a 3-5-2 formation, and it did not look great in the UEFA Nations League. Stanišić is a few months away from recovering from ankle surgery. Expect Dalić to field four in the back when he or Juranović are finally ready to go next March. While Stanišić is critical to the Vatreni, he does not possess the world-class talent to have him higher on the list. The #10 position was tightly contested between him, Šutalo, and Matanović.
9. Ante Budmir, 33, Osasuna
Form: 9
Current Ability: 7.5
Potential: 8
Budimir has been extremely unlucky with the Vatreni in 2024, hitting more posts than net in international play. However, his club form has been nothing short of remarkable for a striker at Osasuna. Budimir has notched 9 goals in 15 La Liga matches this season, including a brace against league leaders Barcelona. He is on a tear to finish the calendar year, scoring five goals in his last five matches for his club. Since the majority of his scoring production stems from the wing, Dalić will need to field more skilled wingers — cough cough, Pjaca and Marco Pašalić — along the flanks.
8. Andrej Kramaric, 33, Hoffenheim
Form: 8
Current Ability: 8
Potential: 8
When fielded in the right position, Kramarić is still a threat on offense for the Vatreni. However, while he creates an abundance of chances for Croatia alongside a depleted attack, he has trouble finding the back of the net a little too often. Kramarić’s veteran status gives him a hefty advantage over others in the squad, and now that Perišić has aged, he is the heart of Dalić’s offense. Not to mention, he is still the all-time leading goalscorer for Hoffenheim, and arguably their greatest player in club history.
7. Luka Vušković, 17, Westerlo (on loan from Tottenham)
Form: 9.5
Current Ability: 6.5
Potential: 10
6’4, 17 years old, and already one of the best players in the Belgian League. As a center-back, young Vušković has tallied an impressive four goals in 16 matches, and is sporting a 7.26 FotMob match rating in league play this season. On loan from English giants Tottenham Hotspur, Vušković is destined to become a world-class defender later in his career. The Hajduk Split product is adored by journalists and scouts across Europe, and is already an important piece of the Croatian U-21 squad. Luka Vušković is one of the most highly regarded prospects in Croatian football history.
6. Petar Sučić, 21, Dinamo Zagreb
Form: 9
Current Ability: 7.5
Potential: 9
Petar Sučić is a midfield gem for Dinamo Zagreb. Since being integrated into the starting lineup, Sučić has been one of the most critical players to the squad in Prva Liga and European action. Borussia Dortmund are rumored to have keen interest in the young midfielder, and a move to the Bundesliga would likely compliment his style of play. Sučić caught the eyes of many Croatian fans with a one-goal, one-assist performance against Poland in October. Following the retirement of Vatreni legend Marcelo Brozović, Dalić could not have asked for a better young replacement in the CDM position.
5. Luka Modrić, 39, Real Madrid
Form: 7.5
Current Ability: 9
Potential: Already the greatest midfielder of all time…
There is not much that hasn’t already been said about Luka Modrić — he is the greatest midfielder of all time. No player has ever done what he is doing at age 39 for Real Madrid. Modrić continues to age like fine wine into 2025, and is still the heart and soul of the Vatreni. It was his free-kick stunner that sent Croatia on their way to a critical 1-0 victory over Poland in Nations League action, and his finish against Italy in Euro 2024 that kept their Round of 16 dream alive. Modrić is one of a kind.
4. Luka Sučić, 22, Sociedad
Form: 7
Current Ability: 7.5
Potential: 9
Luka Sučić is a prime example of the modern-day attacking midfield. Tall, quick, and strong, Sučić earned a transfer to Real Sociedad this summer, and has already put his rocket of a boot on display. Sučić should start every match for the Vatreni going forward unless his form says otherwise, and is highly depended on to be the heart of Croatia’s attack going forward. We’ve covered Sučić since he was 17 at Red Bull Salzburg, and have every reason to believe that he is progressing terrifically. Luka Sučić is a stud.
