Goalkeepers:
Stipe Pletikosa (Spartak Moscow)
Vedran Runje (RC Lens)
Danijel Subašić (Hajduk Split)
Surprises in net: Danijel Subašić still sits ahead of Champion’s League Greek goalie, Mario Galinović. At age 32, will Galinović ever get another call up to the national team?
Defenders:
Vedran Ćorluka (Tottenham)
Josip Šimunić (Hertha Berlin)
Ivica Križanac (Zenit St Petersburg)
Danijel Pranjić (Heerenveen)
Hrvoje Vejić (Hajduk Split)
Dino Drpić (Karlsruhe SC)
Hrvoje Ćale (Trabzonspor)
Dario Knežević (Juventus)
Surprises in defense: Vejić gets a call up in what can realistically be his fifth senior cap for the Vatreni. Can the 31 year-old impress should he receive some playing time? What is Knežević doing in the squad? He has only played in three games for Juventus this season due to injury. I believe Robert Kovač has to sit out this game for his red card against England.
Midfielders:
Luka Modrić (Tottenham)
Ivan Jurić (Genoa)
Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Niko Kranjčar (Portsmouth)
Ivan Rakitić (Schalke 04)
Nikola Pokrivač (Monaco)
Ognjen Vukojević (Dynamo Kiev)
Jerko Leko (Monaco)
Drago Gabrić (Hajduk Split)
Surprises in midfield: Gabrić makes the national squad for the first time. Will the 22 year-old receive his first cap though? Gabrić is the fourth Hajduk player to be named to this squad.
Strikers:
Eduardo da Silva (Arsenal)
Ivica Olić (Hamburg)
Ivan Klasnić (Nantes)
Mario Mandžukić (Dinamo Zagreb)
Nikola Kalinić (Hajduk Split)
Surprises in attack: Eduardo has been named to the squad even with Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, pleading with Bilić not to call him due to injury. Klasnić, Mandžukić, and Kalinić all make the squad ahead of Ante Rukavina. How much corruption is going on in Croatia to where Rukavina does not get a shot at this squad?
dennis as far as galinovic i agree with you but at the ssame time we have to build for the future, if galinovic is not in the top two i dont thinik we need him. As far as rukavina i would have called him, i know he is geting limited playing time but if ilicevic, can get called and gabric and every other hnl striker can why not rukavina.
The sad thing is our defense is thin which is why i think bilic is an idiot the way he handled simic, simic only retired bc bilic made him sit in the stands against england so other players aka knezevic can sit on the bench and get a bigger name, we sure can use him now. As far as juric goes if hes the best option we have play him, age dosent matter we need points, only question i have if hes so good why didnt we call him before? England wins 2-0 after first place in my mind is out we have win all our games and finish seceond and hope we get a good draw in the playoffs
My take on the squad
Are we really this thin in defense? Knezevic gets a call after not playing for Juventus almost all year. I would still like to see Pranjic in the midfield, what a waste of talent.
The only way Galinovic gets a call is if Runje or Pletikosa are ruled out with a long term injury. Subasic will get his chance. However, his stock will rise if his name appears in the scoresheet. Someone trying to make a few bucks.
Gabric call up surprises me the most. I mean if Pranjic can’t have a spot in the mid, Gabric doesn’t stand a chance. Good call up, even to ride the bench, Drago will earn valuable experience at a young age.
With the addition of Bojan Vručina and Panathinaikos out of Champions league, its safe to say that Rukavina won’t make the squad this year, and barring injuries will miss out on World Cup 2010.
Ivica
“Rukavina over Mandzukic should be the obvious switch here. “
“Galinovic for Subasic clearly as well.”
“Clearly something fishy is going on here.”….. marketing my friend, Subasic and Mandzukic can still be sold….
Luka
“consistent basis, he barely plays.”
ok, I agree with you there on Rukavina, however, he has scored in multiple games coming off the bench. Ante deserves a shot in a friendly or a match like Andorra where most of our strikers are out through injury.
