So much good in this game (2nd half offense) and so much bad to unpack. This match is on Dalić. Absolutely no reason he needs to be playing Broz in this game. This was not only a game we needed to win, but it was a game we needed to score some goals off the bat. I would have said the same thing if we won 2-1. Whatever.
96′: WOW. 2-2. Albania score on the last kick of the match. They came at the Croatian defense and the Vatreni could not hold.
84′: Baturina and Sosa on for defensive support. Perišić, Kramarić off.
77′: GOAALLLLLL. 2-1 CROATIA!!! Sučić has an open shot on goal. It bounces around the Albanian box. Own goal.
73′: FINALLLYYYYYY!!!! GOAL!!!! Kramarić dances in the box and megs the Albanian defender to make it 1-1. Croatia’s first goal of Euro 2024.
69′: Budimir comes in for Petko up top.
49′: Sučić with a strong shot on goal but it’s right at the goalie. He has the right idea.
46′: Pašalić and Sučić come in off the bench. Broz and Majer are off. Great move by Dalić!
HT: Not good. Croatia have possession but can’t do anything in the final third and are getting caught on counters. Broz needs to come off for Pašalić. Take off Krama for a true winger. Ivanušec or Pjaca. I don’t care. We need someone that can score and run at the Albanian defense, not just play wide.
30′: Modrić gives the ball away and Albania comes down on the counter. A fantastic shot on goal and Livaković makes a HUGE SAVE! Should be 2-0 Albania right now.
11′: WOW. 1-0 Albania. A complete open header in the box. Asani whips in a perfect ball in the box and Laci gets a hair on it to deflect it just enough to freeze Livaković. Why do we have to concede first every game?
Croatia’s starting XI vs. Albania. Lots of changes from the Spain match!
-Gvardiol will play CB
-Perišić at LB
-Juranović comes in for Stanišić at RB
-Petković starts up top as striker
Here we go! Basically a must-win game for Croatia.
The Vatreni will look to rebound from Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Spain against Albania, who were up a goal on Italy early before eventually falling 2-1 in their Euro opener. This is Albania’s second ever tournament after qualifying for Euro 2016. How did they get here?
Look, you can never underestimate any opponent, but they had one of the softest qualifying groups in human history. I think we can all agree on that. Albania only has a handful of players that play in top-4 European leagues and their highest goal scorer, Rey Manaj (8) plays in Turkey for Sivasspor. On paper, Croatia definitely has the advantage. But it’s never that simple…is it?
However, Croatia does have a resounding historical advantage on Game 2’s in any tournament they have ever played. Since Croatia’s independence and their first tournament at Euro 1996, Croatia is an expressive 7-5-0 in the second match of group stage. 12 games. 7 wins. 5 draws. No losses. On top of that, they have scored 25 goals in Game 2s while only conceding nine times. That’s a +16 goal differential.
Why have the Vatreni been so solid in Game 2s? I couldn’t tell you. But we have another Game 2 in our midst in the next few hours.
Krama majer on wings mbk petko up top to to je to perisic lb and sutalo gvardiol Juranovic i idemo no fear .
You really want to run out the lineup that got embarrassed by Albania?
Did you even watch the last game, lol
Did you? That lineup was lucky to only be down 1-0 after the first half. Albania could’ve had a couple more if not for Liva
I’m responding to Miki dude.
Poor italy vs poor Croatia only bad thing is italy need a draw to go through we need a win. I dont see it maybe im wrong.
If not for donnarumma could have been 3 4 nil for spain.
Italy got lucky v albania we did too imo albania should have 6 points along with spain pa volija ne volija fats are facts
If there had been a professional ref for the Albania match, Croatia would probably have hammered them. Watch the game again and you’ll see. Kovačić was practically disallowed from challenging for the ball. Same with Perisić. Red card should have been given to the player who kicked Livaković in the face because he did what he did AND the play was already dead. Albania were the lucky ones yesterday. Croatia very unlucky in game 2, and now it’s time to turn on the A game for game 3.
Meh, i watched the last 10 minutes 4 or 5 times now. Most recently about 10 minutes ago.
challenge on liva was fair – Liva nor the striker did not know the play was dead so they both went at it. He didn’t kick liva in the face, liva ran into the side of his shin with his nose. Then faked a bloody nose to waste time.
Agree the ref could have been a little better, but we have had far worse, and i didnt see anything worth a red.
This is the most average Italy team i have seen in years, aside from Donnarumma, who is a beast today. They are even more average than when they have missed out on the WCs. They cannot score, and they are suspect in the back, they are lucky this is not 4 or 5 nil.
If we cannot beat this team with our backs against the wall in what is effectively an elimination game, then we have no business being in Germany any longer.
We also have no one who can score, and we are suspect at the back. lol.
Will be funny if Slovenia somehow beat England, while Denmark beat Serbia
England end up 3rd in their group
There will be a “revolt” in the media b4 the knock-out rounds even start
Benjamin has been active and has hit the posts several times in both games, hits them like Orsic. Don’t think he can be denied much longer, one of them will evidently bounce in.
If Oblak keeps them in the game, Sesko can rain down on England, and make them feel @ home. It is not out the realm of possibilities for sure
Watching Spain take so many shots and pressing with such intensity is refreshing! Such urgency. I’d love for us to do that. It leaves you a bit open for the counter, which might be problematic for our currernt defensive form but hell, it’s do or die now! Run until you can’t anymore and wave to Dalic for a sub, haha.
Re: Edin Terzic
There is no reason he can’t do both i.e. manage club and Croatia at same time
Has been done a few times before
There is currently a manager at Euros who is doing exactly that
So I wouldn’t rule him out – he gets $$$ from new club plus “passion project” managing Croatia
Geez. What’s with the loser mentality of hoping Italy wins so they take it easy on us?
Italy isn’t that impressive. We have better players, but they have the better coach.
We’ll see what happens on Monday.
Going into this tournament we knew our group was hard. We were better than the 3-0 score vs Spain, we created 4 great chances.
We tied a very disciplined and hard working Albania. Could they be the Morocco of 2022? At the end of the day, they made us work hard for those two goals I’m curious to see if they cause any issues to Spain although I doubt it.
I’m currently watching the Spain v Italy game and Italy might have had 1 chance all game for far (at the 70th minute). Italy barely beat Albania and Albania were extremely unlucky not to ties them
I’d say Italy has been lucky so far. This game could already be 4-0 and knowing them they’ll squeak out a tie.
We aren’t out of this race .
Nico Williams
U understand why he’s the top winger target for Spurs ?
He can play either wing btw
Would be such an upgrade to Timo Werner, lol
Italy not impressive, but seemingly hard to score against. They don’t even look as fast on the break as Albania. They can hardly get out of their own half. Spain seem to just be enjoying themselves. Could be 2-0 easy.
Would prefer an Italy win though so they lock up the next round and take the foot off the gas.
Anyone see Livakovic fake a bloody nose at the end of the game? They stuffed some gauze up there, but there was no blood when it fell out. I lol’d. hard to fake bleeding when you are not bleeding.
That’s dumb
Italy than have 6 points
Spain will (most likely) beat Albania have 6 points
And we’ll be 3rd (best case) even if we beat Italy next game
If Italy lose/tie today – we have a chance to come 2nd in group (if we win)
Any scenario – Italy will NOT take foot off gas when play us – they’ve never won against us – and want to beat us more than anything (just speak to any Italian fan – they will tell you)
3rd place looks like a easier matchup in the RO16 rather than getting second. With a win against Italy and finishing with 4 points, thats basically a 3rd place guaranteed spot to advance.
How would you know that? If Croatia gets one of the best third place spots, who they play depends on what groups the other third place teams are from. And there is a better chance of them getting second anyway with a win against Italy. Unless Spain takes it easy and Albania beats them.
I can’t even see us scoring against Italy, let alone winning.
Wouldn’t it be better if Italy beat Spain? So they won’t try as hard when they face us? and Spain would have to win against Albania?
I’m hoping some of the good Italian players get yellow cards so they can’t play in the game against us.
If Italy win today, are we automatically eliminated?
Not at all.
4 points is enough to secure third place in the group, and with 4 points you will probably be one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament. We would advance for sure.
Mathematically, there is one scenario where we could be eliminated even with 4 points, and that would only be if Italy and Spain tie today (giving them both 4 points) and if somehow Albania were to beat Spain on Monday (giving Albania 4 points as well) and we end up with a group of all four teams with 4 points each (and us finishing last due to our goal differential).
That’s good. I hope we can beat Italy.
Average age of the starting lineup vs Albania was 30yrs old.
1. We are too old.
2. We are too slow.
3. Modric & Broz no longer have the legs to start in midfield. They both need to come off the bench like Modric does for Madrid.
4. Petko is too slow to play at this level. Good enough for HNL but not this level. He should only come off the bench.
5. You cannot play a 4 – 3 – 3 formation without proper wingers. Dalic needs to either change the formation or play wingers.
Hit the nail on the head. We have no offense. Just recycle the ball, pass to the fake winger and hope they get a cross in (which they don’t) because the crosses are predictable and easy to defend against.
When Sucic came on and Baturina, you could see how they were not afraid to dribble…
Average age doesn’t matter.
Look at Germany and Switzerland. Both teams with starters aged 30 years old as well. Both handily beat the much younger Hungarians, and are both looking pretty good to advance.
The problem is that we called up 10 central midfielders and only 3 wingers.
Modric, Broz, Kova, Majer, Krama, Ivanusec, Pasalic, Vlasic, Sucic, Baturina…are ALL central midfielders.
If you play any of them on the wing, they’re going to end up in the middle of the field.
Even one of our strikers (Petkovic) likes to play deep with the midfielders.
Our opponents can just pack the middle, knowing that we won’t threaten the flanks or send in any crosses.
Our only actual forwards/wingers are…
– Marco Pasalic (zero minutes),
– Marko Pjaca (zero minutes),
– Perisic (out-of-form and playing out-of-position), and
– Budimir (not really getting starting minutes)
We really should have called up Orsic over Vlasic. Even if not in full form, he would have likely been useful off the bench.
As I said during recent world cup runs, you need to be good enough to get in the position for luck to matter, which croatia has been, but ultimately luck will decide the day.
croatia had 2.6 expected goals vs spains 1.9 and they had 2.68 expected goals vs albania’s 1.48.
if we go back in history croatia was the bronze medal winner but 14th in xg difference at 1.14 vs 1
world cup 2022
croatia belgium : 1 to 2.68
croatia japan: 1.57 to 1.51
croatia brazil: .69 to 2.69
there are shortcomings to expected goals and croatia certainly has looked very vulnerable on defense, but one could argue luck has been the dominant factor as it always has been . There is a decent argument croatia has been actually creating chances at a far better rate than before
After watching the game, albeit a day late because I worked, I have to say that it is definitely time for Dalic to integrate youth if he intends to still coach this team after the Euro.
Sucic was remarkable, just like how I thought he was decent against Spain. Mario Pasalic proved his usefulness when being substituted, despite not scoring. Mario was always in a great position to score.
Broz, as much as I am a fan the guy, needs to be dropped officially. His form from Qatar is gone. Why Vida was called up again, to me is a joke. Dalic consistently calls people up to the squad but then benches them which is stupid, it questions his choices and I think builds distrust amongst the squad and himself.
Why was Livakovic not subbed if he was injured??
The first goal, as much as Livakovic has impressed on me over the years, is a goal that he should have saved. That was bad in my opinion, it’s like the ball went straight through his hands.
I would personally bench both Kovacic and Broz the next game.
Why is Erlic not being given a shot to play, is he injured??? Sutalo had a knock, Dalic could have put on Erlic.