3. Martin Baturina, 21, Dinamo Zagreb
Form: 8.5
Current Ability: 7.5
Potential: 9.5
Martin Baturina might already be the best player in the Prva Liga. Similar to Dinamo teammate Petar Sučić, Baturina is 21 years old and already ready to shine on the international stage. He is explosive on the pitch, and not afraid to run at defenders at any time. After rejecting an offer from Real Madrid, French giants PSG are rumored to be very interested in signing the youngster. If Baturina, P. Sučić, and L. Sučić all pan out, Croatia’s midfield will be exciting to watch for a very long time.
2. Mateo Kovačić, 30, Manchester City
Form: 8
Current Ability: 8
Potential: 8.5
Kovačić has been expected to be the heir to Modrić’s throne once he retires, and has been solid in the “6” position for the Vatreni since Brozović retired from international play. He is arguably the most talented player on the Vatreni roster right now. Most players don’t see the game the way Kovačić does.
1. Joško Gvardiol, 22, Manchester City
Form: 9
Current Ability: 9
Potential: 10
Gvardiol has already emerged as one of the world’s best defenders, and has certainly put his skills on display this year in Premier League action. While incredibly solid in the back, young Gvardiol also finds ways to put the ball in the back of the net for both club and country. Gvardiol is the best player on Croatia’s roster, and has already become a superstar at the age of 22.
@MART
https://croatiansports.com/2024-croatian-power-rankings/#comments/513944
Oh, I didn’t know Jakolis had so many caps for our U21s… he’s doing very in Oz, but turns out he’s not yet eligible to play for them! Btw, interesting to note his dad once coached Petrovic..
aleagues.com.au/news/marin-jakolis-socceroos-eligibility-update-macarthur-bulls-unite-round-preview-latest-news-a-league
*he’s doing very well in Oz
Petrovic who ???
The great Drazen Petrovic..
OK thanks.
Not sure if the coaching story is true ?
Marin Jakolis is almost 30 so let’s assume his father is close to 60 years of age ? Drazen Petrovic was born in 1964 and died in 1993.
I’m guessing that Marins father and Drazen were of similar age?
so, it would be a bit surprising if he coached Drazen ?
Yeah MART, this is weird, lol!
Hmm… unless Jakolis’ tata is born in the 50s? *shrugs*
Varaždin can leapfrog Dinamo in the standings with a win against Istra.
ETA till Hajduk call-back Vuskovic early from loan in Belgium ?
Not to send to Tottenham before August – but so they solidify their defence en route to bringing home the title this year (something Vuskovic would love to be part of)
Especially if Prpic gets sold
Remember where u heard it first
Kiss
Do Hajduk dictate his loan spells?
Or is it all Spurs now?
Hajduk has no say in where Vuskovic plays he is a Spurs player.
Chances of him coming back to play for Hajduk are zero.
It’s just weird because he’s still listed as a Hajduk player (who is on loan).
I assume it’s because he’s not 18 yet, and the transfer to Spurs becomes official then?
Nine games in row
No Petar Sucic
No Dinano win
Baturina Packaged Deal Petar
This message brought to you by Dead Horse Inc.
Dinamo struggling in HNL after 1 – 1 at home against Slaven Belupo.
Celtic next followed by away match to Lokomotiva and home match against Varazdin before the winter break. With the injuries these are three tough matches and Bjelica could get the sack if things go wrong ?
Davies hamstring pull
Has to come off
That’s 3 CB out injured along w Mickey VDV and Romero
Archie Gray 18 yo moving over from RB to CB
So Tottenham has an 18 yo at CB
But Archie Gray a complete different player / profile to Vuskovic
But Spurs have to no CB to put on
Archie Gray playing LCB (but he’s right footed) w mid Dragusin still at RCB
Bournemouth CB Dean Huijsen Spanish/Dutch is 19.5 yo making 7th today
But he had 14 caps for Juventus/Roma last yr b4 making move to PL
F
Just jinxed Spurs
Huijsen just scored first PL goal off nice run / header back post off a corner
But he’s much more mobile / agile than Vuskovic – more like another Micky VDV
And he’s 6 foot 5
Ie one inch taller than Vuskovic
But much more slender frame
The biggest thing missing from the power list is Anonymous stock tip from one month ago
Stock is up +60% since than (that’s 720% annualized in @thetruths language)
For some reasons the moderators didn’t let it through – strange
Form 9.0
CA 10
Potential 10
🤷♀️🤷♂️🤷🤷♀️🤷♂️🤷
Number seven on the power list in action today, a Thursday game that might be flying a little under the radar…Vuskovic and Frigan and Westerlo are on the road against Anderlecht in the Croky Cup (Belgian Cup)…..game is televised in Canada on DAZN at 1130 am PST. Anderlecht unbeaten in last seven games and favoured….
