Photo: SkySports
After a lackluster 1-0 victory over Macedonia on Thursday in the first match of World Cup 2014 qualifying, Croatia travel to Brussels on Tuesday for a true test against a revamped Belgian side.
And remember, this is not your daddy’s Belgium.
After missing out on Euro 2012, finishing two points behind Turkey in a group where Germany went perfect, Belgium could very well hit their prime with this current crop of players during this qualifying campaign. In no way, shape or form should they be taken lightly.
The Belgium defensive line is comprised of three English Premiership players who know how to score. In their 2-0 victory over 10-man Wales on Thursday, both goals came from defenders. Manchester City and Belgium captain Vincent Kompany headed home a corner three minutes before the break and new Tottenham Hotspur signing Jan Vertonghen blasted home a free kick in the 82nd minute. Add Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen to the mix and you have a complete threat coming from the back.
Kompany, Vertonghen goals vs. Wales
The Premiership theme continues in the Belgian midfield with Everton man and Sideshow Bob look-a-like Marouane Fellaini, new Tottenham signing Moussa Dembélé and 21 year-old Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard. All of the above mentioned Belgian players have been in fine club form, but will it translate over to the international game this time around? Belgium is due for a good qualifying campaign, and it could come as soon as now. Most Croatians are only looking at Serbia as a threat to the Vatreni on their way to the World Cup in Brazil, but that shouldn’t be the case. Serbia will be an emotional confrontation, but this Belgian side has the goods to make a run.
But where Belgium is strong in offensively-minded midfielders and defenders, they lack that same quality at the forward position. Everton frontman Kevin Mirallas received the start vs. Wales but only managed two shots alongside Dembele, who was pushed up for the match. 19 year-old Romelu Lukaku should be a star one day, but his impact in this campaign should be minimal at best.
Vedran Ćorluka has been ruled out for this match due to a left ankle/achilles injury he picked up on Thursday with all signs pointing to Gordan Schildenfeld as his replacement. It also looks as if Ivan Rakitić will ride the bench after a poor game vs. Macedonia, with Niko Kranjčar looking to come into the Croatia starting XI.
The bottom line: Belgium is a good team this time around and a draw in Brussels should be considered a success. A win for Croatia would set the precedent for the group early with two light games versus Wales and Macedonia in October, but a draw would get the job done. Either way, the Vatreni should roll into 2013 with some momentum and positive results before they face Scotland and Serbia twice, and Belgium once again in Croatia.
But first, Belgium in Brussels on Tuesday.
goalllllllll!
unfit Corluka would be disaterous. Corluka is physically soft regarding Marouane Fellaini’s recent performance. Yeah, Simunic, Vida, Schifo…all very slow defenders. But I think Corluka and Lovren does not have basic physical strength required to internationl class defenders.
Is not Lakuku is Lukaku, and this guy is not that great (at the moment) as the media said, sure he has a good biotype (this is the main reason of his nickname the new Drogba) but he does not got it yet the killer instinc that separate the elite forwards for the rest, he is young and have enough time to improve but to be honest I think that he never will fill the big shoes (Drogba).
It will not be a piece of cake, but this team have played a lot of harder games it could sound arrogant but the most part of the Croatian poor resulst in the last years was primarly a Croatian Fault and not the result of high performance by the rivals, thats the key if Croatia show their best face tomorrow the job will get done.
@ Andrej
Simply put: The winner of this group will be the one who is most consistent.
As inconsistent as we think Croatia is…Serbia, Belgium and Scotland are even more inconsistent. I fully expect Scotland to lose to Macedonia, and Serbia to drop points against Wales. We’ll probably tie Macedonia in Skopje and struggle to beat Wales ourselves, but this “should” be our group to lose.
One benefit we have, that is well over and above all teams in this group, is the fact that we actually have true strikers. Last game, Belgium and Serbia played with pure midfielders like Fellaini and Tadic up front, just so they don’t have to start their sub-par strikers. This will be an issue for both teams throughout this long qualifying campaign. I expect a lot of low score draws in this group.
Belgium really needs to take advantage of Stimac still getting his feet wet, and win this game in Brussels tomorrow or else they are going to have to do it in Croatia next year.