Modric should be playing Brozovic’s role, with either Majer/Baturina/Mario Pasalic and Sucic playing more offensively in front of him. 4-1-3-2. This leaves Krama and Budimir up front. The 4-3-3 system is no longer working for Croatia, teams a learning how to pick apart this system. It’s time to do things differently. Dalic even has Pjaca or Marco Pasalic so many options if he still wants Perisic at the back 4. We have plenty of players that can fit this sort of system and make it work.
If Italy manages to lose, Dalic needs to find a way to score some goals and win against Italy.
This is a shame, so much talent on that bench and he just does not want to use it.
Bench Kova? ???? Our best midfielder? Hilarious
Does anyone know of Erlic is on the bench or was he not called ? This might if been asked I might of missed it. If it was my apologies
Inspector General,
I watched Erlic a fair bit this year. Sassuolo did not have a good year, and worsened after some flashes of real promise early in the season. I think it is fair to say Erlic did not have as good a year as hoped, I saw him get turned inside out a few times. I thought Pongracic looked better for Lecce.
There are others on this listserv who know far more than I do about these things, and they may have a different and better view. In that case, I happily defer to them. However, that was my observation, for what it is worth to you, after watching a fair bit of Serie A this year…… it is possible this was part of Dalic’s own thinking and reasoning….I don’t know.
Let’s hope for a big game against Italy.
….and he IS there. Erlic is on the bench.
Thank you for the reply . I heard he ran hot-and cold but towards the end of the year he seemed to find form and picked up his game. That could be open to interpretation . At this point would be the end of the world for him to start ? How worse can it get ? This cup will be won by young men, Fresh legs are always needed and useful . Any youngsters on the roster with form should be given the opportunity. What do we have to lose
One thing that gives me hope: the Dalić squad has failed two games in a row before, but has it ever been more than two? He always seems to turn things around and get the result in response to such failures. He already made changes so that Croatia would score, and it worked. His substitutions turned the game around, and the conceded goals were the players’ fault, not the manager’s. I can see Croatia coming out with its best game against Italy. For one thing, there are a few days before the next match for the team to reset. Euro 2021 was a similar story. Two bad opening matches and then a great one. Euro qualifying, world cup qualifying… The situation was tenous, but Dalić got the team where they needed to be. Does he have the magic touch one more time?
The issue is he makes these changes when it’s already too late. Yesterday he should’ve started with a younger squad, especially because Albania is a really fast team on the counter. Our older guy simply couldn’t keep up with their younger squad.
He’s costing us games because he doesn’t want to tell players like Brozo that they aren’t starting.
Next, is his questionable line up. He’s playing midfielders as wingers! Why? These guys are not true wingers and now is the worst time to experiment with that.
Yes I am still hopeful he’ll get it right, but he’s also paid 1.6 million Euros per year to get it right.
He should have had a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C in case opposing teams figure us out (which they have).
As already stated, he takes too long to make adjustments (even obvious ones) and it doesn’t seem like he ever has a Plan B in case his initial lineup and formation aren’t working.
We just have to hope that third time’s a charm and he gets the starting eleven against Italy right, or we’ll find ourselves (again) trying to dig ourselves out of a hole.
I think I already heard the Serbs chant
Srbina [something. – own?] Kosovo
Fines coming their way after 4 minutes of play
At least we/Albanians controlled ourselves for 58 minutes y’day
I think Kosovo already complained after England match that the Serb fans we’re chanting against them – good to see the fines – are a deterrent, lol
Woke Serbia crying about chants lol.
Just ignore them.
I knew they wouldn’t even beat Slovenia.
If you knew they wouldn’t beat the Serbs why didn’t you say so before the game ?
I bet the great Maminjo knows Fridays winning lottery numbers but not until Saturday morning!
Well I did make that comment above during the game
(if you want to do in-game bets)
35 y.o. Tadic starting while 29 y.o. Sergej sitting
Can’t believe the Serbs are sitting Sergej – crazy
Ub* Ub* chants in unison (more fines to come)
Anyone else notice those occurred just before we started playing / scored the two goals ? Modric has threw off a powerful shot mid-chant
“Coincidence” ?
Here are some stats after 2 games
***.uefa.com/euro2024/statistics/players/?sortBy=distance_covered&order=desc
Sutalo is fastest Croatian so far, lol
As I’ve been saying Broz has been running for 2 people (him and Modric) so far – here are the #s
Broz 19.4km over 135 min
Kova 19.2km over 155 min
Modric 18.5km over 155 min
And we have seen this on the field – he’s been responsible for tracking back and cover the CBs / box – it’s easy to criticize him – but he’s put in positions to make “mistakes” (by tracking back – sometimes not getting the man/ball) – while Kova and Modric are playing more gingerly / have less defensive responsibility (albeit when Broz came off Kova took over more of these defensive responsibilities)
E.g. 2nd goal y’day – why didn’t Modric (or a fresh Baturina) run w/ the Albanian into the box that scored ? If Broz was on the field / that position – he would have at least tried
Also – look at Sucic top speed – he’s the slowest Croatian so far after Petko ? lol Does he have any speed in his game – not a good omen if he’s so slow at 21 y.o. – it’s only going to go down-hill. He’s had 70 minutes on the pitch – not one fast run ? I know he brings the ball forward but data says he has been doing it at the same speed as Petko (yet everyone praises Sucic while everyone says Petko sucks) – at least Baturina is faster than any of MBK (after only 6 minutes on the pitch)
Strange they don’t include the top speeds / distances covered included in the extra-time
Point being – I think we’re being way critical of Broz – while overly praising Sucic (he needs to do his runs forward at a much faster speed to be more effective – otherwise will be easy to shut down if he does everything at snails pace – albeit he is big body so can use that to his advantage)
The issue vs Italy – is their midfield will be stacked (Jorginho, Barella, etc) – so are we going to risk having one less (defensive-minded) body in there by sitting B – we might end up easily overloaded in midfield that way – who is going to do the midfield dirty work than ? I guess Kova – but then u lose his prowess / runs going forward – not so easy
The argument to have one of BorM on the bench to start – is when u get to final stages of game u have a seasoned body to come on – as e.g. completely silly to bring on Baturina with 6 minutes to go to defend the lead – would be much better to bring on Broz or Modric at that point – to settle things down and shout instructions on the field
Why does speed matter?
Sučić is aggressive and moves the play forward.
He’s been doing it in a crowd too.
Speed is a non factor in his game. We’re not longballing it with him.
Sutalo is athletic, and for a CB hes, fast, good dribbling, good passing. But what does all that matter if hes not in the right place at the right time defensively.
“As I’ve been saying Broz has been running for 2 people (him and Modric)”
Nah, kramaric ran 20km over 156 mins, does that mean hes running for 3 ppl? lol
I wouldn’t give too much weight to the running stats, it ultimately depends on the players position and situation. For example, if Morata didn’t get that through ball Sutalos top speed might be only 32.5km/h instead of 34.7km/h (although it is known he is fast). If hypothetically our CDM(brozo) had 15km or 25km distanced covered so far, then that would be a good fact to point out in a discussion, but the numbers you give don’t look statistically significant.
I don’t like that Sucic is slow and weak, but hes an attacking midfielder so its not as important. Personally, i feel hes a bit too green, but i don’t mind giving him 25mins.
“The issue vs Italy – is their midfield will be stacked (Jorginho, Barella, etc)”
Italy does NOT have a ‘stacked’ midfield.
After the loss to Spain, it was all about how Pongracic was to blame for the loss to Spain both in media and various forums. Everyone was saying that had Gvardiol played as a CB things would have been better in the match against Spain.
Reading the Croatian media today after the Albania match the media has changed the tune and now are realising that Gvardiol has to play at LB against Italy. Perisic and Sosa cannot play there, Perisic due to knee surgery and Sosa out of form. Sutalo and Gvardiol combination did not work out and it is hard to believe that Albania had created more chances against us then Spain did. Stanisic needs to play at RB.
Sutalo needs a rest, and I would bring back Pongracic and Erlic to play as our two CB’s. They both play in Italy, the only concern is that Elric has not played in over a month and Dalic is to blame for that and should have played him in a friendly match against Macedonia.
Brozovic needs to be dropped and Modric has to take his role as a defensive midfielder.
My starting 11 in a 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 formation would be:
Liva – Stan, Pong, Erlic, Gvard – Mod, Kova – Krama, Sucic, Majer – Budimir
“Sutalo needs a rest, and I would bring back Pongracic”
Sutalo doesn’t need to rest, he needs to be benched. Although pongracic plays in italy, he isn’t the answer based off what we’re seen throughout his career and especially in the spain game.
“Reading the Croatian media today after the Albania match the media has changed the tune and now are realising that Gvardiol has to play at LB against Italy. Perisic and Sosa cannot play there, Perisic due to knee surgery and Sosa out of form.”
Its because Gvar-Sutalo don’t compliment each other, Gvar-Erlic paring works and Sutalo-Erlic pairing also works too even better than Gvar-Sutalo. Its because you need one more defensive CB and one CB who is more technical on the ball. Pong, Sutalo, and Gvardiol are all similar style CBs good on the ball but questionable in defensive iq. When you play both these same styles together you’re bound to have defensive cracks that get exposed by top teams.
Perisic and Sosa LB are both defensive liabilities. It would be better if perisic can be disciplined and actually play as a defensive LB instead of just trying to play LW all game.
“Brozovic needs to be dropped and Modric has to take his role as a defensive midfielder. ”
Yes and no, Modric definitely should not be CDM, it should be Kova or even Mario P.
Your starting 11 would include krama, sucic, and majer??? One CAM at a time is enough, tough decisions need to be made but its for the overall balance of the team.
Why on earth would you pick an attacking midfielder like Mario Pasalic and a CDM over Modric who is clearly more defensive in orientation???
Makes no sense bud.
Kova maybe, but I still think Modric is more useful there. I would actually have to go with Mart on this one.
The only thing I would.chamge is to make.it a back 5 not 6. So that you have a front 2. We need more attacking options.
Wow
Tone deaf Rakitic
Agreeing to statement he’s the best Croatian player of all-time, lol
Just hours after the Albania tie
Not a good look bro – u retired and gave up at 31 – while Modric carried the team on his shoulders the last 6 years
x.com/TheCroatianLad/status/1803570257094910307
Vs Italy (a lineup dalic 100% will NOT do)
………………………..Budimir……………………………..
Pjaca……………………………………………..Marco P
……………………………Kramaric………………………..
………………….Modric……………………………………..
……………………………………Kova………………………
Perisic……………………………………………Stanisic
…………………Gvardiol……..Erlic……………………..
………………………………………………………………….
……………………………Liva………………………………
We conceded 5 goals in two games so far, Shitalo should have never played against albania where he proved to be a liability again. For those who don’t know there is a guy called Erlic, who is an actual authentic center back who understands defensive positioning. He has 4 fulltime seasons in a top 5 league, whereas sutalo has 0. Furthermore, Erlic has spent the last decade of his life in Italy. There is no way Dalic can be this blind and fumble the centerback pairing this next game.
I don’t like perisic at LB, but at this point sosa scares me even more. If the coaching staff is able to convince perisic to have a defensive mindset, then he could be ‘okay’ at LB.
Subs; the DZG trio of Petko, Majer, and Ivanusec.
Perisic wasn’t playing “LB” y’day
Look at his heat map
He had minimal / non-existent defensive responsibilities
He was a “LW” who was parked in offensive end – sitting there like an automatic baseball pitching machine – lobbing in crosses the whole game (at a very unsuccessful rate)
Back in 2018 when Croatia faced England in the semis, the USA broadcast showed a statistic relating to club trophies. It showed that the lineup of Croatia had something like 32 club trophies versus something like 2 or 3 club trophies among the England lineup.