“galinovic is not being called up because pletikosa is 30, runje is 33, and galinovic is 32. “
Keepers can play into their late thirties. Lets just say that Runje, Pleti, and Subasic continue to get called up. Runje gets injuried before the world cup and they call Galinovic(with 2 caps)… pletikosa gets a red card or gets injured at the cup, or just has one bad game and gives up 2 easy ones…. Do you start a young and inexperienced Subasic, or do you bring in an almost capless Galinovic?
Runje is keeping Lens in 1st place. Every week he makes so many quality saves. Yes, it is the French second division, however, he showed his quality last summer at Euro 2008 against Poland.
Adrien
I’m with you on Ukraine-England draw. Without a doubt the best result. A Ukraine win opens the group up, and leaves us needing a result at wembley. England is firing on all cylinders right now, 2-0 England, however, I would take a draw.
Croatia fan:)
I agree with you on Klasnic and Knezevic. Klasnic deserved the call with his recent play, while everyone at Juve is still working on how to pronounce his name.
Also, wouldn’t be a terrible ides to play Kalinic in virtually a pointless match.
“Vukojevic who is capable of goals should play over Juric. Although Juric is new he is getting old and has played a lot of football for Genoa. Might be best in the long run to give him a break.”
Giving Juric a break every now and then isn’t a bad idea. Yes, he is old, however, played all 120 minutes against Inter in a cup game a month back. Bilic said that Juric “runs like a kid in his twenties”…
Juric won’t score, however, he will play his defensive mid position to perfection. Barring injuries, I can see Juric start in the world cup next summer.
Vinko
Juric is playing, most likely starting. You’re probably thinking of yellow cards from Genoa.
Anonymous
Petric is out because of injury. Get a name, don’t be shy. Good to have you aboard.
Why is Petric always out the starting line for the national team?
Yes good game for Modric he seems to be getting better. Still saw no drop in form in the match i watch of Kranjcar’s Portsmouth beating Everton. I watch Nantes in the evening and i have never seen a side as bad as that. Klasnic did not have his best game or work very hard for his teammates, but he at least had more quality than them. I think its good we only need Klasnic as a sub these days. I think he can manage 20 minutes here and there for us, but wasn’t convinced he should play against Olic.
Wouldn’t mind if our team V Andorra was Pletikosa; Srna, Corluka, Simunic, Pranjic; Rakitic, Vukojevic, Modric, Kranjcar; Eduardo and Olic.
I think its games like this where Srna and Pranjic might be best off as attacking wing backs and to get as many attacking players in the team which is why Vukojevic who is capable of goals should play over Juric. Although Juric is new he is getting old and has played a lot of football for Genoa. Might be best in the long run to give him a break.
what a game for Luka Modric and Tottenham!!!!
Why would Bilic listen to wenger is Bilic knows Eduardo from the start of his Coaching career,if Bilic sayas he will get better then he wll. Also KILLER KLASNIC I BACK!