The list is well thought out.
Anyone following this Mbumpe ?!
Single handedly bumming it at Real Madrid.
No need for a LW with Vini killing it.
They could of brought in a defender or pure #9.
You see the challenge of coming to Real Madrid.
Modrić legend grows !!
I’m surprised there is no mention of this rumor of Dalic signing in Qatar. I hope it of true as we need a refresh in coaching.
It was discussed at length in previous posts already.
Dalic isn’t going anywhere.
Every time he has a little over a year on his deal, these “rumors” always surface about him being courted by some other country.
It was Egypt after the World Cup 2018…and then he signed a multiyear deal with us instead. Then it was some other team after the 2022 World Cup (I forgot which one it was), and again, the HNS attached an additional two years to his existing deal which took him through to 2026 with us. Now that’s he’s got one tournament left on his deal…we have Qatar apparently wanting him.
Unfortunately for Dalic, the past Euro 2024 was our worst ever performance at a tournament…so he doesn’t have the sway to dictate things in contract negotiations. No more premature contract extensions.
1.6 million Euro is a lot of money for a National Team coach (I think it put him at top-5 at the Euros).
When you have guys like Matjaz Kek making 350,000 per year with Slovenia…and he takes them to the knockout rounds, I’m sure it makes the HNS hesitate a bit when it comes to blowing their loads on any Dalic contract talks.
Also important to note…
Matjaz Kek is only signed for another 12 months. His contract doesn’t even take him to World Cup 2026 (for some odd reason).
Not sure what’s going on between him and the Slovenian FA.
He got them into the Euros and went to the knockouts (their best ever result). He got them promoted to league B in the previous Nations League, and unfortunately, were one goal away from being able to get a spot over Austria in the League A promotional playoff (but fell short).
If Slovenia is seriously considering letting this guy leave, then the HNS need to get on this asap.
Kek
He watches his players until the last possible minute
i.e. NL squad announced Friday Nov 8th (11 days after Dalic !)
AND
He doesn’t publish a silly “standby-list”
Based on those 2 qualities along (we don’t need to get into the rest of it) – go ahead and hire him
x.com/nzs_si/status/1854825578370670937
Re: Terzic
Didn’t realize – his 1m severance was for a four month
“gardening leave” – that expired in mid-October
Also didn’t realize he was Bilic’s assistant at West Ham 2015-2017
West Ham lost again 3-1 to Leicester couple days ago – Lopetegui (currently on 4m p.a.) is most likely gone in next few days (e.g. Todibo and others saying they will leave if he’s not sacked) – but who knows maybe they bring back David Moyes
***.beinsports.com/en-us/soccer/bundesliga/articles-video/dortmund-to-pay-terzic-significant-severance-2024-06-19
Between 2010 and 2013, Terzić worked as a scout and assistant coach in the youth academy of Borussia Dortmund, reporting to first team manager Jürgen Klopp.[10][11]
Terzić was an assistant coach of Slaven Bilić at Beşiktaş between 2013 and 2015 and at West Ham United from 2015 to 2017.[12] His collaboration with Bilić started in 2012, when Terzić drafted and delivered a pre-game opponent analysis for Croatia’s group stage match against the Republic of Ireland at Euro 2012.[3] Satisfied with the analysis, Bilić invited him to join him as assistant coach at Lokomotiv Moscow, however, the deal eventually fell through.[3] Bilić once again offered Terzić the position at Beşiktaş and Terzić accepted the offer after consulting with Borussia Dortmund.[3] He followed him to West Ham United in 2015, but left the club two years later when Bilić was sacked on 6 November 2017.[13]
@hammerscentre
Slaven Bilic is expected to advise Edin Terzic against accepting the West Ham Head Coach role should it be offered to him, as long as David Sullivan remains in charge at boardroom level (Kumbdotcom)
Not sure how true this is but cannot fault the advice from Slaven on this one 🤷♂️⚒️
Coach Dalic has earned the right to lead us through the ‘26 qualifiers. Two World Cup Semifinals and a final in the Nations League. He adapted well from ‘18 to ‘22. Let’s hope it will be the same in ‘26. Viva Zlatko !
