Croatia got the job done with a strong 2nd half against Cyprus in a 3-0 victory Friday night. The game went perfectly to plan except for the following three gripes I have with those 90 minutes:
- The Vatreni went 45 minutes without scoring a goal against Cyprus. That can’t happen. You need to find a goal inside 30-35 minuets to make the opposing team open up, hit them again, and end the game. We all know Croatia is the superior team here and the only thing Cyprus can do is bunker and counter. The Modrić to Perišić connection right before halftime was absolutely perfect. But you simply need to score sooner against a team like this.
- Andrej Kramarić. What can you say about this guy right now? Absolutely nothing is going his way. It looked as if his horrendous goalless streak for Croatia would end tonight but a lengthy VAR ruling would rule Perišić offside. Later, Kramarić would miss yet another point blank sitter in front of goal. Going back to the Euro 2020 Spain game in extra time, Krama has now missed three easy opportunities in front of goal. Does Livaja jump him on the depth chart?
- Luka Modrić is our captain. Hećs arguable still our best player. But he doesn’t have it in the penalty kick department. He missed a PK tonight with a low hard shot to the lower-left with the goalie guessing right. He missed the penalty against Denmark in extra time at the 2018 World Cup and did not have a convincing kick moments later in the shootout. @IvanRakitić, It’s time to give your boy some lessons.
Russia defeated Slovakia 1-0 on the night through an own goal which means they are still tied with Croatia atop the qualifying group. However, the Vatreni extend their goal differential lead to three goals now, which can come into play. If both sides win their next two matches and Croatia keeps their GD on Russia, that means the Vatreni will only need a draw versus Russia on the last day of qualifying against Russia in November at Poljud in order to automatically qualify for the World Cup.
Croatia hosts Slovakia on Monday. Russia plays a desperate Slovenia side.
It’s pretty simple. Croatia control their own destiny for an automatic berth to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In their way, four matches versus Cyprus, Slovakia, Malta, and Russia.
This week, the Vatreni will face Cyprus away on Friday before heading home to take on Slovakia in Osijek on Monday. Nothing short of six points is expected here with all the firepower Croatia have compared to their counterparts. The Malta and Russia matches will take place next month in November.
We talked about the starting backline yesterday with Sosa, Gvardiol, and Stanišić expected to get the start. Vida is coming off an injury but appears to be back at 100%. Dalić will most likely go with his power 3 in midfield: Modrić, Kovačić, Brozović. How can you not? Even though I hate playing Modrić and Kovačić together.
That leaves Perišić on the left wing but I would give Dinamo’s Luka Ivanušec the start on the right wing vs. Cyprus instead of Josip Brekalo. Will it matter in the end? Probably not.
Andrej Kramarić scored a goal for Hoffenheim two weeks ago – and with the Croatian strike force so thin – he is really the only option we can go with. I suppose Livaja can start in this match but it should be Zlatko Dalić’s #1 priority to try and get Kramarič going again. A goal or two this week during the international break can do wonders for Krama.
this whole world cup qualifying is so useless- countries like Malta/ Cyprus- they can have a second tier world cup- the fact that we didn’t win 8-0 is shocking – let’s have real world cup- top level countries only- the rest of these guys can compete at division 2 world cup and top 2 in that group can play real soccer – that was absolutely useless test for our guys and probably makes them play worse- let’s have top 30 in world cup and the rest can find their own world event- garbage soccer – it’s a useless way of qualifying playing crap teams .
GAD’s analysis is spot on, Kramaric movement was excellent creating space for his teammates and winning the penalty.
In fact, I really think he should have taken the penalty. He woulda scored it, given he’s an expert at taking them. And scoring the penalty woulda been a boost to his confidence since he hasn’t scored for the Vatreni in some time.
Would like to see Krama start again against Slovakia. Krama is the type of player that the coach needs to show faith in, and he will pay dividends. Give him a series of consecutive games at the CF position for Repka and he will get into the groove.
I agree with the Kramaric comments. Gotta keep him in there.
He may have missed a couple of chances, but he was robbed of two goals. One from VAR and the other from Modric (after Krama earned that penalty).
I don’t agree with Livaja in the starting lineup ahead of Vlasic.
