Vušković scores his first senior goal with a shot from 31 yards out. Matanović nets the winner with a header following a Marco Pašalić corner. Musa rattled two shots off the post!
Next up: 🇧🇷Brazil Tuesday night
83′: SUB. Moro off. Rijeka’s Toni Fruk comes on.
79′: Three subs form Dalić. Mario Pašalić, Marco Pašalić, Martin Erlić come off. Modrić, Kramarić, Jakić all come on for the final 10 minutes.
67′: The Colombian goal absolutely hates Petar Musa. For the second time since coming on, he rifles a shot off the post following a wonderful volley. He should have a goal to his name in this game.
61′: Two more subs form Dalić. Petar Sučić and Nikola Vlašić come off. Martin Baturina and Luka Sučić come on.
60′: Musa rifles a shot off the crossbar. It was a stinger! Still 2-1 Croatia.
HT: Two subs from Dalić for Croatia. Peričić and Matanović come off. Stanišić and Musa come on.
43′: 2-1 Croatia. GOOOOOAL!!!! Matanović climbs the ladder on a Croatia corner and easily heads in the ball. It is his 2nd career goal in checkers.
26′: Colombia makes Swiss cheese of the Croatian defense. Suarez gets a point blank open shot on goal and absolutely bottles it. It was harder to miss than make that shot. Should be 2-1 Colombia.
5′: 1-1. GOOOOAL CROATIA! Luka Vušković rifles home a shot from 31 yards out and after a thick deflection is bounces off the left post for a goal. It is Vušković’s first goal for Croatia at the senior level!
2′: 1-0 Colombia. Arias shot from inside the box is deflected by Perišić for an OG. Livaković looked to have had an angle on the shot for the save. Goal credit is given to Arias though.
Dalić is going with a 3-4-2-1 with Vušković the lone CB in defense versus Colombia Thursday night in Orlando, Florida.
core-Modrić will see rest. Expect him to come off the bench late in the 2nd half to be kept fresh for the Brazil friendly Tuesday.
-Matanović rewarded for his fine form for Freiburg.
-Why is Moro starting here?
Match report:
Dalic went with a 343/541 formation to start. This formation suits our players on paper but has had issues in implementation in the past and so it proved again. I this form both wide central defenders, the wing backs and the two attacking midfielders all have combined half roles. The wing backs, for example, need to make the right decision when to drop as a full back and when to push on as a winger.
The centre backs need to know when to cover as a conventional central defender and when to press wide. Any hesitation in making that decision leads to uncertainty across the team and that was fully exploited by Colombia on a number of occasions.
The first goal came as a result, firstly, of Erlic and pasalic both being drawn to the winger without either getting tight, then perisic over compensating defensively, because he knows he is a natural winger, putting the ball past liva trying to block the shot, when liva would have easily saved it. Perisic did something similar against Holland in the nations league semi final a couple of years ago.
In addition Erlic is not suited to the wide centre back role and Pongracic had to play on the left of the back three, rather than the right where he would be comfortable.
Despite these problems we won the game and in addition to the two goals scored could have had 2/3 or three more goals thanks to the quick transitions and width which this formation allows.
Overall it was a promising performance. Particularly the attitude shown by a largely B team in making sure that, despite the issues, we won the game. There were valuable lessons and good experience for some of our squad players.
However, I think it’s very risky trying to develop a new shape with only 4 friendly matches before the World Cup starts. I expect Dalic to revert to a 4231 for the World Cup and probably the back three will remain a plan B for us only.
