Croatia

19 year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic was the United States' lone glimmer of hope during a disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign which will see the Americans miss out on their first WC since 1986. Pulisic nearly scored or assisted on every American goal down the stretch and added energy to a team that looked lost on the field for the majority of the … [Read more...] about Would Pulisic Crack Croatia’s First XI?

The following is an editorial. ed·i·to·ri·al (noun): an article written by or on behalf of an editor that gives an opinion on a topical issue. The Good: The World Cup dream is still alive. With their backs to the wall Monday night in Kiev, the Croatian squad showed their true faces knowing only a win would do. They showed patience, pride and urgency in … [Read more...] about Croatia’s Qualifying Campaign: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

HRVATSKA Starting XI : Subašić - Vida, Mitrović, Lovren, Vrsaljko - Badelj, Rakitić - Kramarić, Modrić, Perišić Mandžukić If Croatia could have played like that the entire qualifying campaign, they would have booked their tickets to Russia four months ago. But then again, it wouldn't be fun. Croatia deafeated Ukraine 2-0 in Kiev Monday night to book a spot … [Read more...] about Kramarić Keeps Cardiac Croatians World Cup Dream Alive!

After Croatia's 1-1 draw with Finland Friday night in Rijeka, manager Ante Čačić has been fired by the HNS. So who will replace him? Zlatko Dalić. Who is Zlatko Dalić? Another nobody coach with thin credentials. He played for Hajduk and Varteks in the 90s and briefly coached Varteks and Rijeka before his most recent stint with United Arab … [Read more...] about ČAČIĆ FIRED!

HRVATSKA Starting XI: Subašić - Vrsaljko, Vida, Mitrović, Pivarić - Rakitić, Modrić - Brozović, Kramarić, Perišić - Mandžukić Forget about winning the group, Croatia will need a draw or better against Ukraine on Monday to simply qualify for the playoff round in November. A loss in Kiev will see the Vatreni miss the World Cup outright. Croatia have finally … [Read more...] about Black Friday: Croatia Draw Finland 1-1

Okay. So here we go. Croatia have two games to either qualify automatically for the 2018 World Cup in Russia or to force a November playoff by finishing second in the group. There's also the possibility they completely sh*t the bed and finish third or worse to miss out on all of the above. For sake of argument, let's just talk about the Finland game on … [Read more...] about Operation: October – Pick Your XI

This is it boys and girls. The week that will determine everything. The cardiac Croatians have left their Russian World Cup hopes until the end. CroatianSports will be reporting on both the Finland and Ukraine matches throughout the week, but this is what you need to know: 1) The match against Finland on Friday was originally planned to be be … [Read more...] about Road To Russia: The Final Countdown

From bad to worse. With an essential "must win" game against Finland in Osijek on October 6th and potential group decider versus Ukraine in Kiev three days later, Croatia will be without one (maybe even two) of its starters for these key World Cup qualifiers. Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovačić is likely out 6-8 weeks with a partial abductor tear he … [Read more...] about Kovačić Out, Subašić Questionable For October Qualifiers

Every qualifying campaign, Croatia has their hiccup performance. It's like clockwork. Croatia is not Germany. Or Spain. Or England: perennial teams that cruise through qualifying without the blink of an eye. For Euro 2016 qualifying, Croatia drew Azerbaijan and lost to Norway in the same weekend. In World Cup 2014 qualifying, Croatia lost to Scotland … [Read more...] about The Blame Game