Vlasic is good, but he isn’t a RW so he always just gravitates to the center.
I agree to maybe play Brekalo there if we want to have an actual winger on the right side. Brekalo was very good in his limited minutes yesterday.
Livaja is a backup at best, and should never ever start for us. There are just too many players better than him in every position.
I disagree about Kramarić being a disappointment. I think he played well. He created a lot of space for his teammates and capitalized on a tricky loose ball that was unluckily ruled an invalid play. He drew a penalty that would likely have been a goal if he had shot it. His shots in front of goal were blocked and saved by solid defending from Cyprus. If we’re going to criticize someone’s shooting, it should be Vlasić: the dude skied all of his many shots against Russia last month, and he did the same today. Vlasić was firing all over the place except for on target. If one player gets replaced from today’s lineup, it’s Vlasić, except that his defensive contribution may be irreplaceable. I would try keeping the same lineup against Slovakia except with Brekalo or Livaja in for Vlasić. If Livaja comes in, then Kramarić moves to the right wing since he can cover space well. Anyway, this game was a point of optimism. Let’s hope Slovenia continues tearing it up after beating Malta 4-0.
I agree, Vlasic needs to go to the bench. He doesn’t deserve steady minutes he’s overrated and in my mind he’ll never be better than a Russia / Ukraine league quality player. He’s not a striker he’s not a winger and he’s not a midfielder jack of all trades but not great at any one of them. For a offensive player he creates little to nothing.
Russia gets 3 points off an own goal, outshot, less possession, 1 shot on target. Slovakia aren’t a push over and this game is crucial. Even if it’s a 1-0 win like last time, that’s fine with me.
The Slovakia Russia result was extremely unfortunate. It looked like Slovakia completely dominated with 70 percent possession and 25 shots to like Russias 9. I like cros form and chances vs Slovakia but this is no 3 points in the bag
Krama is so due to break out for a brace one of these games
If he could somehow catch fire for November that would be lights out
I want to point out sosa ain’t afraid to try for goal and he doesn’t look off when doing it
That left side with Sosa gvardiol and Perisic is just oozing with talent
And to think most of our gOals came from that side before
Wait for it now
Cypress is ranked 103 in the world behind Kenya.
It took our A team to “crush them”.
Think about that.
How would the do against a top 20 country?
I think we have proved we can play with the bigger teams overall just fine
I think the last 1-0 barely beat Cyprus was more of the concern
We dominated play, had some poor luck, keeper was playing lights out Sure that could be cause we weren’t finishing
But he stone walled Perisic a couple of times and like luka for pk or not, robbed him as well
If that first goal stood, the flood gates probably would have opened earlier
Lots of positives going forward
Sure it’s Cyprus, but we surely haven’t been beating these kinds of teams with ease the past couple of years
It will be tight for qualifying
But we knew this group would be Tight
If someone asked us if after the first game against Slovenia would we like be happy in top rank three games left and destiny in our hands…. We would all take it
It’s our to lose
great point- I just posted about that- the WC qualifers is a joke- 90% of the teams are awful- have a real world cup- 30 team invite only and play great games- that game against Cyprus was awful- you have to play who is there but it’s not showing anything it’s like playing a U-16 team
Sucic can’t be that far from the senior squad
Kacavenda had some nice touches today as well
Makes space in tight spots
If im not mistaken Markus and cro u14 rated him highly
I can see what they see
Watched the highlights Russia v Slovakia and Slovakia were extremely unlucky not to get at least a draw. They will be no pushovers in Osijek on Monday. I thought we were a bit lucky to beat them last time.
It looks like all will be decided in November when we play Russia in Split. Upcoming matches on Monday ( Croatia v Slovakia & Slovenia v Russia) will most likely determine what we need to do in the final match at home against Russia. If we can beat Slovakia on Monday, a draw against Russia in Split will most likely be enough depending on goal difference.
Kramaric and Vlasic are in poor form at the moment in front of goal. Kramaric in particular lacks confidence and is waste full in front of goal which could cost us dearly against better teams like it did at the Euros v Spain.