Player ratings:
Livakovic:
would have saved colombias goal if perisic hadn’t been over motivated defensively, couple of good saves. Dealt with some crosses by punching the ball away, could he have caught one or two? Distribution was below average which encouraged Colombia to press – 6
Erlic:
looked uncomfortable in a hybrid wide centre back role. Gave away numerous fouls getting drawn into unfamiliar areas against quick and skilful players. Erlic is solid but he is conventional. Erlic should be used strictly in the centre – 5
Vuskovic:
Looked shaky at times but overcame the nerves, growing into the game as it went on and Ofcourse showed the X factor he has early on by taking responsibility to level that match with a rocket shot that got a deflection and immediately re established parity in the game. That’s the kind of game sense you can’t teach. Only special players have it – 7
Pongracic:
He looked comfortable. Intelligently adapted to all phases of the game. Tidy and efficient in everything he did – 6.5
Marco P:
excellent showing. worked extremely hard defensively and was positive with the ball creating momentum in midfield and danger in attack on numerous occasions – 7.5
Moro:
A player who few of us rate. He is a neat, tidy and composed midfielder. Actually a much better player than people realise because he isn’t flashy. He was almost invisible in this game but he worked tirelessly to do the job of being in right place tactically. Some neat passing which allowed us to beat the press. Not easy
– 5.5
Petar sucic:
Sucic plays in a similar formation at inter and this allowed him to find space more easily than some of his teammates. However, in this formation at inter he is tasked with a lot of running, covering both width and depth, which severely limits his capacity to create on the ball. But he is still just class. Did his job across the pitch and played Musa on goal with a perfectly timed interception and through ball. Below average performance from the youngster and still one of the best players on the pitch – 7
Perisic:
Theoretically the wing back role suits perisic but he tends to over egg his defensive responsibilities. At times he was a liability at the back and it also took away some of his shine in attack. So it’s a lose lose situation for our legendary winger. Still created some good moments and brought his trademark invincible spirit to influence proceedings – 6.5
Mario pasalic:
this guy never does anything really. He works hard, he runs (slowly) he makes the right decisions most of the time. But in honesty I can’t remember a single moment in the game involving him. Sure if one of those crosses had found him he probably scores. But in my opinion he is best deployed from the bench when we need a goal. – 5
Vlasic:
Niksi is another who is used to this formation for his club team and he was more comfortable than some of his teammates as a result. He did all his jobs to good standard, defensively and with the ball he was a reliable cog in the machine, but when he got those chances to make a difference he lacked the quality or confidence to make it count, dragging one shot wide when he should be scoring and flopping to the ground hoping for a penalty when he should be beating the defender and testing the keeper – 5.5
Matanovic:
can’t ask more of the big man. Looked at home at big boy level. Used his strength and touch to help the team beat colombias press. Made numerous well timed runs which were almost found by crosses. Scored the chance he got with minimum fuss. Very very promising signs – 7
Subs:
Musa:
The moose is awesome. Absolutely smashed two shots against the woodwork. Battled hard, held the ball up, tracked back, linked well on the ball, made excellent text book strikers movement to create the chances he got. Brilliant – 7.5
Stanisic:
The guy is hilarious. Who in the world is absolute first choice for BAYERN MUNICH and CROATIA yet has the confidence of a 16 year old making his debut for a college team?? Our Josip that’s who. He was completely lost at left wing back and really couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted to do, he tried to compensate by showing his “class” but ended up almost scoring an own goal from 40 yards out with one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen a player do. Lmao. He will be fine. But no way he can play left wing back for us. – 4
Baturina: looked really good. His work at Como is paying dividends. He was composed on the ball as usual but what really stood out was his massively improved defensive contribution. He read the game like a book and was always in the right place. He already has the talent going forward. Now he can be trusted do whatever the team needs. It’s a great positive – 6.5
Luka sucic:
He looked comfortable. I was surprised. Was confident and responsible on the ball. It looks like we still have a player there – 6
Jakic:
Didn’t have time to show much. – 5
Modric:
Luka steps on the pitch – we have control of the ball. Like magic. Didn’t have time to get into the game. Nothing to say about this man. We all know the bigger the game the better he will be – 5.5
Conclusion: dealt with formational and inexperienced player issues well to beat a hungry and confident Colombia. Happy as Larry
Petar Musa was very unlucky. He impressed me quite a bit in this game. He should have had at least one goal, potentially two. I think two forwards still seems like a better option, with a 4-4-2. I do not like the back 3 at all. Vusković looked good but he needed an additional body of support there. I am am not so sure about Pongracic but he was definitely better than some of the other options. Erlic and Šutalo were both awful in my view.
