Soccer

Hey guys, not to be a "Debbie Downer" here or rain on anyone's parade, but when is it time to talk about the elephant in the room? Or if you don't want to talk about the elephant because you're still hopped up on Dida's rakija from Croatia's first ever victory over the French, I completely understand. What Modrić and the boys did from a results perspective after the 3-0 … [Read more...] about Vatreni Score 1 Open-Play Goal In 4 Matches…Do We Need To Worry?

The monkey is finally off Croatian backs. The Vatreni have defeated France for the first time in their history. Croatia defeated France 1-0 in Nations League Monday night by way of a 5’ Luka Modrić penalty kick. However, the MVP of the match was the entire Croatian defense full of youngsters, who held a hungry Mbappe and Benzema at bay. It was an incredible 90 minutes … [Read more...] about Croatia Finally Beats France!!!

Croatia's 2022-23 Nations League group stage campaign is now halfway done. The Vatreni currently sit third place in Group A after splitting their first three matches equally between the win, loss, and draw columns. As the tournament progresses, the squad continues to look better and better each match, and most recently escaped Copenhagen with all three points against a strong … [Read more...] about What We’ve Learned Through 3 Nations League Matches From The New Guys

At last, victory! Thanks to a 2nd half nutmeg goal from Mario Pašalić, Croatia escape Denmark with all three points in the UEFA Nations League. Due to France's 1-1 draw with Austria, the Vatreni now sit 3rd place in Group A of the competition. Croatia started the match slow, fielding their C-team against a very strong Denmark side. After a goalless first half, momentum … [Read more...] about Croatia Beats Denmark 1-0 As Pašalić Nutmegs Schmeichel

Friday at 2:45pm (ET), Croatia will be facing off against top of the group Denmark in a rather important match for our NL campaign. A win would put us in a great position in the group, but a loss would see us threatened by relegation. There is all kinds of speculation as to how Croatia will line-up in this next match considering all the injuries, who we need to rest, and who … [Read more...] about Who Starts Against Denmark?

Here are my takeaways from today's 1-1 draw with France at Poljud in Nations League. (And remember, France played their B-squad against us without Benzema, Mbappe, Lloris, Pogba. Griezmann came off the bench) -Livaković cannot be Croatia's #1 goalie at the World Cup. Was he at fault for the France goal? No. But you have to come out and challenge the attacker by cutting off … [Read more...] about Croatia Draw France 1-1 At Poljud Through Late Kramarić Penalty

Lots can be said about today's embarrassing defeat to Austria in the Nations League. Regardless of the situation, 3-0 is never a desirable score to lose by. However, it's really not the end of the world - actually, it's hardly a problem at all if you examine the loss with a clear and open mind. Again and again, this Croatian side continues to prove that they don't give a … [Read more...] about Why The 3-0 Loss To Austria Doesn’t Matter

Queue the meltdown on all Croatian message boards across the worldwide web in 3...2...1... It was clear to anyone who watched Croatia's 3-0 loss to Austria in Nations League Friday night that the entire team was checked out for summer break. Or were they looking past Austria to Monday when the Vatreni will face France at Poljud? Either way, it was ugly in Osijek for any … [Read more...] about Vatreni Look More Interested In Summer Break Than Nations League In 3-0 Defeat To Austria In Osijek

On May 30th, FIFA released a wonderful documentary on the Croatian National Team and Croatia's rise to becoming an independent nation during the 20th century. The documentary covers everything from the war in Croatia in the 90s, Boban's kick at Maksimir, and the 3rd place finish at the 1998 World Cup for the Vatreni - their first ever World Cup appearance. A truly … [Read more...] about Croatia: Defining A Nation