And that’s what worked. We had a pedigree on the pitch at that time. Everyone was also in their prime. And that core group played together for many years.
They gained maximum points in the group stage WC 2018; and had a clean sheet against Argentina. They also did remarkably well in the group stage of Euro 2016.
The mistake made was knowing when the transition needed to happen. And that was Euro 2020. It’s now still such a mix and the next generation isn’t playing with others who will go forward.
I’m glad we got the past two WCs and the Nations League. This has been wonderful. It has taken us to a place that we have all embraced and cherished.
HNS needs to find itself. As does the national team. It’s 2024 and 2018 isn’t going to happen again. 2022 was just pure luck; although Croatia beating Brazil in penalties is one of the greatest moments.
A lot of people in my life decided to become honorary Croatians. It’s created so many memories. It’s time to decide how to go beyond now. And it breaks my heart that the remainder of the old guard needs to step down.
252 Comments……. on one article!
Is that a record for a Euro tournament article? Therapy Session in progress .
Yeah, most of them are delusional. .
The England article last euros had +200 comments. Also an article from 10 years ago when serbia was in our qualifying group has 600 comments
Croatia played better in the 2nd half imo, with FINALLY some attacking, but TV announcer even said it. “Now is not the time for Croatia to rest and just play defense in the final 5-10 mins, just because it’s 2-1. And then BOOM, it was a tie just like that. ARGH!
Back line still seems a little weak, but today’s lineup was much better than the match vs Spain. Many eyes will be on the Spain vs Italy match tomorrow, that’s for sure as it comes down to Monday’s game for the entire group.
Can’t settle for a tie, as it’s got to be an outright WIN. If Italy loose to Spain tomorrow, and we beat Italy on Monday, Croatia gets 2nd place in the group.
Much in store, that’s for sure! CMON HRVATSKA!
Of course my comment also is assuming and requires Albania to lose.
Im not doubting that today was a horrible result and we don’t deserve to go through, BUT I am a little confused…I am hearing that we MUST WIN against Italy. People are forgetting that the 4 best third place teams also advance. There are only 6 groups…so as long as two of the six third place teams are worse than us, we are still through…then we just need to get hot. A tie against Italy should still get us through. Unless I am missing something here???
Our goal differential is not good. Getting by with only 2 points and -3 goal dif. doesn’t seem likely.
No chance, 2 points will not get one of the best third place records. Especially with the goal difference of minus 3. We would likely be the worst of the six third place teams.
Kramaric blaiming the pitch was dry and slow and prevented them from creating opportunities, lol
Of course Musa scores a hat trick today, lol
Good runs and finishes, could’ve had 4 goals but one got called for offsides
My god I hope this generational talent Gvardiol goes without a trophy would be travesty.
I don’t agree Modric is done. Recency bias is huge in football and we only seem to recall our most recent game. Luka’s had bad games before. I dont think it’s cos he’s just too old and past it; i think he just had a bad game. I do think he should consider retiring after this tourney but i wouldnt be removing the captain from the starting lineup altogether just yet. Wouldnt surprise me if he plays lights out next game and shows up everyone who said he’s too old.
If he had scored with that one shot late in second half we would be praising him
If my aunt had balls, she’d be my uncle.
WE ARE CROATS …so we must be the best!
What a ridiculous xenophobic mind set we have… it’s a game and we have over achieved the last decade via hard work team work and yes LUCK!!
Get over yourselves WHY are we supposed to conquer in every tournament we play, especially for our tiny numbers?
The ball bounced our way more than a few times the last 2 WC’s and shocker now it’s not.
We have been spoiled and now we are acting like spoiled brats when things don’t go our way ?
ZA DOM!
Go and watch San Marino if you want to keep harping on about tiny numbers and fans being spoilt
My thoughts are exactly the same as yours.
Anyway, I start watching from the 2nd round when the whips are cracking.
You could argue we were more unlucky than lucky when you consider all of our tournament games and how we’ve come close and came short under unfortunate circumstances.
Xenophobic? Lol. Okay.
Just accept the fact that Croats are generally an elite sports nation, resulting from their genetics, culture and mindset.
If that’s something that you never acquired from your parents, then too bad. Doesn’t mean it’s not true.
@Maminjo
I wouldn’t say “elite,” a nation that punches above it’s weight in sport is the way I look at, it’s the reason I’m a Croatian sports fan.
Croatia p4p number 1.
Culture? Croatia’s culture is as multicultural as France’s these days.
Mindset? The first half last night was pathetic, like the expert Iggy said, shoulda been 3 nil for Albania.
Croatians are elite at sports.
Look at countries who have any sort of Croatian population as proof (USA, Canada, Australia, etc.). Their all time greatest athletes for pretty much any sport are ethnic Croats be it Pulisic, Miocic, Chuvalo, Sakic, Mahovlic, Bogut, Viduka, Mikan, Maris, etc. You look at any top-10 list for any sport, and there’s always a Croat in there (which should be a statistical impossibility).
There is nothing xenophobic about believing that Croats have physical gifts and a competitive mindset when it comes to sports, no matter what country they are born in.
So, in response to MEDO’s stupid post, there is nothing ridiculous or xenophobic about this.
It’s the reason why Croatia succeeds in sport, and reason you’re all posting on this site.
I dunno we are getting carried away a bit thinking we should advance in every tournament.Are we really that superior mammogram -its an arrogant/ ignorant look thinking like that-the Serbs think the same with joker& Novak.
Just wondering
What if Modric wasn’t playing well because he doesn’t have anyone to pass to? He doesn’t have the legs to run at people like he did when he was younger but if he sat back and just lobbed the ball to players running forward it could work. Players like Pasalic or Pjaca on the wings? Look at Madrid and see what he does with the wingers there.
I wonder if that second goal would have went in if we had Borzovic tracking back to help the defence?
(This is not a groundbreaking idea) national teams play together so infrequently that, of course, if you are a playmaker and your “new” teammates might not all be on the biggest team in the world … well yeah.
He had a rough first half but was better in the second.
Ballyhooed Kevin De Bruyne didn’t do shit for Belgium the other day.
You have to acknowledge the fact that
we are lucky so far under Dalic ~ shittt!
There is no way he will think about this:
. . . . . . . . Kramaric . . . M Pasalic . . . . .
. . . . Marko P . . L Sucic . . . L Majer . . .
. . . . . . Buturina . . . . . . Kovacic . . . . . .
. . . . Gvardiol – Šutalo – Stanisic . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .Livakovic. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Been an advocate for a non Croatian coach for years. We have had the soldiers to win a Euro, World Cup and never had the mental fortitude at the coach level. It showed again today. I honestly believe in 2018 , 2022 it was Modric calling the shots . All Dalic did was pray. Honestly, he is not a tactician. We lose to Italy for the first time Monday and we turn the page. Let’s join the modern age of soccer/football . It’s speed, speed and more speed. Sorry everyone . I love my culture but sometimes you can’t bring a broken hammer to a gun fight. That’s what we have with Dalic. This tournament is probably the one he said he wants to make the decisions and it shows.
Totaly agree a decent foreign tactical coach with the right group of Croatian players , could get us on the absolute top ,Dalic opens reataurants and sucks off the system.
Coach doesn’t have to be foreign.
We have Jurić and Terzić available. Vladimir Petković was also (until recently) available.
If we want to go cheap and take a chance with hothead (but talented) coach you have Bjelica or Tudor. Risky but could pay huge dividends as these two usually overachieve.
Foreign coaches are usually a big risk themselves since the best ones usually stick to club football.
I don’t want a foreign coach unless he’s an elite one… But those will cost 6-10 million per year, and you still won’t get the top ones during a rebuilding situation (for example, Ancelotti ain’t coming here without a prime Modrić).
Mstjaž Kek would be about as foreign as a coach we’ll get (but Slovenia isn’t going to let him go).
We have been spoiled in the Dalić years. If he won because he prayed, well then we need more coaches to pray. Yes, we may not succeed in this tournament (TBD!), but don’t take away a great seven year run. Viva Zlatko!
A lot of defeatists in here.
Glad you guys weren’t on the front lines versus the Ottomans, haha.
We can beat Italy… The problem is them having the advantage of only having to win or draw (whereas we need the full three points).
We have the players to beat them. We’re just not picking the right combination.
Dalić has strengths and weaknesses, but he never surrounded himself with the right people to cover for his weaknesses. If Dalić is struggling with something (which he is right now) I highly doubt that his team of three strooge assistants are going to figure anything out.
lol. No matter the combination we are not winning. This team too slow and way too many mistakes. You are dreaming if you think the right combination will do something about n Monday.
I don’t think there is that much correlation in being surrounded with qualified assistant coaches and being competent yourself. Dalić with this this similar cast of nincompoop assistants medaled 3 times during his tenure.
Think how qualified is Englands assistant coaching staff is and then compare their results to ours over the last several years.
Much has to do with our team talent level. Couple that with Dalić employing a winning strategy in most of the tournaments he’s been involved in.
He hasn’t figured it out yet. I can read a newspaper and rewatch the game myself and come to a decent conclusion on my own what is wrong with the team. I’m hopeful that Dalić does something similar and deploys a better strategy going forward.
If he gets it right vs Italy, we’re going to see some much more on brand performances going forward.
I agree. A lot of pizdas in here today. Giving up a goal late was brutal but all is not lost.
Dalic got the CB scenario wrong vs Spain. But it wasn’t his fault we missed easy chances.
Dalic got it wrong today with Brozo. But made up for it with the Sucic + Budimir subs.
We lack a 2nd CB besides Gvardiol who is ready now. We all wanted Sutalo to be a stud but he just isn’t there yet. Perhaps never but he needs more time. Simply not a safe bet this tournament.
Dalic is level headed. Like all coaches he has limitations. We are not germany or spain who spits out new players of quality every 2-3 years. Dalic needs analyze today and then watch Italy/Spain. Go from there.
We have no pace on the wings. That hurts us big time. Perisic was that guy a few years ago. But without pace on the wings its a tough go…
If we had to beat one team of quality in a one game must win. IE Spain, England, Germany, France, Italy or Holland. Who would we all pick in the that list? ITALIA. WE aren’t done.
“We lack a 2nd CB besides Gvardiol who is ready now.”
FYI there is a man called Erlic.
“We have no pace on the wings.”
Two guys called Ivanusec and Marco P
Despite it not being enough, Kovacic has been our best player this Euro. Too many said he should be benched. It’s the other two that need benching and can come on later if needed. Perisic too.
Italy is the better team…it’s a fact. Even if Dalic plays the correct formation & lineup it is most likely too late and won’t make much of a difference.
The team is old.
The team is slow.
The young players haven’t played enough and will be under too much pressure.
They had a good run.
Dear Dalic,
It’s over
laku noć
I was thinking it was over watching the last Euros. Then the World Cup happened. Been a great ride and if we get punted versus Italy, oh well, it’ll be easier on the heart than getting down to the semis or whatever. (POSITIVE SPIN!) … AJMO.
they were lucky last World Cup
You ever hear you have to be good to be lucky, punk?
A lot of Zlatko haters out there right now. But what the heck did we do from 1999 through 2017. We have short memories. Viva Zlatko!
Modric ,I love him hes a Croatian legend carried the team so many times but its getting harder now ,but maybe he should accept the bench and a super sub role
for the sake of the next game. Dalic he is done hes reached his limit hes milked a great group of players but there is no fucking way he should be kept if they go out .
@gaz. You’re absolutely correct.
he needs to go regardless if we advance or not . He got credit for things he noting to do with
Obviously we are all going to root our heart out on Monday, but seriously, after watching these two slopfests, what gives anyone ANY hope of a win against Italy?