DCC and Gvardiol combination at the back looked good as did Sosa. Stanisic was a bit nervous at the beginning but improved in the second half. We need to find another penalty taker after Modric miss.
In terms Of game notes croatia played great
I thought krama was good. Sure he missed one but he also did Score a pretty good goal and drew a penalty
Soda is great and providing so much better flow down that left side
Good debut from the young defenders but can’t take too much away from it against Cyprus
For a little guy, brekalo has a canon of a leg…. If we could put his foot on kovacic would be interesting
@ante
I love you for all you do for the site and enjoy hearing your thoughts but sometimes your just off
1) saying croatia needed to score in the first thirty minutes is silly. That is not saying Croatia needs to implement a certain strategy or approach…just saying they need to do something good…which is obvious.. the lakers need to shoot 3 pointers better
2) modric penalties.. I’m sympathetic to this because his denmark miss and near ot miss are burned in our brains.. ultimately coming into tonight though modric was lifetime 16/18 on penalty kicks or 88 percent which is far better than average and also better than Ronaldo, Messi, suarez, salah, zlatan etc
Krama is actually great at them bagging 20 of the last 22. So i wouldn’t be heartbroken if he took them but i can live with the captain taking the weight on his shoulders given he’s actually been historically great at pks… and also much better than rakitic has been
Thanks for Modrić stat. Perception is not always reality.
Two questions
How does dalic keep lovren and vida especially lovren from causing problems for not playing?
And I still say ivusic looks much better on the ball at his feet in two games then livakovic ever looks
How does ivusic get back in the mix?
It would have been nice for Kramaric to take the penalty, he has been really active and deserved it.
Gvardiol is a stud.
Vlašić had some good chances to score.
Bundesliga full backs are super skilled!
It feels like they create natural width for our midfield technicians to create at will.
A tall athletic #9 would eat all day with this crew.
Dalic is actually pulling it together in a timely fashion.
Rebić and him need to make peace before November.
Rebić would provide power and pace to this slick passing crew.
Perišić is two footed class as always.
modric is a legend but his penalties suck. meanwhile we have kramaric who earned the penalty and is one of the best penalty takers in the world….this is almost as bad as lovren taking that freekick during the euro cup.
as I said, I was busy working but the game was on in the background. I could see us moving the ball around quite well today but I wasn’t able to focus on details. From reading these comments I can say it feels good to know we raised our level.
For a team to be at their highest competitively, we can’t have a weakness at any position…at least not if we struggle scoring. This is why I asked how Vlasic did today? He’s got a habit of disappearing for long periods…at any position he plays. If he has a good game then its a great game but if he’s not involved like he seems to be a lot with our repka, he is relatively a waste for that position.
From the 2 comments I saw, he was useless AGAIN and this is alarming to me. He’s had far more bad games than he’s had good.
I saw Krama had a few chances…how was he?
Krama wasteful as always, can’t hit the sea with a beach ball. Vlasic was also pretty invisible to be honest. When Majer is back into form, I’d love to see him get a shot over Vlasic.
Well we have Ivanusec and he’s on a hot streak at the moment. No need to wait for Majer when we have options.
Would be good to see Ivanusec get more playing time
Krama wasn’t bad at all.
He was active but he botched a couple of chances (although one was a lightning quick reaction one, similar to his Spain point blank miss).
But he did win that penalty well by cutting inside and forcing Cyprus to make contact with him.
He really should have taken that penalty. I’m very surprised Modrić took it considering Krama needs a goal for us, and he’s our best PK taker.
We need to stick with Krama.
The only thing I don’t like about this game is Livaja scoring. I don’t think he’s good enough for us, and he’s been very lucky to score these two recent goals for us.
I’d rather we stick with Krama for the next few games, and I want to try out Budimir (off the bench) with Sosa’s crosses.
Watched whole game on ESPN+, I know I can line a bunch of grandmothers again Cyprus but youth shall be served. Gvardiol will be a stud, Luka always cool as a cucumber, you can sense Dalic starting to formulate plan for WC 2022 with start of DCC. This team moving forward needs signature win against big team, I know it won’t happen with friendlies but eventually for confidence boost
I wish it were true, but I only think Duje played because Lovren is severely out of form after being benched by his club team, and so is Vida (who hasn’t really played since his injury).