The back three was also the reason why we had nice width.
Perisic sent in some great crosses to the far corner. Marco had some runs too.
The back three could work but (again) it means nothing if you’re playing it with guys you would never play in a World Cup.
I don’t think Erlic and Pongracic are the right guys for this back three lineup. Put in Gvardiol/Vuskovic/Stanisic as the back three, and try it again.
Problem is, you can’t just go and ‘try’ it for the first time during the World Cup itself. It’s a risky move.
I liked the performance of our two MLS players, (Petar Musa, Marko Pasalic). Both Musa and Mario were exhibiting Mario Mandzukic aggressive opportunistic energy. Wish Petar or Marko banged at least one MLS goal in to quell the doubters.
Vuskovic scoring the opening goal was somehow not surprising to most, although backline defense was scary soft with 3-man line. At some point you have to believe in his achievements. 100 minutes of play suggest he is a fixture.
Baturina looked strong out on the pitch, from the very second he was on the field. Seemed more impressive than Petar Sucic in this one.
Glad we still have Modric for this last tournament, the moment he gets in, the ball possession time seems to skyrocket, and the ball movement gets more logical and livelier.
If Gvardiol and Kovacic get well, the team is looking good I believe.
Livakovic still our reliable man in the net.
You have to be happy for Vuskovic tonight. It was only a friendly but it looks like he belongs. But will he start against might England in his first World Cup, especially if Gvardiol is back? Marco Pasalic definitely surprised me tonight. Playing at home helped him??
I was saying for months to all the people shitting on the MLS, they know where the world cup is right? It is a huge advantage to the guys playing in the MLS to be there before the World Cup.
People are literally shitting on Musa for going to MLS right before a USA World cup, bunch of morons. The MLS players will be far more acclimatised and familiar with conditions than anyone else on the team.
Didn’t watch
But sounds promising
Back three of gvardi Prince luka and stani for England???
Pasalic looked hungry?
Musa obviously hitting two posts was lively
So what we take budimir, musa, matanovic??
Krama as the second striker in a 3-5-2??
Keep going decki
Ajmo!!!
A lot of plus and minus for tonight’s game. Happy with the results. Did better than I thought .
this was a good performance the starting team really showed some.nuts we were hungrier they looled a bit shocked .
Petar Musa needs to be burying that
Only 5% of the fans in attendance are Croatian. The last time you’ll see a friendly in our lifetime on the East Coast.
It’s irrelevant that the team is returning to the US in June. Sramota.
Croatian Americans in the east coast are cheapskates. In addition, the upper bowl is empty.
was the game in Chicago ,New York ,Cleveland , Toronto ??? so stop with the 5% crap…About 500k plus Colombians in Fla genius lol
All without Stanisic, Modric, Kovacic, and Gvardiol, and a three-man backline, not too bad. Should be 2-2 at least thou.gh
Honestly surprised at how creative the offensive runs have been
Somehow without Modric several players feel unleashed, I didn’t expect that. Not saying we’re displaying a perfect match but it’s really so much better than I expected
Matanovic with emoty net header goalkeeper didnt read corner well
Good game fun friendly. columbia did have an ilija sivojnic miss. When it was 1 1
Is is just me or the field should be wider so we can see what happens on the side line? The camera doesn’t catch it it’s kinda annoying not to see.
Also I really like whenever Marco Pasalic gets the ball man! He has such a different drive
This is america is not a football stadium its an American football stadium
I have the same problem on my tv it’s annoying
Holy shit we’re winning… WE’RE DOING IT FELLAS ! WE’re actually winning !
Dont look that bad the backline is shaky imo
How about Livakovic stops giving the ball away to Colombia lol
yeah try the other goal keepers too
Can’t watch since im at work so if anyone can describe how we actually played later for those of us in my boat, that’d be great. Great to see Luka V with a goal already.
haha eat it u bheyzyzhs
And that’s the end of 3 in the back
wheres our supporters!!
Anyone have a stream that works?
If you have a VPN where you can connect to Croatia, then you can watch for free. https://gol.dnevnik.hr/