Just because we know we have nothing to lose, might play differently. I’m just hoping Brozo doesn’t get a start
It depends if Dalić wakes up and makes the right selections and tactical decisions.
He went for all offense today in hopes of winning and correcting the goal difference and was still drunk off the same tactics that worked against Portugal. The offense actually was still clicking against Spain too but we were unlucky with the finishing. And instead of Gvardiol at LB, he played Perišić out of position, routed almost all attacks in the first half through the way too crowed center and it was super easy for Albania to defend and counterattack.
Brožović of three years ago would have been instrumental in stopping some these counters, but he’s not close to that performance level. It left our CB’s very exposed.
Against Italy I think it depends what Italy is going for. Will they have secured their advancement? This will influence their strategy. Will Dalić properly access the mistakes of these last two matches and adjust? Or will he continue to ride or die with his loyalty to the players in his ‘circle of trust’?
I think we’re just a couple of tweaks away from clicking as a team. If we’re able to beat Italy and secure that actually quite favorable 3rd place advancement draw, look out as we’ll have some good momentum.
Agree with everything you said.
Figure out who steps in for Broz to provide some defensive cover for the CBs, and fix the LB/RB fullback situation (Not sure why Stanišić was benched, Jura’s just not strong enough).
Might have to stick with the non-traditional wingers, but still keep your finger on the trigger to sub in Marco Pašalić (or even Pjaca) if we need some ACTUAL wingers in there.
Croatia will beat Italy and go on in the Tournament
Are Schedule with a way early game in the heat of the day sucked
Yeah players are older but we play really hard against Italy Budi Ponosan!!!
Got to believe brata!!!
you are way too delusional ..
This is by far the worst performance of the national team I’ve witnessed. We were drawn into the group of death however, conceding 5 goals in two games is horrendous and inexcusable. The Spain result just revealed that our team can’t compete with the young and eager youth. Our defence have been allowing so much time and space in the 12 yard box for 3 of the five goals we’ve conceded. Players like Modric, Petkovic, Perisic and Brozovic and a few others can’t start against Italy. We will be a laughing stock if we start them. The Italians will dance around them. Truth be told is we have been squeezing the life out of the remaining squad since the 2018 World Cup glory. It’s been six years since then and we are still using our washed midfield that can’t withstand these high intensity games. Let’s start all the youth Monday. Start Sučić, Baturina, Ivanušec and Sosa. I would keep Kramaric in the middle with Pasalic and Majer on the wings. Try to keep Budimir on too. I unfortunately don’t see a result going in our favour Monday. Albania was a task but beatable. Everyone in that locker room should be praising Livakovic. He kept the scoreline at 3-0 against Spain and saved us in the first half today. Our defence make the same mistakes and keep ball watching again! It’s like watching my Maple Leafs play jabemti. I have no expectations for Monday and nobody in this forum should either. Accept our fate and look forward to the North America World Cup. We aren’t beating Italy with this squad or form.
Jebemti*
You want to keep guys who aren’t wingers on the wing again? You and Dalic might as well go out for lunch and plan tactics together. Absolutely ridiculous!
Livako played well but he let in the soft first goal so I don’t exactly think everyone should be praising him.
This is the best and most accurate take. I’ve been saying the same thing since the beginning. Give these youngsters a chance they are so eager to prove themselves and they can keep up with other players not to mention that they are talented and can change the game. Just see what Sucic and Baturina did.
Budimir also played very well. He should start next game
Wouldn’t count on qualifying for 2026. There is no safety net of second place in your qualifying group like the Euros. If the Euros were the old system of 16 teams, we would have had to go in a playoff. Croatia is 5 for 5 in playoffs though. We’ll see who they are drawn with in qualifying. But they need to win their group. Good news is they will be the top seed in their qualifying group. But we’ve seen recently how they play down to their competition. So nothing is guaranteed.
When things like this happens in other sports, the coaches are fired and players are moved.
In 2018 we had many attackers from many positions. It’s 2024 and the team is still pretending it’s the same way.
It’s time for Dalic to go along with the assistant coaches and it’s time to embrace the youth. Things might not be good for awhile, but they’ll eventually get better.
Just thinking back to our qualifiers, anyone remember how Turkey would just get the ball off us, do one long ball into our half and run onto a one-on-one?
Seems like that’s all any team has to do to get through our defense. The structure is completely vulnerable and is being exploited. Thanks to Dalic for being a great leader over the years but time for someone else to see if they can plug these gaping holes now, i think.
New coach – definitely
But not to plug holes
To coach the next generation to qualifying for WC 2026
Modric, Perisic, Vida, Kramaric, Budimir, Broz, Petkovic, Pjaca, JJ – all retire
Kova and Mario P stay on as senior members for WC 2026 squad (then retire afterwards)
Baturina, Sucic, Marco Pasalic, Stanisic, etc etc must start every match of qualifying / Nations League going forward
Ante, you are spot on with the trident no longer working. Sadly it’s a key piece in Broz who has been a workhorse for us over the years that has to go. Kova has been our best player the last two games.
Unfortunately, our greatest player in history is looking his age and has been very poor as well.
Dalic won’t bench Modric but hope he can at least sit Broz and bring in Sucic.
I have no idea why he sat Stanisic unless he needed him against Italy. Juranovic side was attacked almost every time.
As someone on here wrote, Mario Pasalic moves so well and puts himself in good scoring positions. He really could play as a striker or false 9 and be effective. Our problem is too many central midfielders.
Maybe Erlic Sutalo should be reunited with Gvardiol back on the left back position to neutralize Chiesa who is Italy’s main threat.
Modric needs to look in the mirror and have an honest conversation
And bench himself (he played 97 minutes today – so probably won’t recover in time anyways)
And have Luka Sucic and Baturina start the next game w/ Kova
We all talked about this at length over the last 24 months or so. Until we get a threat up top we are easy to defend.
Teams watch our tapes too. Bottling up our midfield is the tactic most teams are using now due to a lack of a threat up top.
Frustrating. We must introduce these youngsters up top even if not ready because our opponents aren’t ready.
Very narrow (bc we have no threat out wide) low-block just inside / outside own box – that’s the strategy – and so predicable it’s coming our way
Still no Marco Pasalic after 180′ min, lol
JJ and Perisic were glued on the touch-lines today (zero threat they will get the ball and run into the box – and their crossing accuracy was terrible)
Modric – (pains me to say this) – but Spain it was clear no legs / lacks vision – today after 20 min I saw enough – he should have been subbed out – SofaScore 8.1 rating (bhahahahaaha – not even close) – retire
Broz – along w/ Kova – was compensating for Modric – so while it looks like he was making mistakes – he was running for 2 people – him and Modric – retire
Kova – best midfielder today and vs. Spain – stay for WC 2026 qualifying (until Lovro ready to take over w/ Sucic and Baturina)
Sutalo – I told u all – the problem in Spain was Sutalo (doing bicycle and scorpion kicks in the box to clear it, lol) – not Pong – today he was paired with best CB in world – and got worst – zero positional awareness – zero sense when danger right in front of him – doesn’t know who to pick up – just stands around hoping of the attackers will run into him, lol – any long-ball his strategy is to bear-hug the opponent every single time, lol (the ref finally caught on around 70′ and starting calling each of them for a foul) – 2nd goal sums him up – instead of blocking the ball / kicking out – he decides to deflect in into his own box – the guy wasn’t good enough to make it at Ajax – so who thought he’d deserves to start as CB for the Croatian National team
Perisic – he looked like a automatic baseball pitching machine – just camping out all game on left side and every time crossing it in – offered zero running / attacking threat – as such – Albania were able to prepare for every cross (as they knew that’s what he was going to do) – retire
JJ – one run down RHS all game (in first half) – should have been subbed after we went up 2-1
Again – these games exposing Kova (least so), Gvardiol and Modric – at City and Real Madrid – they surrounded by world-class in every position – when they have mostly “average” players around them – don’t look nearly as good – looking at u Gvardiol
Petko – really good – good pressing – good picking up ball deep – some nice headers to flick on / hold up play – I thought he was 2nd best player after Kova
Majer and Krama – whole game cutting inside – offered zero threat – can’t believe Krama playing “LW” again
Marco Pasalic – outrageous he hasn’t seen the field – especially since over 180′ we offer zero threat on the wings / out wide (beyond Perisic sitting stationary waiting to lop in another cross)
Dalic – excellent energy today – was active / giving instructions from side-lines the whole game – not that it made a difference – but at least he tried – I think that was his first yellow card ? Corluka and back-up goalie yellow-cards too
Vlasic – selfish f*cker – he should have stayed home – we could have brought Petar Sucic or Jakic as a CDM to bring off the bench
“Croatians get better w/ age” – lol – sure – tell that to Rakitic (31 retire), Boban (31), Mandzukic (32), Corluka (32), Bokic (32), Srna (retire just turned 34), Suker (34)
As such – Vida, Kramaric, Budimir, Brozovic, Petkovic – retire
Mario Pašalić – stay for WC 2026 qualifying
Yeah Petko played great!!!
New drinking game: Take a shot for every dash/hyphen used by Anonymous. Double pour for each misused one.
Volim piti, volim piti.
Petko was our best player after Kova? Are you on drugs? Bruno is trash at this level and should be rooted to the bench. Krama was no good? He scored goddamnit! Your a grade A homer.
yeah, they are a part of delusional gay
whatever he just said –> meaningless!
I mean, it prevents you from playing for a tie – which usually leads to a loss
Embarrassing results. I can’t believe it.
Why on earth don’t WE introduce Matanovic or something. Wouldn’t hurt the current situation. I’ve lost my way with these fellas. Not sure what’s next.
Well, based off of what has been working and what hasn’t…
– We have zero width
– Perisic and Juranovic on the wingbacks didn’t provide width
– Our CBs keep getting caught on counters with little support
– Brozovic is struggling at CDM
– Majer is struggling on the wing
– Krama fits better in the middle
– Sucic, Pasalic, Kovacic have been playing very well
– Budimir has been creating chances up top
Seems like we’re going to have to play a backline of:
Sosa, Gvardiol, Erlic, Stanisic
Midfield will probably be:
Kovacic, Modric, Kramaric (with Sucic off the bench early if someone struggles)
Wingers could be:
Perisic and Mario Pasalic (Marco Pasalic off the bench to give us width and push in Mario centrally for headers)
Striker is Budimir
@Maminjo
Look at heat maps – u won’t believe JJs – shows he was down the ring in offensive side the whole game – he lost possession 16 times – and was 3 of 8 on his crosses – I only remember one run down RHS by him whole game (in 1st half) – so he provided “width” but had terrible output (lost the ball or crappy crosses)
Perisic – he lost possession only 10 times – his crosses 3 of 9
But neither offered the threat of carrying the ball into the box (like a winger)
So we had static “width” but output was terrible
Can’t believe Marco Pasalic hasn’t seen the field in 180′ minutes – it’s the biggest coaching mistake of them all
Marco Pašalić was very promising in his limited minutes for the NT before the tournament. It’s a travesty that he hasn’t seen a minute for us in such an obvious position of need. The problem with Dalić at this point in his career is that he is loyal to the guys in his ‘circle of trust’ regardless of tactical needs.
Could this have been best case scenario ?
We are still alive, we saw what didn’t work, who dosnt work, and how the game needs to be managed down the stretch.
I’m actually encouraged, more so than if the trident eeked out a 1-0 win and looked dreadful.