I sometimes wonder if people ever watch Croatia play or the players play at their clubs. We are good and I understand that but we are also a team who is notorious for dropping points vs teams we should drop them vs.
Belgium is a very good side and if you watched them play in the last few years you would know that they are only getting better. People like to talk up the youngsters of Brazil but I will take most the Belgium side over the Brazil youth outside of Neymar(who he himself has weaknesses all over). Belgium isn’t a walk over and they are as likely to win as we are when we play at home.
I’m not scared to losing to Belgium because I know they will drop points vs other teams just as likely as we will but I can’t believe some arrogance that people simply think we are favorites just like that. Kompany the best defender in the PL and Hazard who is one of best young players in the world. They have talent all over midfield and Lakuku in attack who is a beast.
Of course I love our players we are also strong in attack with Jelavic, Mandzukic, and Eduardo and have midfield strength in Modric, Perisic, and Rakitic. We can win we can lose…the campaign if going to be far more than just the games vs Belgium and there game vs us. We should aim for 1st but 2nd isn’t bad by any means.
Of course if we win tomorrow it will be more than a perfect start. I watched Serbia and Scotland and Serbia wasn’t great in that game but I also watched Wales vs Belgium and if Wales had 11 players they are no joke themselves and in fact they did even with 10 players have some great chances to pull away a win. Belgium scored off set pieces with defenders and that is our weakness in our defense.
We have the players to win and I will be rooting for all 3 points but I won’t cry if we lose. The campaign will be long and points will be dropped its just a matter of who takes the most out of the chances they create over the qualifying campaign.
Game will be on ESPN 3 – in fact, a good many of them will be
Anyone know how to watch this game in NY?!?!
If he plays a DM, I’m hoping he goes with anyone but Vukojevic.
I’d rather we throw Radosevic into the fire and start him, than play Ogi again.
Do NT players share info on their club teammates, (offer tips to their NT teammates on how to defend them, etc..) such as Jelavic/Fellani.
I always assumed that they did. I find that aspect of the game interesting.
This should be a good test for Simunic if he has to start. Honestly, he looked great against Maribor, but that doesn’t mean much.
Do you think Stimac will play a DM during this match?
I don’t know why everyone is so hard on about Belgium…where does this come from…they have three, scratch that, two stud players, another solid defender and no presence of a forward
Hazard, Kompany and Vermaelen
That’s it…Fellaini is good, but is he really good…hell no, he’s equivalent to Clint Dempsey at Fulham and I don’t rate that too highly…if you guys don’t remember, we played belgium recently (for national teams anyway) in a friendly, everyone was all excited last time too because of Romelu Lukaku…anyone remember the result of that match…I watched all 90 minutes and Croatia beat them convincingly; score line didn’t show it
I’m not saying it’s going to be exactly the same, but damn, they’re not that great
Funny how some people say we only have 1 star who I’m assuming is Modric. People, we have one of the best strike partnerships in world football developing today: Mandzukic and Jelavic. Just from the the threat of those two it will not be an easy game for the Belgian Waffles. If Modric comes out to play and the back line holds it together we have an almost equal shot at winning as they do, though I’m granting them the home advantage. Anyone know if Ilicevic is fit to play?
P.S.
I’ll drop my prediction: A high-tempo exciting game ending in a 2-2 draw, Mandzukic with the late goal to salvage the point.
Damn oh well. Hopefully see ya in October.
I’ve been looking all over to find news on whether he’ll play or not. Corluka just posted a picture of new boots on instagram with the Croatian flag on them. I’m not sure if this means he’s playing or he’s just posting pictures.
If Stimac says he’ll play I’m guessing he’s playing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mamic called over to Russia and told Bilic, “sorry if he gets further injured, but he’s playing and we don’t care about your club team”
Supposedly Corluka says he’s not ready, but Stimac says he will be.
see
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/nisu-se-dogovorili-corluka–nisam-spreman-za-utakmicu–stimac–vedran-ce-biti-o-k-/1052985/
Thanks for keeping it to soccer Elvis!