He didn’t have to adapt much from 2018 to 2022.
The main core was largely the same except for Mandzo and Rakitic… but we had Kovacic already on the team (who took over from Raketa). The striker situation was a big issue at that tournament (and affected our offense) but we managed to squeeze our way through to the semis.
2026 is a bigger challenge, as Dalic is still trying to rely on the remaining core players (Modric, Perisic, Kramaric)..but at least two of these guys will become liabilities (maybe even all three) by the time the World Cup comes.
Our Euro2024 performance was bad. Our current Nations League performance was bad (we should have been eliminated, but VAR saved us from 50th ranked Scotland). We are very lucky Broz retired, otherwise he would still be starting right now.
The problem with this iteration is whether or not he will be forced to change players (like how he was forced to try out Petar Sucic because Brozovic retired).
Kramaric will still see games up top (instead of Budimir). Perisic will still get playing time on the wing (when he should be retired).
Modric will get his full 90+ minutes (when he should be off the bench or at least sharing time with Luka Sucic there).
Catering to the 2018 core in 2022 isn’t going to kill you…but catering to them in 2026 is going to result in us finishing the same way we just did at the Euros and these UNL games.
We lost to Spain right after the 2018 World Cup 6-0. Livakovic, Juronovic, Gvardiol, Sosa, Petkovic and Livaja were all new at the 2022 World Cup- even Kovacic in a way as he didn’t do anything in 2018. Coach Dalic if he gets through qualifying, has 19 months to prepare for ‘26. And he deserves a lot of credit for the 2018 team as the coach before him obviously didn’t do anything with the same talent. Viva Zlatko!
The 2022 team was running on the Modrić, Brozović, Kovačić midfield trio with Perišić, Lovren and Krama playing starting roles.
These were all 2018 team players.
Sure Gvardiol was a star for us, but any coach would’ve started him.
The rest were just role players who filled in the gaps where other role players (like Strinić, Rebić and Vrsaljko) were.
He gets credit for sticking with Livaković, but everything else was largely a copy and paste.
Give credit where credit is due. We beat one of the hot favorites to get to the semifinals. Call it luck, call it a miracle, but Louis Pasteur says it well, ‘Chance favors the trained mind.’ I am all for Coach Dalić to have the opportunity to lead us during ‘26 qualifiers as he has merited the chance. When he departs he will be recognized as one of the best coaches Croatia has ever had. Let’s hope he has continues that run of success at the World Cup. Viva Zlatko!
Joke of a list
Modric still 1 by a mile based on nations league
Did you forget to read the criteria? Form is counted (for club too) and potential. Modric is still our best player (as shown by his current ability rating) but is not number 1 on a power ranking concerning potential and form.
Wed
Krama – full 90 – shot blanks
Gvardiol start (sure he’ll look much better w Dias now back / next to him)
Sutalo start
Modric bench
Jakic start (Labrovic bench)
Igor bench 🙁
@A Tin U
https://croatiansports.com/the-weekend-water-cooler-103/#comments/513897
Wow dude, how are you able to remember the game in such detail several days after watching it?? I have to say I’m impressed with your memory! I’m guessing the pass that got picked off by Hato leading to a big chance for Ajax triggered coach Alguacil to take him off at the half. Alguacil also said he wasn’t satisfied with his performance in the Basque derby. Let’s hope Sucic comes back asap, as the team has won 2-0 against both Ajax and Real Betis without his involvement which cannot be a favorable situation for Sucic… there are only 5 games left till the Christmas break and it’ll be a shame if Sucic, who has done pretty well so far, were to lose his spot in the starting 11 because of an injury now.
Btw I’ve noticed the same thing about Sucic when he played for the NT… that he would burst past defenders to get clear. I believe his accelaration is good and he can move very swiftly when he wants to. I’m more worried about the consistency of his performance and his long-term health (owing to that knee injury).