Ok I took the time to answer some questions here. After thorough investigation the total accumulated yellow cards for a player to be ineligible is 2. So if Kovac would pick up a yellow card in a game with kazahkstan and then one more in another game with Andorra he would be ineligible to play the 3rd game against Ukraine. This was just an example the matches are not played in that order so it’s a completely made up example. On the FIFA statistics Srna does have 2 yellow cards but he did not play against Andorra in Zagreb back before the break because that was the match he was ineligible for. So he will be able to play against Andorra on the 1st of April. Simunic having probably gotten a card against Ukraine and England will not be eligible and will have to sit out. I belive Robert Kovac is still out due to an extended suspension which I completely disagree with. I don’t agree with the red card at all. Cole is suh an actor he should get an Oscar and Rooney can be best supporting bend over buddy lol Real piece of Italian Diving right there shows how much Capello has taught them. So with no Kovac and Simunic we still have Corluka and Krizanac who I seem to like the more I watch him at times and I have no idea who replaces Joe as Kovac will be replaced by Krizanac. Possibly Knezevic despite injuries. The more he plays the faster he gets back into form and since it’s a match that gives us 3 points in the bag without playing I wouldn’t be surprised. Kovac and Simunic being out Srna is the captain I suppose although I’d love Eduardo to get a “tribute” on the NT as he did for the Gunners. Of course he’ll score regardless 🙂 As for hoping for a Ukraine win at Wembley I’m all for it. Sure they tie with us but we get the Goal Difference once again it gives us the chance to go 2 Wembley 2 points down and with a win we would get a 1 point advantage. I doubt Ukraine would be able to keep up with us regardless of them tying us with 10points after April 1st in my scenario. They only squeezed by Belarus and I doubt they will do it again in Minsk. As for Wembley it is possible football is unpredictable look at those Turks who shouldn’t be in Euro but are along with Israel they should be ousted. Geographically not europe and they are not accepted as europe by many anyway. Hopefully Ukraine give us a draw at Wembley at the least it will only ncrease our chances to deal damage to England once again and they surely deserve it this time as much as they did last time.
sorry, dont know if its 2 or 3, but i know simunic isnt eligible to play
@ Matt,
Both Simunic and Srna have received 2 yellows thus far in qualifying. If Simunic can’t play, then Srna can’t play as well. Are you sure it’s two cards and you sit out or three?
just a reminder, Simunic cant play the Andorra match because of 2 previous yellows
And hopefully Eduardo will stay fit long enough to provide the team with the cutting edge it so deperately needs
I agree with that. If Ukraine beat England we are in trouble. We might as well not even play anymore in Ukraine record wins in those matches against England. Ukraine have already beat Belarus although somewhat luckily, so we need 2 wins against Belarus and a win against Ukraine to finish second i think. Also a draw or win against England is handy. Ukraine’s past history with a better team is horific against England. I think England have the type of game to beat Ukraine easily. Ukraine have a soft centre and there strikers are not physical or quick. I think England will beat them. Ukraine will more enjoy the technical match versus Croatia.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen. We have the ability and should beat Ukraine and Belarus and the match against England should be closer than it was last time with either side capable of winning 1-0, 2-1 or 2-0, but the players need to perform. I think Srna, Modric, Kranjcar, Rakitic, Petric and Olic have to give a bit more of a attacking threat than in the last few months since the Euro’s.
@ Vinko
I’d agree with your selection, its the most likely, reasonable and as you say obvious one. However I don’t see how Juric could have accumulated too many yellow cards as he’s only played for us once, so your first guess is the right one.
Also I’ll think very carefully before hoping for a Ukrainian win against England. They’re tied with us on points with a game in hand. While I’d love to see us topple England off the top of the table, if Ukraine win we’d have to hope that they slip up as well as England at a later date. Personally I’m hoping for a draw between the two with a few long term injuries and severe suspensions leading to several long term match bans. 🙂
I must have my sums wrong, but how did there manage to be room for Leko, Knezevic, Klasnic and Gabric to come in when only Petric, Kovac and Ilicevic have gone out. We must have one extra man here 🙂
I think Gabric deserves a call up. I always like seeing in form players rewarded. I also don’t think Ilicevic is even fully fit at the moment so was glad he wasn’t given a call.
I don’t actually agree on Rukavina. I thought last month he was majorly hard done by, but this month we’ve not seen much productive from Rukavina and i put him in the same status as Mate Bilic. Whilst Bilic continues to sit on the bench and not score he shouldn’t be in the squad. Ruki needs to start hitting the net again. Klasnic definitely deserves to play ahead of Rukavina. We dropped Klasnic when he was out of form, but his recent goalscoring spree deserves reward. I think Klasnic is far from finished. I think as a sub he has much to offer.