This is Croatia?
http://dalje.com/en/foto.php?id=30&rbr=26791&idrf=1035707
@ allen
wish i could go to scorpio’s but unfortunately will be working and hoping espn3 has the feed
@ allen
wish i could go to scorpio’s but unfortunately will be working and hoping espn3 has the feed
Let’s hope we come out to play tomorrow. That’s always been or biggest problem in qualifiers. If we come out flat early, Belgium will punish us.
Allen is right, Corluka is our best player after Modric. I hope he’ll be at or close to 100% if he does play. Don’t forget, Charlie’s no stranger to the back of the net.
So can we get a legit source about Corluka. Ziva says now that he’s going to play. Whats the deal? Corluka isn’t special at center back but he’s solid enough and I trust him WAY more than any other defender on the team.
@JM or any other New Yorkers
Any of you fellas coming to Scorpios tomorrow? I’ll absolutely be there.
@Adame……….Hrvatska may very well beat Belgium tomorrow, but to say Belgium does not have as much quality as we do is insane. Take the homer glasses off? The only thing holding back this generation of Belgium players is the chemistry and experience of playing together. Who knows, there may be some issues within the team that surface, but from the outside looking in I rather have Belgium’s roster than our roster. Now, team chemistry is another issue.
Give me both rosters and if I had to pick a starting 11 there would be more players from Belgium on it. These 6 players would be in the croatian starting 11:
Courtois
Vermaelen
Kompany
Witsel
Fellaini
Hazard
You can make a case for one or two more.
Croatia have great players, Mandzukic, Jelavic, Olic, Eduardo, Kranjcar, MODRIC, Rakitic, Corluka and so on. Belgium does not have as much quality as we do. I truley believe Hrvatska will beat Belgium in both qualifying matches. BTW does anyone know where Petric is?!
To me this game is being way over-hyped, its only the second game on qualifying, nothing will be decided after this.
Belgium is going into this game with a lot of confidence and momentum compared to Croatia who haven’t looked great under Stimac. Though this is a type of game Croatia can come out and look shockingly good
Who knows…I honestly expect a loss
Stef,
Wales had to play sixty four plus minutes with 10 men due to a red card. A win is a win but that is such a great advantage for Belgium. In our 5 – 1 loss to England we were missing Modric and Corluka. Two MVP players for us and our defense was decimated at the time.
Not taking anything away from Belgium as they have great players and we will not underestimate them. Technically we should not underestimate anyone as football has great levels of parity but Belgium has a great lineup.
I would use the same tactics we used the first Turkey playoff game. Counter counter counter and pick our spots and use some caution.
If we can somehow get the first goal, and early if possible, it would take the pressure off of us and throw it all on Belgium. Similarly to what transpired when we played England in England during the Euro 2008 qualifier and what we did to the Turks the first playoff game for Euro 2012 tournament. Most of the pressure is currently on Belgium as they are very hesitant about making a mistake and if a mistake were to occur the whole game could blow up on them. They/Belgium know collectively that they have great players on paper, but they have yet to prove it against quality opposition when it matters. On top of that the game is in their backyard which is added pressure.
Elvis,
We are Croatians and we don’t play with fear! If there is any worry, it is the outside factor as the ref for our game is pathetically garbage!
Jelic,
“Good luck to the Vatreni tomorrow, idemo za tri bodova!”
Ajde Hrvatska !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Btw, watched most of Sctoland v Serbia what a snooze fest! The Serbs are going to be in real tough in this group, their “offence” is anemic, and I use that terms very loosely.
No doubt though, they will be up for the games agianst us.
Until Belgium show they can play with the big boys, they are just a team of potential. This is why the qualifying is a long process, a war of attrition.
I like the mentality of Croatia in big games, as suggested above when we did our business away to Turkey and and excellent effort and tactics against Spain recently.