I hope that despite Ajax losing the game, Sutalo didn’t fare all too badly. Thanks for keeping tabs on our young guns— always a pleasure to read your posts pal! 🙂
So if Varaždin continues to play well and finishes in the top-4 or top-5…
Do we call up their LW player (Michele Šego)?
He was a pretty decent Hajduk prospect whose career went sideways, but is now back on track.
He’s still 24 and has room to grow.
Since we’re thin at LW, he’s looking like a decent option. He’s been much better than Marco Pašalić and Marko Pjaca this season.
Dalic always calls up someone from Hajduk or Rijeka to be on the standby list. Guys like Hrgovic, Prpic, Sigur before switching to Canada and Toni Fruk. This is just a token gesture to appease the HNL clubs, but in reality, none of these players are good enough to play for the seniors in fact they struggle to excel in our U21 side.
Sego has been playing well and if he can maintain his current form into the next year he will deserve to be at least on the standby list.
When is Dalic going to get rid of the silly “standby-list” ?
When did we start doing it ? Why ? What was the genius reason ?
France, Germany, Spain, England – NONE of them publish a “standby-list” – just the squad – n.b. 9 players w/drew from last announced England squad b/w Thursday and Sunday – by Monday the replacements were announced – it wasn’t a big deal
No clue which nose-picker came up with it – but its just dumb
#StandbyListsNeverMatter
I would call up crnac before calling sego
True.
I think Crnac plays on the right side though.
Good young prospect.
Interesting Maminjo… will keep an eye on Sego going forward. Hope he’ll start to make real progress from here and not become the next Marin Jakolis lol.
There was an article in SN a few weeks back with Marin Jakolis and he is currently playing in Australia. His father was born in Australia and Marin indicated that if he was to get a callup he would jump at an opportunity to represent Australia.
He was not much good when playing for Croatia U21 same as Musa.
Good luck to him if he gets a callup from Australia.
@Mart
Re: Vuskovic
Agree Vuskovic is mostly likely going out on loan next season
Logically a strong Championship side that plays similar style as Tottenham
It’s unrealistic to expect an 18 y.o. CB to be thrown into the PL and EXTREMELY rare
Can think of Rio Ferdinand @ 18 for West Ham (but Rednapp made a point of picking the best from a stacked academy side when he joined – also Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick – and throwing them in)
Also John Terry at Chelsea – but he was even loaned out to Nottingham Forest for a bit to get more 1st team football
Can’t really think of any other 18 y.o. CB defenders (that panned out – I’m sure there’s a few names that were thrown in so they could be sold off)
The other “best” CBs from the last 20 years made their PL debut much later
Vidic @ 25
Van Dijk @ 24
Kompany @ 22
Gvardiol @ 21
Not that we need more reason beyond pure coaching experience / success
But wonder if HNS has considered Terzic as manager would be critical (and probably an upgrade) in securing the LONG list of German born Croatian diaspora players
I recall seeing lists of players at U19 (I don’t mean U19 team – I mean all the teams at/below U19) and [1/3] to [1/2] of the team are German-born (and Austria) diaspora – there was a Swedish-born in there too
While we of course want every player to choose Croatia bc they love Croatia – having Terzic involved (and relatively closer age-gap wise to that upcoming generation) in discussing with them why he chose Croatia blah blah blah can only help ensure we secure the best of the best as he builds the next generation to join Sucic x2 and Baturina
Hopefully Terzic has considered that too – it’s not just coaching Croatia today – but opportunity to build a team based on the best prospects as he sees it
Really is no downside in appointing Terzic today – HNS/Kustic you reading ? 😉
If we are looking at performances for the national team only, then in my opinion our best performing player for some time now has been Kovacic closely followed by Modric despite his age. Younger players have just been too inconsistent and that includes Gvardiol who is making far too many defensive mistakes.
With more experience I think that Baturina, and Sucic boys have a good future with the national team.
We shouldn’t look at National Team performance only because we have some who are being prioritized heavily (Luka Modric, Igor Matanovic) and some who are not being prioritized at all (Ante Budimir, Luka Sucic).
Modric has been great for us, but Luka Sucic has been just as good in the limited minutes he’s been given.
Both Lukas either need to be rotated in central midfield, rather than using some outdated seniority process where Modric gets full games and Sucic has to come off the bench or be slotted somewhere else (if at all).
