After comfortably beating Azerbaijan 2-0 in their opening match of U21 Euro Qualifiers last week, the Mladi Vatreni face Finland Tuesday evening with the hope of becoming Group A’s 1st place team. Croatia is currently tied with Norway and Finland at the top of the table, all with three points. Salzburg duo Luka Sučić and Roko Šimić led the squad to victory over Azerbaijan in their previous match, both scoring goals in the first half. Šibenik’s Antonio Marin and Lokomotiva Zagreb’s Lukas Kačavenda were also stellar for the U21s last match, showing terrific skill on the ball as well as composure.
I expect the Mladi Vatreni to lineup exactly how they did against Azerbaijan. This current U21 squad is by far the most talented group that Croatia has ever produced. It would be a shame to finish anywhere lower than first place by the end of the campaign and to lose points to any other side in the group other than Austria. Croatia will face Azerbaijan, Finland, Norway, Austria, and Estonia (home and away) in this group.
I predict a 4-1 victory for Croatia against Finland. I expect goals from Stipe Biuk, Roko Šimić, Luka Sučić, and one from Marin Ljubičić off the bench. This team is worth finding a stream for as the individual talent on our side is astonishing. You’ll feel nothing but hopeful and amazed by the final whistle. Croatian football has so much success to come.
Watched the game. We were very lucky to win this match, as Finland missed some great opportunities including a sitter in the first minute. We could have been down 2 – 0 in the first 20 minutes. Physically they looked stronger, it looked like some of their players were older then mini vatreni. Draw probably would have been a fair result. I was surprised how good Finland were and won’t be surprised if they and Norway will give us the most trouble in this group. Stipe Biuk was poor again and in my opinion is a bit overrated ? Marin Ljubicic came on and scored the second goal and looks a better prospect then Biuk. Also, Luka Sucic in midfield is all class, hopefully he continues to develop and soon makes it to the senior rep team.