Good luck to the Vatreni tomorrow, idemo za tri bodova!
i guess unrelated, but just wanted to add that the goal against macedonia was pretty awesome as i watch it on replay. a sick pass by modric, an arguably even better header pass by mandzukic, and then a quality finish from jelavic, which he had to angle with the side of his head to get past the keeper (good thing it wasn’t rakitic). 3 players all making tough, quality plays in one play shows the quality croatia has over a side like macedonia. lets hope they do it more consistently
Yes Stef and most here thought that Turkey was to blow us out in
Constantinople. Also no chance agianst Spain. This game is no fun when you have fear. Fuck that Mongrol team Belgium.
U guys need to be realistic… against macedonia we only had two good chances . This at home. Belgium won away. Now they will be at home. Those of you that think we will def win this game havnt got a clue about football, just like stimac , no clue. Sometimes you need to recognise the threat before you play or else you can get smashed, just like our 5-1 to eng. We are cocky sometimes. This is the biggest game in our qual…
Sportske Novosti and Nogometni magazin are saying Corluka will play.
@ Leonin
I’m gonna be at the stadium too! 😉
now it looks like Corluka will play….
Belgium, on paper, has the potential to be one of the best national teams in the world for the next 5 years. Are they too young right now and will there time come in a few years? Or, are they ready now for big things?
When I look at both rosters and if I had to pick a starting 11 based on both rosters, I would have more Belgium players on it than Croatian players. But, that doesn’t mean anything.
We’ve seen our guys in years past usually come up with a result when they need one.
Štimac napada Belgiju s Olićem i Mandžukićem: Nakon javnog linča izbornik je hitno amnestirao i Rakitića!
http://is.gd/BYs0o2
With the Serbs dropping valuable points vs the Scots (Who else saw the Tartan Army banner in Maksimir), a win would be a great way to distance ourselves further. However, given the way we played vs Macedonia and how good Belgium can potentially be, a draw would make me smile.
Since the Serbs have Wales (in Serbia), almost certain maximum points will be taken.
My prediction
Niko will be huge with a goal. We win 3-1. Belgium implodes due to ethnic strife.
both simunic and schifo in the defensive side worries me. you can hide one slow defender at central back but two can be trouble . is lovren ever goingto be healthy again?
Simunic so suck, and this time he’s show again !! so croatia can get whupped
The football is not only about how many stars you have in your team, sometimes you have team plenty of high caliber players that as team play awful and you could also find teams with a very discret squad that are able to play beyond their aparent limits, and this is one of the things that made the football special.
I could not see the Croatia Match because I was in the Metropolitano for the Colombia – Uruguay game (Colombia beat Uruguay 4 – 0) but I got the complete game in internet, the team strugle the most part of the game (The second half improve a little bit) but in the other side I saw the Wales – Belgium game (Repetition for ESPN +) and Belgium does not showed something new as Jarac said before ” Wtf has belgium done to earn so much respect?” at this moment the Belgium Potentiality is far away of ther reality so there is no reason to be so scared.
If they begin to play as 290.450.000 € team should play, thats the moment to begin to worry about them.
jarac- i agree with you mate, we go there to win,why not!
I think a win vs Belgium would be huge and would be a great start to the campaign.
Corluka injury isn’t a huge loss though because I still don’t think he has done anything great at CB. I think the biggest issue is going to be adjusting to who will be on the right side of midfield.
We had way to many attacks through Perisic and Strnic and need to find a little more balance. With Rakitic and Kranjcar both will leave Srna exposed on the right side but I guess we will see. I do think a tie would be a good result on the road to Belgium.
i’m going to watch the game in brussels, belgium team is strongest ever.
belgium got 10 stars, croatia 1.
but we can defeat them as a team.
oh stfu, u damn hrvati are so pessimistic, dude hopefully we’ll get a win, let me tell u belgium is was not very impressive in there first qualifier. I am expecting 1-0 or 0-0 for Cro. Same shit u guys were saying in euro’s we’ll be lucky to tie ireland give me a break. Wtf has belgium done to earn so much respect? I don’t care what there roster looks like, what have they done?
As long as we keep our composure we should be fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6lV_Vmf938
Corluka is a HUGE loss. Other than Modric, no one is more valuable. Simunic playing again is going to be tough to watch. I’ll be at Scorpios for this one and I’m cutting two classes for this. Hopefully Croatia can get a draw, but my expectations are low.