Broz out , Sucic starts at the 10, Majer replaces him after 60’
Let budimir and Petkovic flip at 60
Pasalic and krama on the “wings”
Let the kids run the last 30 minutes of the game
We still have everything to play for
Yeah. Ajmo! This one point so far could easily have been four. We can pick apart everything, but that’s what we do here. Ballyhooed Belgium lost to Slovakia. Shit happens.
One point could easily have been four? You mean zero, right? They got blown away against Spain, so you think they should have got points there? They were never going to come back from 3-0. And they could have lost easily today if it weren’t for Livaković saving them a few times. You can’t sugar coat what a disaster this tournament has been. Can’t see them beating Italy with this team.
They were not “blown away” versus Spain on anything but the scoreboard. Soccer happens. Not sugar coating anything, it is what it is. They had about as many chances against Spain as they did the entire last World Cup (mild sarcasm). A draw would not have been unjust.
It’s unfair on Sucic that he only gets to come in when the game is tough
After these 2 games – he deserves to start (over Modric or Broz)
Let’s see what he can do from the start
Also unfair to bring Baturina in at 83′ min – when imperative we hold down the lead / fort – u need a senior player (like Broz) to come in in those situations that can just shut it down – would have been better to bring in Vida not Sosa at the end and add another “CB” in the box
Great point. Bringing in Baturina at that stage of the game, someone who had never played for us at a major tournament, is just bad coaching. Vida, Stanisic, anyone else would have been better placed to hold to lead.
ufff….Some bad luck coupled with poor play….Albania shouldn’t have stuck around with us….petko/budimir/striker options has been invisible….perisic played fine and was one of the only players out there with a motor putting pressure etc…..
Why was Majer subbed off so early?
Croatia need to stop with the flopping bullshit….Baturina and Petkovic pathetic flops……why stanisic in the dog house?
For all you Krama haters he is our #1 offensive threat….kova been playing well…agree time for brozo to ride the pine….
Too many of our players walking around not making runs not pressing…fkn joke..budimir gets on should be fresh and nothing…terrible work rate…meanwhile 35 year old perisic is pressing the goalie and back line trying to make something happen….shameful…
Also can we stop with the passing from goalie to our full backs…my gawd almost a disaster every fkkn time, livakovic needs to kick that deep.
Majer didnt play well, if youre still looking for an answer
Budimir was involved in both goals after being on the field for 5 minutes, lol. What did you want him to do? Honestly, some of the comments on here are hilarious.
Lots of drunk Maple Leafs fans posting?
I like Majer but he looked like horseshit today. Plodding around barely putting a ball in. Terrible. He had to sub off.
“budimir gets on should be fresh and nothing…terrible work rate”
Jarac ur soccer comprehension is trash. Budimir dueled an Albanian defender in his own box to get off a pass and assist. He basically had 2 assists this game in only 20 mins of play.
I just don’t think that Dalic and his group of misfit assistants have the combined brain power to figure out the right line-up before the Italy game.
Modric & Broz, Perisic no longer have the legs to play in midfield for an entire game. Have them come in as subs. Also playing 3 forwards who all drift into the middle is just stupid. The wingers need to play the flanks and provide an outlet for the full backs and mid.
Budha
Pjaca – Baturina – Susic – Pasilic
Kova
Sosa – Gvardiol – Sutalo/Vida – Stanisic
your formation is total bulshit
with Vida in that lines up
you are also a part of delusional!
Proper disaster class from Dalic.
Why is he so averse to playing wingers on the wing? This game was the perfect game to give one of Ivanusec, Marco Pasalic, or Pjaca a run on the outside.
Also, his “loyalty” to the veterans likely will do us in this tournament. Broz had no business starting, while Perisic is either past it or still not 100%. He was a defensive liability, while not even providing much on the offensive end either losing the ball trying to take his man on one-on-one or swinging in crosses to no one.
Dalic’s late-game tactics were baffling too. Why keep in the 38-year-old Modric or Juranovic who was getting exposed defensively when trying to protect a one goal lead? Also whose idea was to hold that high line at the end there!?
At this point, I’m still trying to hope for the best and us being able to sneak a win against Italy, but I’m expecting the worst…
What happens if Dalic is playing 5D chess. Knowing that we can get in by the smallest of margins and then in the knockout stage he unleashes his genius level tactics. Lol
I’m laughing at my own jokes, damn these cardiac attacks, are effecting my sanity.
Dalic needs a supercomputer with him because managing the GD to get past the GS at this point will be one hell of a task. Lol
You cannot have a 38 yr old play the whole game in midfield and then keep him on when trying to defend a lead. Never mind the fact that he was playing horribly giving he ball away so many time especially in the first half. He should have done the right thing and asked Dalic to sub him off but he is letting his ego get in the way.
It does not matter who you but on defense when your midfield is just letting everyone get passed them.
Hopefully Modric looks in the mirror and is honest w/ himself after these 2 games
And for the sake of his/our beloved Croatia / Croatia National team – tells Dalic to start Sucic, Baturina and Kova next game (or replace Baturina w/ Mario Pasalic if we want to play it safer – plus he knows the Italians all very well)
Ante is right Broz didn’t need to start but he was the only one tracking the player who scored for Albania.
A soft AF goal. Livakovic did deem himself later on.
From the 65 to the 80th minute Croatia looked like the team we know and love.
Possession without intent killed us in the first half. Play our youth and he still have a chance
Livakovic has to do better on that first goal. It was weak. His body positioning was brutal.
Hope this is it for Dalic. He’s definitely run his course with the NT. If the federation could spend some cash on a coach, Edin Terzić would be ideal. Let him bring in his own staff and kick the cheerleaders like Olic, Mandzukic, Subasic and Corluka to the curb, they offer nothing.
FOTMOB:
Livakovic 6.4
Perisic 7.1
Gvardiol 6.2
Sutalo 7.1
Juranovic 7.2
Kovacic 8.2
Brozovic 6.8
Modric 8.2
Kramaric 8.3
Petkovic 6.9
Majer 7.1
A lot of hate on Perisic. I thought he worked hard and put in more solid crosses than anyone…just why play him a LB if he going to be the only wide attacker for the whole game?
Move Krama in for Petko who is the most useless 9 ever. Mario on the other side for Majer who’s done nothing in 2 games. Sosa at LB. Why do we make it so difficult??
Everyone forgets that we never do well in the Euro. We’ve had some pretty crappy matches in it over the years. Wasn’t it the Czechs that we couldn’t beat in the last euro?
It’s just a disappointing situation where in this euro the third place team can qualify for the knockout stage and we won’t take advantage of that.
The Udba Cigana ruined that Cro v czech game who were up 2-0 before flares were let loose on pitch by said Cigani.
I guess lovren wasn’t so bad….;)
After today results can we really advance with a win over Italy
Of course.
Usually 3 points is enough, but we would have 4 points if we beat Italy.
The only possible scenario where a win against Italy wouldn’t work, is if Albania somehow beats Spain, and Italy draws Spain (leaving everyone in the group with 4 points, and things being decided by goal differential).
I highly doubt Albania will beat Spain. Albania is terrible. They have to resort to kicking players in the head and faking a foul on every single play, which simply won’t work against the Lamine Yamal/Nico Williams/Alvaro Morata show.
some think Spain and Italy tie. I think Spain will beat them . big rivalry there. That be huge for us. But I don’t trust our boys to win
My god, Sutalo BLINDLY deflecting a cross behind him into his box to god knows who??? My Brothers in Christ what the actual F is he thinking. Open your body and put it out the back for a corner for Gods sake.
The back line has been a dumpster fire this tournament. An actual flaming pile of trash would not concede 4 out of 5 of these soft goals.
The absolute breakdown in the last 2 mins of a must win game is not excusable.
For 70 minutes as we advanced the ball into the final third there are 6 Cro players STANDING in front of the ball, zero movement and creativity to penetrate. Plus the 11 Alb players behind the ball in the bunker. Of course you cannot penetrate. And we just pass the ball side to side aimlessly. Albania hardly needed to actually defend. Just sit back and clog space and block passes.
Last 20 minutes finally some urgency, but talk about too little too late. Were lucky not to be down 2-0 at half. You cannot put yourself in these situations and count on the ability to come from behind in games when you know that you have a history of being able to MAYBE count on one goal a game….
With defense this bad there is no point hoping this will be a good tournament. I thought both Sutalo and Gvardiol were bad. But also, we didn’t seem to mark anyone properly overall. There were whole parts of the field empty on defense and congregations of Croatian players In one spot.
There had to be of been an adjustment when we took the lead and there was really none. Sucic was good, but don’t exaggerate about Baturina like everyone did about Placa Years ago. He didn’t do that much. Kovacic was brilliant. I think Sutalo was our worst player frankly or maybe Brozovic who took the money and now sucks.
I thought both Šutalo and Gvardiol were poor in the back. But my take was a big part of this was tactics as they were put in a position to fail. For the first about 35 minutes or so we routed every attack through the middle and straight into their wall. It was so clogged in the middle and we couldn’t get past anyone.
Our only players playing wide was Perišić and Juranović and they weren’t really utilized as we continued to try to overload Albania in the middle. As soon as we were dispossessed, Albania was off to the races as we had most of our players overcommitted forward and they only needed to beat Gvardiol & Šutalo. Recipe for disaster. I also noted no cover from Brož when Albania sprung a counter. This attack through the center seemed like a tactical choice and it took way too long for us to start going out wide and providing some width and stretched out the Albanian defense.
Things improved in the second half with many of our attacking sequences coming from out wide.
It felt like a lot of the changes were for the sake of change, with no tactical logic.
We knew Albania would bunker, so why insert a hold up striker over the guy that runs the channels?
Once it became obvious that JJ was getting bullied, why was Stanisić not considered? It’s not as if JJ had success going forward.
Perisić is clearly not in form for the number of minutes he received.
Gvardiol, to no one’s surprise was better than Pongračić at CB, but he was dragged wide to cover for Perisić all day. It didn’t cost us until the end, but as well as Baturina played, it was clearly time to insert a defender and go home with the W.
All of the damage that Kramarić and Majer did was when they moved centrally. They aren’t wingers.
Kovačić played like a captain today and took that last miss personally, but no one else looked like they were going to take the onus. No shame in a shot on target.
Going forward vs Italy, I think our ideal 11 is the one we played vs Portugal and Spain, but with Modrić in the deep role, and one of Sucić or the younger Pašalić inserted over Brozović. Though I wouldnt question Mario Pašalić for the sake of chemistry, which was clearly lacking today.
This should be our proper 3-5-2 starting lineup
Livakovic – Stanisic, Erlic, Gvardiol – Marko Pasalic, Kovacic, Susic, Majer, Baturina – Kramaric, Mario Pasalic
Dalic has always been afraid to hurt his veteran player’s feelings and Croatia has a culture of not giving young players a chance – bad combination
The reason Gvardiol left the middle wide open and went over to cover the wing where we already had 2 players? He forgot he was CB today. Not his fault – switched around too often.
Why do we give up late goals? Again, in our coaching culture not to foul opponents. Grab those Albanian players who were flying down the field in the last 10 minutes and pull them down. Yellow card – who cares?
The only chance we had was to keep playing offensively – yet, after we took that 2-1 lead, we stopped and tried to bunker with offensive players.
Then he brings in Sosa, another offensive player, to try and bunker.
Why does a 38 year old Luka Modric play all 98 minutes in a game where he played his worst all season? Again, can’t hurt his feelings.
Sutalo showed against Spain he should not be starting.
Pasalic is our only player who knows how to position himself in the box. Consistently getting his head on crosses.
You need speed mixed with talented midfield play, even but the speed is all on the bench.
Sucic and Baturina made some eye opening runs. That creates room for others.
Even if we beat Italy by a goal, those 4 points with a minus 2 goal difference might not be enough for a 3rd place advance.