Sosa was excellent too.
His first corner leaded to the 0-2. I think he should start taking the corner kicks with Modric and Brozovic waiting at the backline for an eventual second ball.
I also liked Stanisic. The guy looked nervous at times but he’s a baller, some great passed. He did fine.
Stanišić is better there than Juranović
I like Juranović’s runs, but Stanišić can still cross it pretty decent.
It’s not his game, but the couple he sent in were good.
What I like about Stanišić is his size. He’s like 6’1″ and doesn’t get pushed off easily like Juranović does. This helps Stanišić on both sides of the field.
Just beat Slovakia & Malta. Then smash Russia at home. No draw in our final game. I wanna see the full 9 points next 3 matches. Russia knows they can’t afford to make a mistake before they face us in Split. Pressure is on them.
Too bad I was super busy at work, and couldn’t see most of the game. I commented yesterday about Dalic needing to plan for rotation for these two games. Kova is out for next game, and Modric played almost the full game today. Did we really need Luka for more than 80 minutes today? Couldn’t he have been replaced earlier? He’s not getting any younger, and we shouldn’t need to rely on him against these lower level teams.
I just want to say well done Stanisic on his debut. Not some wonderful performance, but solid enough. Doesn’t provide much offensively other than good runs and doesn’t really lose possession TOO much, but he was solid defensively.
Gvardiol should be a nailed on starter at CB. Even if it’s Cyprus he’s just so calm on the ball there and always looking for killer passes. I like him and Caleta together. We’ll have to see in the future how he and Pongracic do together.
I like Vlasic and I think he will be a key player for us, but not on the wing. He spends 90% of the game out of position and we then attack solely down the left especially when you aren’t using a RB such as Juranovic who provides tons of crosses down that side. Brekalo has to start there on Monday in my opinion to see what he can do now. He made a good run at the end and showed great determination to force his way through to set up Livaja for a tap in. Vlasic looked very lively and had a few good plays in midfield but he provides barely anything down the wing when he always in the middle of the field.
Jakic also had a nice performance in his short cameo. Great ball to set up Brekalo’s assist.
Kramaric was not too bad to me. Sure he didn’t score, but if he keeps getting those chances he will start to bury them again. There should be no real complaints about our chance creation if you ask me. We just need to finish.
Kovacic is out for Slovakia due to yellows I believe so I’d like to see something like this:
Livakovic, Stanisic, Caleta, Gvardiol, Sosa, Brozovic, Modric, Vlasic/Pasalic, Perisic, Brekalo, Kramaric
Maybe Livaja will get a start to let Kramaric play in behind and bring Pasalic and/or Vlasic off the bench. As long as we get the 3 points I’ll be happy.
Also Slovenia crush Malta so they just might take points off a Russia team who struggles to score.
Best part about this game, for me, was the talented back four.
My God, I have been waiting forever to see this.
Four very technically capable defenders in Sosa, Gvardiol, Caleta-Car and Stanisic.
All four players played well (despite that first bad pass by Stanisic).
Cyprus was pressing hard and playing physical in our end, and all four of these guys were casually passing it around between themselves (and Brozo) in our own box for long periods of time without a care in the world.
Didn’t matter if two Cypriots were coming at them. They were just passing it between themselves until they found a nice opening that they could exploit, and then a sudden push forward from Kovacic or Modric once they receive the pass.
Lovren and Vida would never be able to do anything like this.
Under pressure, these guys would have punted it down the field (or out of bounds), and just given away possession to Cyprus every time the opposition would press.
They are incapable of making these nice threaded passes to our midfield, so guys like Modric, Brozo or Kova always had to go way back into our box to acquire the ball.
Just this alone changes the dynamic of the game.
I’m looking forward to watching more games like this. Lovren and Vida needs to be nailed to the bench and should only be used for emergencies only (injuries and cards). They need to be behind all of Gvardiol, Stanisic, Duje and Pongracic for the CB spots.
I agree
We have seen enough to lovren/vida punt out of bounds or back passes to livakovic now to last us a life time
Could you imagine those back four in form in Russia
Our D was fine
But what they can create offensively without losing anything defensively
EXCELLENT game!