I definitely want to see Kalinic given time against Andorra and Mandza to sit out the match on the bench. I think Kalinic is pointless being in the squad when he never plays. I think if he plays some time and scores against Andorra it’ll at least show he deserves a try against a better side. If he does nothing then he shouldn’t be in the squad. I think this has to be his match to be tested though. i don’t see what we have to lose.
Mandzukic is not a goalscoring forward so i don’t think this is the game he should play in.
I definitely agree on Knezevic. Besides that he’s been injured and is not wanted anymore by Juve, he is not played and what i have seen of him so far he is not a crucial. I think a player like him should earn his place, not recieve a call up when he’s not playing. I think Andre Mijatovic and Goran Sablic deserved a look this month.
I’m gonna go ahead and give my thoughts on who is starting for the most part it’s obvious. I’m glad Bilic called up Eduardo and yes I do think he will start. Despite the fact Wenger pleaded with Bilic not to call him up it’s a good idea because the only way eduardo is going to get back into form and the NT are gonna gain back the chemistry we have been missing with Eduardo since he has been out is by him playing more games. The more games he gets the higher team chemistry gets and the more likely he will be in his Top Level of form for England come September. He’s in fine form now and scoring crazy goals as usual which is scary for anyone playing us cuz at I can only imagine what he’ll be like at Wembley at Top Overall Form.(In other words how badly England are beaten) As for starters in goal is Stipe Pletikosa as usual, in the back there wil be 4 Simunic, Krizanac, Corluka and Pranjic, the 4 in Midfield are Srna, Juric, Modric ad Kranjcar and then Olic and Eduardo up front. I did hear something about Juric having too many yellows and not being abble to play against Andorra. If so I would say Rakitic will take up his spot or possibly Vukojevic. I aslo think Gabric might get a chance in the second half depending on the score because I know Bilic wants to get a last crack at scoring as many goals against Andorra as we can to increase the goal difference and get closer to England who are only 5 points ahead and had some trouble with the likes of Belarus and even Kazahkstan at times. They are going to break down and hopefully it happens against Ukraine which will give us a much greater chance of pulling ahead of them come the Wembley game. A possible draw against Belarus would help a lot too if Ukraine are able to beat England somehow.
@ DJ Dan,
You need to give Rukavina a chance though. He’s young and he has scored goals in Greece. Like Denis said, it’s tough playing for Hajduk when the whole weight of Split is on your shoulders.
I believe that Rukavina and Kalinic are the future, well far future of Croatian soccer. Plus Hajduk sold him for the cash on top of all that. Same reason Kalinic is done after this season. $$$$$$$
I’m still in shock as to why Rukavina isn’t still at Hajduk. He did nothing at all there and gets transferred to a big European club? C’mon we have to be realistic here and see that Rukavina isn’t good enough.
ivica are u kiddng me, i agree that mandzukic is shit this year but rukavina is not making significant contributions on a consistent basis, he barely plays. And galinovic is not being called up because pletikosa is 30, runje is 33, and galinovic is 32. you gotta look at the future because none of these guys have considerable years ahead of them. galinovic for runje if anything, everyone makes a big deal out of runje and i agree he is good but still its the french second league
You know where I stand on the whole situation.
And thank you all for being on top of this so quickly. There were 4 or 5 posts by the time I woke up.
Now the question is, who will start?
Rukavina over Mandzukic should be the obvious switch here. Haven’t seen much out of Mandzukic this season with Dinamo in the HNL whereas Rukavina has been making significant contributions to Panathinaikos on a consistent basis.
Galinovic for Subasic clearly as well. Why Galinovic still has not yet been called up for the NT is outrageous considering his form this season.
Clearly something fishy is going on here.
All in all, it’s a strong squad, with familiar faces, some young talent in Hrvoje Cale and Drago Gabric. I myself am very curious to see if Gabric will get a chance to show how he can perform on the NT level.