Need Spain to beat Italy to be sure.
Excellent point
It’s almost certain to advance with 4 points – unless all 4 teams in group tie at 4(very unlikely)
Right. We could still theoretically finish in fourth place with four points. Would take a really weird combination of events, but it could happen.
But assuming we finish in third, 4 points almost certainly will be enough. Hungary just lost, which is great for us. If Scotland also loses, then we would definitely be above the group A third place team, and we’re only halfway through the competition We would just need one other one.
Do you see Austria or Poland beating Holland or France? They would need to, in order to get at least 4 points as third place team there.
Well they would likely need to. I guess. If in the Austria-Poland game there is a winner, then that winner would only need a tie vs Holland or France. Still, the odds are in our favor
Finishing with 4 points pretty much guarantees us to go through. I wouldn’t start breaking out the calculators.
The past two Euros there were several teams on 3 points who went through.
Only scenario would be if Italy and Spain draw, and somehow Albania pulls off the win on Spain on Monday (leaving everyone with 4 points).
Good points Bobby V
Reminds me of when we scored 2 late goals against Spain to tie 3-3 and then Dalic forgot he had only 2 actual defenders in the game for extra time and forgot to fix it, which he admitted after the game.
Good analysis.
I love the captain and will defend him to the death but the stakes are too high to keep the midfield as it is now.
The thing is most GS matches have been going at fast pace and utilizing counters. KBM cannot handle that; Modric can no longer run for 90 mins and Brozo can’t stop counters while covering for him. It’s been evident as far as the Portugal match; when Martinez subbed in Jota and Leao we were in serious trouble, only luck prevented them from gaining lead.
Moving to 3 atb and utilizing a younger midfield with running legs. It’s all or nothing now.
Anybody missing Lovren now? Our defense is the worst it’s been in a long time. Five goals in two games. And let’s be honest, Albania could have had 2-3 more.
Same. People can scapegoat Lovren or Vida but Pongracic and Sutalo these past games have been killing me.
Thing is do we have the replacements for them? None of Pongracic, Sutalo and Erlic seems up to the task.
It makes me sick watching them play the way they have. Can’t win a game, can’t score a goal. Tie vs. Albania when its must win. Sramota. If they fall out group stage, dalic must go. Now we will suck for 10 years again. Sorry to say, sorry to be negative, they’ve given us a lot over the years to be happy about, but to go from 2nd and 3rd in the world to this is saying they are neither prepared nor coached properly.
Actually, the young players looked very good.
Kovacic, Sucic and Baturina look like a great combo.
Marco Pasalic is a true winger who plays hard for us in qualifying. He probably should have been subbed in today (to give us width) instead of sticking it out with Juranovic (who didn’t do anything).
So long as we don’t go with a disaster coach (like Olic) we should be okay for the future. Praying for Terzic or Juric to be our coach. Will be tough.
Olic it is, then 😉
I feel your frustration. Its not as bad as it seems. The team is more talented than it looks . The talent is there . Just needs to be polished and fine tuned .
Now, finally we are in our element. Backs against the wall. No hope. Things are looking bleak. Everyone thinks we’re dead in the water…..and then the Croatian Phoenix rises again from the ashes!
Ajmo!!!
Bog I Hrvati
PS. Would anyone know the answer to this? If Italy ties Spain but loses to us by a score of 1-0, is second place decided by head to head or goal difference?
Head to head, Croatia would get 2nd.
Thanks Mile
But if Albania pulls out a win against Spain, then we drop from 2nd to 4th
(and will be ineligible for progression as a top third-placed team despite having more points than every other third placed team, ha ha)
It actually depends how much Albania would win by…
Spain will run right over Albania . Our only hope is Spain beat Italy and we beat them . Might as well ask for the winning numbers to the lottery . I honestly don’t see us advancing
Be honest everyone, this team is govno. Dalic & the 3 stooges’ have no idea what they are doing. There are no changes that he can make now that can improve the defense play of the team. Every time Albania entered the Croat half they were a threat.
Modric was the worst player on the field…..sad to see. Ancelotti is not a dummy and this is the reason he had him only come in as a sub for the important games at Real.
This team is not govno. Dalic is govno. You have the players at your disposal. His selection and tactics have been shit since day one.
He’s just lucky he had Modric and Perisic at their prime.
Ya, Dalic is really getting exposed here.
You can be forgiven for picking the wrong starting lineup…but if they’re not delivering, then you have to make adjustments quickly.
Most of us would have started Broz in this tournament, but after seeing his performance…you have to bench him and promote Sucic (who has looked great).
Trying out Perisic and Jura in the backline (for the first time in a long time) was risky, and it didn’t work as intended…but then you keep Stanisic on the bench when you need to keep a lead? Come on.
Dalic has to be better than this.
100%
No, Dalic hasn’t got the squad. I said after Croatia got 3rd in the last WC that they were the worst 3rd placed team in the history of the world cup, you beat lol Morocco to get the bronze, Morocco ???? and Argentina (they had better teams when Batistuta was playing, just like every other team had better players back then) beat a flu-ridden France in the final with old man Messi who couldn’t win sh*t at the peak of his powers.
Soccer is really sh*t at the moment, every team is sh*t, and the best sh*t team will win this tornament, and that’s France.
Croatia is always the same, there is more of a chance they play better against Italy than Albania.
The counter attack has always been Croatia’s 1 wood, and it’s hard to play that way against a shit team, but against one of the best sh*t teams you’ll get more opportunity to get your game up and going.
Two games played, five goals conceded!!!!!!! defense is letting us down with simple, schoolboy errors in both games.
The only positive is that we improved in the second half, after Broz was subbed out. It’s frustrating because we can clearly control and attack, there is stil hope.
It took everyone today (or last game) to realize we shouldn’t be playing Brozovic. Now everyone is crying about it. He shouldn’t have ever be a starter .
@NewAgain
Sorry mate but I’ve been the only one shouting EPICLESS Broz for two years. Lol
Not that I’m a genius but I had seen so many bad passes that it was an easy deduction. The arm flailing was enough for me to bench him. Haha
Others on here argued that he does the little things defensive things to win but I argue he does the little/big things to lose.
Again, not boasting, I rather be dead wrong and he bags a hat trick but that’s never going to happen at his age.
I’m just happy everyone is seeing the light.
Lastly, so many on here have way more knowledge than myself. I’m hoping to get the HNL next year so I can see what so many have noticed regarding players up & coming.
It was here that I learned of Bat, Sucic, Marco P etc with all the HNL highlights.
Correction, a small vocal minority was here about Broz. I’m the only one to label him Epicless haha.
What is everyone taking about!
We suck because Dalic doesn’t know how to be tactical, he’s always in desperation mode!
Looking back at everything from 2020 on, Dalic has had a lucky rabbit’s foot in his pocket.
-OG vs Spain Euro 2020, 2 late goals to force ET
-Lukaku missing everything against us in front of the net — WC 2022
-Japan penalties
-Petkovic deflection goal vs. Brazil
-Brazil penalties
Look, I’ll take results all day long. But at a certain point, your luck runs out.
What are the chances spain plays with b team against italy?
I think Spain will still use their A team because they need to secure the 3pt to advance in 1st place.
Progress ..
We need to play our dynamic young attackers against Italy.
Sučić is strong and Mario P is built for Italy.
Brozovic is not on the level to compliment Modrić and Kovacic at this point.
Kovačić has to play our 6/8 role.
Perišić off the bench as this will go 90+ and we will need him in the second half.
Budimir starts.
I like Gvardiol back at LB.
Bring in Erlic as he has played Italy for a while now.
If you put Kramaric on the LW then you have to start Mario P on the RW for speed presence.
Majer at the 10 with Sučić in for him when he tires.
Time for a big statement win.
Well I’m just happy we still have one more meaningful game at least. Would be a bummer to only get to tournament games of significance after 2 years of qualifying
Anyone notice old tired legs baturina not run into the box and mark the guy who scored? Say what you want about him but back in the day bozovic would’ve run and covered that guy
Defensively my God they have been piss poor. It was the the whole match to be honest not only the last few minutes. No idea what Gvardiol was doing leaving the middle wide open on the first goal to cover the left flank when we had 2 guys there already. Luka looks done so many poor passes and no legs. Only positives is we looked much better in the second half with Sucic and Pasalic.
MBK was never supposed to happen for the Albania game, had to sit one of them and based on last game Brozo was the one who should have sat, huge L for Dalic once again.
Albania made subs last 10 mins and JJ started to get bullied, Dalic not putting in stanisic was a mistake. He didn’t learn anything from the last euros when we lost 5-3 specifically from not changing the RB.
Shitalo is a fraud and should have never played again after the Spain catastrophe. Defensive positioning is non existent as usual. Its clear that Gvardiol-Erlic complement each other best for the CB pairing.
Petkovic…smh. He actually did good for aerial and ground duels today, but he just doesn’t know how to position himself for attacking headers unfortunately.
Kramaric is soooo slow on the flank, we gave up so many counters because his lack of pace. Once hes closer in the box he can do those fakes, but 1 on 1s out wide he is useless(as we all know except dalic).
We would be infinitely more dangerous in attack if we ever get actual wingers on the pitch; Marco P, pjaca, ivanusec.
Ante- thank you for the quick video, I think it encapsulates what a lot of us are feeling.
Hopefully this will be another “Finland“ type moment for us, like from 2017. A last minute goal to really stun us. And in both situations, we’re not totally out of it yet,… but nearly.
But the shock is still there, and that shock may be what is necessary to make the changes we need, like in 2017. Back then, we finally switched coaches prior to going to Ukraine (and the rest is history). Now in 2024, we still have an inkling of hope- hopefully this shock will finally lead to an admission that the changing of the guard needs to start happening NOW, for the Italy game.
I think all the praise and thanking Dalic + team before the tournament was in case this very performance happened
It’s almost rock bottom now – but Croatia probably has 30% chance to beat Italy so they can pull it out. But any hope of deep run, I don’t see it
If we finish third, we may cross over with the winner of the Romania/Slovakia group.
Would be pretty funny (and typical Dalic luck) to completely mess things up in the group stage but still be rewarded with a weaker opponent in the R16.
Italy beating Spain could lead to Italy not caring about Croatia result…even Italy draw with Spain helps a bit. Anyway – probably 30% chance for Croatia to advance I’d say
This feels a lot like Euro2020 (where we’re just throwing stuff onto a wall to see what sticks).
Dalic is still a step behind and is making some mistakes (both in the starting eleven and substitutes).
Broz in the starting lineup was a mistake that everyone called. Removing Stanisic from the lineup was also a mistake (he should of at least been subbing in for the defensively weak Juranovic at the end there).
The best news for me…
Our two younger midfielders (Sucic and Baturina) plus Kovacic look like a good trio for the future.
Sucic should start, and Baturina should continue to get minutes off the bench.
We also need to try out Marco Pasalic too.
This looked like the type of game where he would have thrived, giving us that width (that Juranovic was supposed to provide us) and doing it in front of his fellow diaspora Croats in Germany.
Kovacic was the best player on the field for us today over both halves. But as usual that will be ignored by the Kova haters.
Anyone else find Sosa hand ball weird? No replay at all, it seemed like the ball hit his foot and redirected to his hand via crazy bounce.
If so it’s ball to hand and not a penalty shot. Yet, I can’t stand when things like that happen to us or other teams.
I question the integrity of the game every time they over use VAR and then under use it in other circumstances.
The match against Italy we need to start with players that can run the entire match. Brozovic is simply not the same player he was a few years back and has lost a lot of pace.