Budimir has also been great for us since the Summer…but I don’t think he’s even been given one full game yet (despite being a top scorer in La Liga for two years running).
As much as I support young guys being given a chance…this shouldn’t mean players like Matanovic get several 90-minute starts over a veteran player who is a league leader in an area of weakness for us.
Likewise, there are some players who perform better at club than country (Gvardiol), so it’s nice to see this called out at times as well.
Also
Baturina now saying he’s injured (all of a sudden)
He knows we’re on to him that he’s a Packaged Deal w/ Petar
N.B. that’s EIGHT data points / match Baturina is a ghost w/out Petar (EIGHT FOR EIGHT)
Also Dinamo haven’t won a game when Petar has been out of the line-up (just to remind everyone) this year
Even Dinamo’s Sporting Director agrees w/ Anonymous that Petar Sucic > Baturina
@TheCroatianLad on X
Lars Ricken:
“I spoke with Dinamo’s sporting director, who told me that Sučić is their best player. Unfortunately, he was injured when we played in Zagreb.”
“They have many outstanding players who have been playing for the national team since a young age.”
Yeah, Marić definitely doesn’t have a vested interest in driving up the price of Sučić.
I think they both have bright futures, but Baturina has to be the more valuable right now, and likely when they both peak.
Maric is an idiot and should be fired ASAP what a job he did with Dinamo. Also I do think sucic is the better all around player. Baturina isn’t a box to box player. Sucic is a box to box player he’s gonna be better than Brozo.
If we can ever get a world class coach, man!!! So many good kids coming and no one to lead. I’d say best of the group will be Luka Sucic. Bloody guy is always looking to shoot, and he gets more selective on shot or pass, he’s going to be a beauty. Sretan Bozic to the Croatian Sports Network and Ante and all the team that do so much for our beautiful communities across the world. Samo Hrvati!!!!
Column on that turd John Herdman. (Includes Croatia mentions.):
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/article-john-herdman-may-never-coach-in-canada-again-but-his-legacy-will-be/
Turdman..
I feel like two lists would have been more coherent :
1. Best present performing Croats (as per Maminjo)
2. Best younger players to be (even if some names like the Sucic cousins come back)
I like this idea.
#1 above is who are our hottest players right now, taking into consideration both club and country performance.
I think our top-five right now are Mateo Kovacic, Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Ante Budimir, and Luka Modric…because they’re all doing great for both their club and country (with Budimir playing a limited role for country, and Modric playing a limited role for club).
Doing this gives us a clear idea of who should be in our starting eleven at any given point in time (regardless of their age).
The “Croatian Power Rankings” is a good name for this list.
As for #2…
It’s always good to keep a list of who our top guys to develop (at senior level) should be.
Just call it the “Mlada Generacija: Pump or Dump?” or something like this (which captures everyone 23-and-under who should or should NOT be called up). Don’t have to make it a ranking list. Just simplify it into two categories…PUMP or DUMP.
For example, Igor Matanovic was probably high on the priority list of youth callups at the beginning of the year…but since he doesn’t perform at club level (and guys like Kulenovic and Beljo are), then he should probably be in the “dump” category while these two other guys should be in the “pump” category (which means they should get a callup).
Guys like Vuskovic would probably find himself in the “pump” category, considering how good a season he’s having. Maybe Sigur as well (just for jokes, ha ha).
We can expand the list to include guys who are on the pretpoziv list (who probably shouldn’t be there)…like Robert Ljubicic or Toni Fruk who always seem to be included on these lists when there are probably better options.
Both pep and Dalic are asking too much of Gvardiol right now.
Pepe is asking him to lead the attack down the flank but be as solid as the other 3 defenders who dont over extend themselves and basically worry about defending.
Dalic does not know how to use Gvardiol and probably just gives him the go ahead to wander the field..
He is a beast, but he isnt perfect yet.
Is the ranking supposed to be a list of who are currently the best performing Croats (both and club and country level)?
If so, then Baturina and Gvardiol’s recent struggles should put them down a peg.
I would say that Kovacic, Budimir, Luka Sucic, and Petar Sucic (in no particular order) are our best players right now.
I agree with most of the analysis except for Gvardiol being ‘incredibly solid in the back’