Sosa and Perisic cannot play against Italy and Dalic will need to put Gvardiol at LB and bring back Stanisic at RB and Erlic to partner Sutalo in the middle of the defence. Gvardiol has not played as a CB for a long time and it showed today bigtime. He needs to play at LB where he plays for his club side.
Majer was poor today on the left wing and needs to play in midfield. Budimir did well when he came on with two assists. Mario Pasalic and Sucic need to start against Italy.
Need a win against Italy, not sure we can do it with a shaky defence and aging midfield.
I agree with your comments . We need young blood . Always said this cup cannot be won by old man . Young legs will win it
Dalic started Perisic and Juranovic because he wanted to give us that width.
It obviously didn’t work, but it makes me wonder why not just tackle the width issue from our wing spots instead of creating more defensive issues in our backline.
After this Euro Dalic has to go, Modric has to retire, Brozovic to be taken off the starting line up until he plays well in a good league in
europe again, if that ever happens. Kovacic captain.
Sucic and Baturina all the way in starting 11, Marco Pasalic too. Try new younger forwards that haven’t been called up yet. Vida has to go too, he’s taking a precious spot on the bench and for what? He isn’t even going in as a sub.
We played way better against Spain
@Stjepan V.
The only thing I can see is that two Albanias are in an offside position when the pass was made, is this what you’re eluding too?
Sometimes they will call it immediately but then in other circumstances argue if the pass wasn’t directed to those in an offside position then it’s not offside.
What I saw was šutalo caught in no man’s land deciding whether to close out the approaching Albanian player towards the wide part of the box. He wasn’t in great position and when the Albanian made his centering pass Šutalo couldn’t intercept/block it and just had a shitty deflection that fell right to the goal scorer.
Granted, part of the buildup to this breakdown included Juranović not doing his job at RB.
@BrozTiTT
Lmao, I don’t think anyone’s delusional here, part of loving your roots is the unbridled passion and faith that our parents little country will triumph no matter what.
Sadly, everyone here knows that this team is too old. Its days are numbered. If we started the youth movement at the beginning of qualifying we would be light years ahead.
Now it’s a disaster, allowing to kids to play will only be baptism by fire. They might be able to beat Italy and reach the knockout stage but that would be miracle in itself.
Lastly, maybe Gvardiol will be able to mentor them on water management 😉
That was really lame…
That last min goal nonsense! Reminds me of turkey- Euro 08
Sloppy and dirty tactics by Albanian team!
Albanian player kicks gvardiol in the head!! Offside Albanian player kicks livakovic nose? Albanian player kicks out modrics leg on the last min breakaway?
I really don’t know how you give the game away like that. They should have scored an insurance goal for this exact reason. I feel like we were peeing at the urinal with our pants completely down during extra time??? That was unbelievable
Positives….
Sucic, Baturina and Kovacic played well. Pasalic was always around the ball and pressed.
Negatives…so many.
Broz was invisible, Modric is starting to show his age and our D just isn’t good enough. Juranovic’s side was attacked and his defensive liabilities showed.
Stanisic all day at RB….I think we actually may need to have Gvardiol at LB next game otherwise Chiesa will have a field day against Sosa or Perisic.
For the few minutes they were in, Sucic and Baturina played so well. It’s a shame Dalic is playing these old geriatric washed out players who look confused like Biden.
Modric is my biggest idol, but he just can’t keep up. Better to start someone else and have him as a super sub.
Broz looked like Biden with his Alzheimer parallel straight line run far away from his man. Watch it on replay. Comical.
Why are we playing a high line in injury time? Just inviting chaos. Poor Juranovic was gassed at the end and we wouldn’t bring on a sub (5 already). Just see the game out and take the 3 points. Always the hard way.
We can still get in. If Italy loses to Spain and we beat the WOPS then we will secure second. With this tournament’s expansion top four 3rd place teams also Adam r to the knockout stages.
Everyone was pounding the table for more offense, mostly the authors of this site. That hasnt been our MO in tournaments and shouldnt have been tried this one with an older midfield
i *seriously* don’t know what Dalić doesn’t understand. It hasn’t been working with the wings not played by true wingers.
Also, the defence has a problem despite Josko being back. I believe that has to do partly with Perisic who started as left back.
Would have been better with Sosa instead, but even with keeping gvardiol as LB and putting erlić as CB would have worked better than this now.
Problem used to be mostly attacking, now problems are just everywhere. It’s so frustrating.
I’m accepting now after this match that this generation has come to an end. I do not include Kovacic in that though – he had me worried for a while this last year but Pep has done some good work with him and he got hungrier at attacking/trying shots.
****for god’s sake get rid of Brozovic in starting line up****
All the young players should have deserved their chance these last two games given our most ‘’secured’’ players didn’t do their job.
you are a part of delusional supporters
who thinks we could beat Albania 2-0
as I already stated Dalic is shit _ no way
Mental Midget Syndrome strikes again. This felt like one of our qualification matches where we just can’t put a sub par team down.
Last 10 minutes Juranovic was struggling big time at RB no idea why Dalic did not bring on Stanisic. Everyone blaming poor Pongracic for the loss to Spain when it was a poor performance pretty much by the entire team.
Who do we blame this time ? Modric, Brozovic, Sutalo and Gvardiol because they were all poor.
Agree with the Juranović sub, they attacked down that side towards the end every time.
Šutalo was Shitalo again.
Sutalo played well this game. What are you on about?
I think he means that Sutalo seemed to be shaky at times
Check Albania’s second goal
I said at half bring on both pasalic(s)
They are both strong and pressing
Does say a 2-1 win against Italy potentially take us through
I always said Albania was tricky
Despite the score line they were harder then Spain
Any win vs Italy brings Croatia thru … barring some crazy scenarios (especially if they lose to Spain)
Going into this tournament we all thought are defence was the best in Euro, now I’m questioning if it’s even worthy of HOUSE league.
I can’t for the life me understand how at the 80min we couldn’t do what we did in the first half, which was nothing but hold onto the ball.
Italy would be playing everyone back and even throwing in their Nona’s for insurance.
SMH
Why are we so bad at defending the last few minutes of games? This has been a problem for nearly a decade now, we just don’t know what to do and give up 90xth minute goals repeatedly.
Why was there no card for the kick to Livaković’s head? I don’t usually make this argument, but the refereeing really robbed Croatia of a fair game. All those dives that stopped play in the first 60 minutes because Albania didn’t know what else to do. The head injuries to Croatia’s keeper and star defender. Albania scored nice goals, but the rest of their game was terrible and extremely dishonest. Really a shame. I’m sure Dalić will speak to that. I thought Croatia played well and that Dalić coached well. Sučić should start in place of Brozović since Brozović failed the team on Albania’s first goal. Budimir off the bench was good because the team needed those goals badly. The real problem is the defense. Why don’t they make the stops? Livaković is very good (probable concussion aside). The backline is practically an open gate.
We should have put this one away.
Sučić and Baturina looked good though.
Hopefully Dalić just starts Sučić this time. Broz was involved in too many gosls and errors.
Was hoping we would sub in Marco Pašalić and Pjaca late in the game, just to have them press hard for those last few minutes. We really need some pressing forwards.
Now we need to beat Italy. We need to focus on defending with our midfielders and not leave so much space on counter attacks.
I wonder why bring Pasalic and Pjaca if they will not play? its not like they are young and come there for the experience
I get not parking the bus but we had so many players going forward the last 5-10 minutes. And why keep a gassed Modric in there at the end with the lead? Any normal manager would have subbed him out for a defender/defensive mid in the last 5 minutes to preserve the lead. That’s on Dalic. Now we have to beat Italy to move on.
Tough task the way we’ve been playing.
This team can’t win with this defense. No way they are beating Italy. It was a good run from 2018-2022. Now the inevitable rebuild.
Can we not defend with 10 minutes left?? We had so much possession but couldn’t in the final minutes. I swear this team wants to give me a heart attack.
Also, sucic and baturina looked great. Broz sucks now and perisic wasn’t impressive. Time for our young stars
Against Italy I don’t want to see any of the old players. No Perisic, Brozovic, Petkovic. Only the captain has the right to play, the rest can fuck off!!
So even winning against Italy, we really can’t make it can we with this goal diff
Sigh
Sucic and baturina look like they will be ready to come in and take over soon enough
If we win against Italy we will 100% be through as a best third placed team. There’s not a lot to suggest we are capable of beating them, though.
If Italy lose to Spain, and Croatia beat Italy they will most likely be the 2nd seed in the group. If Italy win today they will prob be 3rd with a win against Italy! Either way a win v Italy gets them in
We need to buy Kramaric a big birthday cake and thank sosa for that block near the end of the match
Doesn’t matter, a tie is like a loss. They ain’t beating Italy if they can’t beat fucking Albania.
Fucking disgusting!!! Against this shit!!!
We should have parked the bus for the end of the game to secure the win.
why were we playing such a high line in the last minutes of the game…..
That rosary really works!!!
Hvala Bogu!
Bog i Hrvati
Yeah sure dude. It’s because you prayed, lol
stari
one of the most delusional wacko here –
Cardiac Croatians
Woow lucky ass Dalic with his questionable tactics gets bailed out again… You just have to applaud him.
SUCCICICICICICICICI
When Albania wins this would likely go down as the biggest upset
Albania is 66th ranked
Croatia is 10th
They won their group. We barely qualified.
Even though we have underachieving players, I’m not sure it’s a true upset.
Barely qualified is a huge exaggeration. We won 5, drew 1 and lost 2. The 2 losses happened during a period where the team was shaken up due to injuries. We got 16pts, 1pt behind Turkey and 4pts ahead of Wales.
To put it in perspective, Albania only got 15pts (4w 3d 1l) and tied with Czechia in their table.
We are better than Albania, that’s for sure. But whatever bad luck and bad form has been nagging us since the tournament begins, it’s there, it has not gone away.
Mario Paŝalic should have been put in already. Having both Kova/Broz at the same time in the 67th minute down 1-0 makes no sense.
There’s a better chance of Albania making it 2-0 than us scoring.
Well Budimir is on now so let’s see
Hello,
I am no expert, Dalic is and all respect to him and the team. However, this is what happens when you dont give enough experience to the young players and just put them in expecting they will start playing well (Pogracic, Gvadriaol vs England etc),
Perhaps, other teams have figured us out and know how to defend against us?Also, with Sutalo having a crappy season in Dutch league, its going to come into the national team. Why, play him if he didnt have a good season? He does seem shaky.
Also, Broz playing in saudi league is showing…Im sure we have btter players in his position? What ever happened with Majer-Kovacic and Modric? Did we not play that formation once?
Albania gave Italy problems. If we see how Italy played against Albania, it was their wingers that gave them problems with players like Chieasa
I agree, Marco Pasalic, Baturina, Sucic. These guys need to be getting more chances. Dalic didn’t play them in less important games enough and now they’re not ready to play on the big stage.
Why is Kramaric still in? Also if we really want to win Modric needs to be taken out as well. Probably the worst game I’ve seen him play…
Take Modric out and put in Baturina.
Agreed. Sad to say.
Epicless Broz, failed marking once again and almost set up the 2nd goal with a desperation slide tackle.
Too much tika taka, get balls in the box. If Albania can get one damn cross in 20 minutes and score then we should be able to get 10 inside and be at least even.
Besides that, how many times have I argued for Youngblood? How many times have my brothers on this site said the same thing?
Now even TSN pundits are saying that Perisic (God Love Him) Modric (Greatest of al time) Kova and Broz have lead this team forever but are tired legs.
When are they going to start the change to youth which every country must face?
Germany after 2014 had hit their stride with their golden generation but had to go through the painful transition of vets to youth.
Same with Spain, France, England and every other team. We need to start this process earlier instead of later.
My rant is done, I only pray for a miracle and are youngsters to have chance.
Wish Orsic, and Marco were playing the wings with Sosa and Juranovic backing them up. and giving service. If its working, break it is our motto.
The time we needed Budimir and are providing a few decent high crosses we play Petkovic after yesterday performance, really. Seems like we are shooting in the dark.
I never been a big fan of Majer. seems to be pushed off the ball so easily. Both Pasalics need to be playing.
Slowest team in Europe currently with the current line up. Good move was Juranovic, that gave us some kind of life.
Don’t recognize this team . Thank goodness for Livakovic keeping us in the game.
The drop off by Luka is ugly to witness …kind of like that 60 yr old bleach blonde hag on the dance floor in a short sequin dress who used to be gorgeous!
I am guessing Olic and the other “assistants” begged Paṣ̌alic and Suč̣ić to be put in now since it’s unlike him to sub this early. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong Pašalic.
Majer with a stinker of a match.
Budimir shouldn’t have been replaced in the starting lineup.
Horrible defending, slow offence.
Objectively, Modric has been terrible
He should have been taken off after 20 minutes
He has missed every pass fwd (either intercepted or not reaching intender received) and free kick (not making it thru or in a non-threatening spot)
As such, Broz and Kova trying to over-compensate
Bring on Sucic or Baturina and revitalize the midfield
all of you are a bunch of delusional!
time to wake up > under Dalic… they are nothing
but a team that made it through with sheer luck
Embarrassing performance. For the first 30 minutes or so we routed every attack through the middle and straight into their wall. It was so clogged in the middle and we couldn’t get past anyone. As soon as we were dispossessed, Albania was off to the races as we had most of our players committed forward. Recipe for disaster. This seemed like a tactical choice and it took way too long for us to start going out wide and providing some width.
We should bring on a real winger straightaway.
Spain and now Albania did a phenomenonal job of scouting us.
Katastrofa
Very lucky it is not 3 – 0. Our defence is shocking in particular the two CB’s.
Where the he.. was Gvardiol with the first goal ? nowhere to be seen ? he should have been there to intercept that cross.
Far to slow, we need more crosses into the box. Big mistake playing Perisic it is clear that he is nowhere close to being fit.
Perisic frozen on the left-side flank – minimal movement
Juranovic one run the entire 1st half
First goal – also on Livakovic (could be he lost the ball in the sun/shadows coming in at that angle)
I wouldnt say Modric is having the best game
I was going to ask if Markus can recommend some nice spots to go watch our matches here in Montréal (I know only about the Croatian church that displays them and gathers a lot of us supporters), but right now I’m just too scared to watch them in public with how we’re playing lmao
Great song by Croatian artist Zeljko Bebek sums it up, I did say this was the end of the great run – Laku noc sviraci- I will watch the second half with that song on- it sums up the closing of the bar and you struck out like HNS 2024- we will be back but not for some time
Give a chance to players like Sucic, Marco Pasalic, Baturina… Albania is doing that with their young players. This is a joke. We look old and washed out, can’t make passes. No wingers to switch up the play and confuse their defense. We just pass the ball down the middle and hope for an opening, and the Albanians have already figured us out and we will never get past their defense this way. That’s why we have 0 aggressivness in front of goal, because we don’t do anything creative.
On another note, I wish we had called up Orsic.
1 and half games without a clear shit on goal. Trying to walk it in!! This is torture to watch. Passes not getting to intended targets, second to every 50/50, timid going forward scared of the counter. What on earth has Brozo showed in 3 halves, Perisic looks like a player devoid of confidence with his knee and Petkovic well need I say more!! WOW! how embarrassing
I don’t know what else Dalić expected with a front three of Kramarić, Petkovic and Majer. Just no firepower there. I think one of the biggest changes people were expecting after the Spain game was playing a true winger.
Frustrating to watch so far
Definitely agreeing with Jo here
So glad i got up at 2 am for spain and 11 pm for this absolute junk we are serving up, sheesh.
Super lucky not to be down by 3 goals. Basically every time we lose the ball (which is often) they look like scoring. For the second game in a row we’ve been severely out-strategised.
Yep! Lose or draw this and be fucked if I’m gonna get up at 5 next week to watch them play a friendly!!!
Bring on the pasalic(s)
Sucic
It’s sad to see luka have to go out like this
Will he and dalic leave together??
But let’s go, another half Let’s see if anyone can get something going
Terrible performance. Our defence which was suppose to be one of our strengths is in shambles.
Moreover even though everyone can see that we need a true winger on the pitch Dalic is some reason still blind to this. And no Perisic does not count. He is clearly a ghost of himself and loses the ball every time he tries to take a man on.
Thank god for Livakovic right now loll
You guys know that urban song bilo dobro dok je trajalo
This hurts to watch, I honestly considered for the first time ever during a Croatia match to stop watching.
1. Someone tell Dalić to stop making so many players play out of their natural/most natural positions. No wonder the team has such a hard time getting organized.
I get that you want to have all your best players on the pitch but as Markus and Kvartuc said, you should see it as a good dilemma to bench such good players, for the sake of having at least true wingers on the pitch
2. I much better like Juranovic than Stanisic, he’s giving all he has and plays with much more intention.
3. I never liked seeing Perisic play this position. But Brozovic is playing very low, I guess so that Perisic can play higher. I still believe this creates a defensive gap on the left, as we see it.
4. Sosa, who has the defensive AND the offensive qualities needed should have started instead of Perisic at this position.
5. Seriously, Brozovic again? Dalic really can’t let go. I think he didn’t want to look like he was panicking by changing too much in the formation.
Anyone also noticed Sutalo scolding Broz loll?
//
When I saw the line up I was like oh no… put on true wingers. Give a hand to the midfield with Majer as a #10, and not playing Brozovic.
Also why doesn’t any player ask the croatian crowd to cheer them up???
For what bro, this style of football puts people to sleep
I actually think the line up of the Spain match worked much better and would have worked against Albania (except for Pongracic)
Not that I was vouching for that line up but it felt much more organized. Now it just feels free for all
Please Dalić make some changes at half time this time. Urghhhh
And for the people on this site who were happy Modric was not playing a lot for Madrid this year because it was going to give him fresh legs, so much for your theory. Never seen so many off passes.
He’s playing terribly.
Idk who came up with the fresh leg theory because it was a disaster in the cooking. Modric himself always said he needs constant games to keep his rhythm.
But whatever. Even at his usual rhythm he would have been overrun. He does not have the speed or strength to run the midfield against young Albanians.
i told you
brozovic is shit
This day was coming where we had to say goodbye to the successes. Now we will be back to just qualifying and then losing. It was a great run!
62% possession and can’t do anything with it. Defense looking shaky. No one playing like they want it. Better to lose now and exit in group stages than get embarrassed later. It was a good 6 years Croatia, thank you for the memories.
toothless
This is like 2002, they are just too old. And you can say others have old players too. Yeah, but teams like Portugal have good, younger players everywhere. We only have a few. After this tournament, we have to say goodbye to Modric, Brozovic, Kramaric, Perisic and rebuild. Depending on the World Cup qualifying draw and who Croatia get, qualifying might be a challenge. Which sucks when the tournament is in North America.
All failing on that goal and I know it’s not easy
But Qatar livakovic makes that save
And defense already very shaky.
Zero intensity on defense there could see it coming
Interesting lineup and surprised Broz and Petko are getting the start. Dalic must not have much faith in Sosa. Ajmo!!!!
Ante, I would not call Albania’s qualifying group easy and as we can see Poland and Czech Republic both have made it to the EURO, Poland at the expense of Wales in Cardiff who were in our group. So, if anything we had an easier group and yet we were runners up behind Turkey.
Albania in all probability will park the bus and try to catch us on the counter with long balls over the top or through balls like Spain. If our two CB’s whoever they are for this match can deal with this threat, we will win. The two CB’s should not be playing to high up the field. We also need to be very disciplined and avoid any RED CARDS. Anything is possible but the quality is on our side, and I cannot see us losing or at least I hope so.
My prediction is win 2 – 0.
lol
Out of all the nice places in Hamburg to congregate why choose the Reeperbahn
How classy
Is the reporter really sure they met up this morning – as opposed to spent the whole night drinking and visiting other local “festivities” and now will be completely knackered by the time kick-off starts ?
For f*ck sake – do our fans have no self control ???
sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/euro/skupina-b/video-uzivo-hrvati-blokirali-cetvrt-razvrata-i-zilu-kucavicu-hamburga-kolona-je-duga-500-metara-policija-na-nogama-15473087
They will show up drunk at the match and cause trouble like against Spain throwing plastic bottles/cups on to the pitch. HNS got fined 87 K Euros for throwing objects on the playing field and lighting flares.
They are not doing anything that differently from us
but they make it look so easy. if you wonder why?
because they don’t make any mistakes.
In football, the ball’s always moving back and forth very quickly.
without exception, strong teams always have solid basics like passing,
dribbling, and running. They make it look easy because their fundamentals
are so solid, but those are only the fundamentals. Naturally, there is another reason, and that is they have a true scorer!!!
They aren’t doing the same thing as us, they are being dynamic in the final third, their strikers and forwards are making runs and being proactive.
I think Croatia has a chance of winning this one if you don’t play down to their level.
All those 2nd game wins are against teams on or above Croatia’s level, but Albania is below Croatia’s level, and it’s these games that your experts have said trouble the Croats in the past.
So I’ll tip a 2-2 draw to play it safe.
Really liked the 3-4-1-2(5-3-2) lineup Balkan deda on YouTube put out makes a lot of sense
—————Petkovic———Kramaric—————
———————-—-—Majer——————————
Gvardiol—Modric——Kovacic—-Juranovic
—————Erlic——Sutalo—Stanisic—————
———————-—-Livakovic—————————
This formation allows us to really utilize options off the bench allowing our Versatile players to maximize the roles… Also adding the other defender to hopefully make back line stronger and adding Juranovic in there for pace on the wing with Gvardiol….
————Perisic(Ivanusec)Budimir—————
-(Pjaca)————Baturina—————(Pasalic)
Sosa——–Sucic——Brozovic—-Marco.P.
———Pograncic—Sutalo——Vida—————
———————-—-Livakovic—————————
At the end of the day we need to beef up our backline with 3 or we just revert Gvardiol back to CB… I feel with the extra man back we willl be more composed
Wow I like this proposition of balkan deda too!
If you don’t want to make true wingers play then at least adapt the line up structure…
I’m not confident at all but hopefully we can turn it around.
Anyone know why Croatia’s Group B match is being played before the Group A second matches start? Also why is Italy Spain being played on Thursday if they all played on the same day to start? Strange.
No. And don’t care.
Probably because we’re garbage. That’s why
3 games in a day means there will be always an off-day timing of games for some groups.
Both Group A games are tomorrow. And 1 Group B game (ours).
After the groups and all matchups were set in the euro draw , it turned out that it would be us against Albania playing today. The powers that be then set the specific TV times for every day after that, based on which teams are drawn, to maximize viewership (if you notice, it’s the 2 PM CST games that on average tend to have the “strongest“ teams that day).
What are u complaining about ?
Croatia gets an extra 1.5 days of rest before we meet Italy in Game 3
That’s an advantage
Not a complaint, just an observation. It gave Italy Spain an extra day of rest.
C’mon boys let’s beat Albania, and get that 3 points in the bag.
Hope Marco Pasalic gets to play half an hour, maybe he’ll put one in.
Gotta score some goals too. Fix that goal differential.
Best joke I’ve seen here yet.
Fix the goal differential? This team looks like they couldn’t score against Burkina Faso.