After a long struggle in the valley, Croatia is back!
So Russia wins unfortunately, no real change at the top but our goal diff improves so that’s something.
Goal difference doesn’t matter.
If Croatia and Russia are tied.
It’s head to head goal difference that matters and Croatia tied and won 1-0
No, it’s goal difference, then goals scored, then head to head. So goal difference is huge. If Croatia beats Slovakia and Malta, odds are that Russia has to win in Croatia.
I didn’t know that.
Hvala!
Nice creation by Brekalo for the goal.
Ugh…Livaja scores. This just cements his position, ha ha.
I like Jakic’s through ball to Brekalo to start the play leading to the goal. Since Jakic has arrived in Germany, Eintract Frankfurt has been playing much better. They beat Bayern Munich last weekend.
Can’t enjoy goals anymore.
Gvardiol scores, and I’m just staring at the ref to see if he will do something stupid.
Much deserved 2-0 lead.
We have 20-something shots in this game, lol.
It’s true, i feel that way too. You dont think yes it’s a goal, you think oh okay let’s wait 2 minutes now while it’s checked, it does remove the climax of goal-scoring doesnt it.
Wait for the VAR decision…
And there it is, Gvardiol makes it 2-0!
Brekalo is so talented.
Lined up that low accurate shot outside the box perfectly. Goalkeeper made a great save.
Just woke up. Only been watching 3 minutes and it’s 100% Croatia dominant, pushing forward, getting awesome shots on goal and the Cyprus keeper is just making save after save, already just in a few minutes ive seen, lol.
I’ve had one of the busiest days working from home so I can’t pay a lot of attention…
How’s Vlasic playing?
Like a misplaced rugby player.
I actually agree with that statement
He had a brilliant chance to score and went for the extra point instead
We’re the better team.
Just can’t let VAR and Modric’s botched penalty demoralize us.
Don’t relax, and keep playing. So far so good.
This is nauseating. It should be a minimum of 4-0 right now. But this is Croatia. They have to make everything difficult.
Man we can’t finish
But lots of positives
Let’s hope Slovakia puts one in against Russia and get a tie
At least he’s not scared to take em
Agreed. Need to give Krama that PK so that we can try to get him going.
Luka just isn’t very good with PKs.
Luka is king but has no business taking pks
He knows it too
Krama is our best PK taker too.
Shame that he didn’t take it.
slovakia is currently outplaying russia with 71% possession. Russia is up 1-0 with an OG
Didn’t we learn our lesson from 2018 World Cup re: Modric penalties?
I wasn’t the only one saying why is luka taking that
Should have given to krama for confidence
Kovacic is 50% less good when Modric in on the pitch too.
Modric is really our Savior. He decided that Hrvatska needs 3 points today and came in action. Great assist for Perisic and some great dangerous actions too.
Perisic is still our best striker. You just gotta love the guy.
Stanisic looked nervous at times but he’s gonna be okay. The wrong back pass in the first minutes was because he’s used to play with Neuer. Neuer would have been there for that ball.
Livakovic did great too when that striker got through the defense. The referee claimed it was off side, but if that striker would have scored, the goal would probably have counted. I don’t think it was off side at all.
I hope Kramaric scores in the second half. The guy is starting to lose his confidence.
Also important: Hrvatska will have to play without Kovacic due his yellow card today.
Kramaric can’t fuckin buy a goal. It’s beyond bad. He must feel like he’s cursed when in the checkers or something?
Mandzo would have got two in that half no doubt
Heck olic off the bench would have scored
Stanisic looked nervous at first but made some nice touches
Sosa is a stud
I can see why he was frustrated to not be called up , not that I’m defending him wanting to go to Germany but I get it
Luka being luka
Perisic, trying his hardest not to punch out krama for all his misses;)
That was a sweet first touch and finish on the call back goal tho
We need a striker to catch fire
Rebic has a krama voodoo doll no
Doubt;)
Hopefully a couple more goals in the second half
It’s good to see them breaking down a bunker, even tho it’s Cyprus
A bunker is a bunker
Karma is straight up cursed!
Poor guy.
Perišić is the king of angles lol
How many times has he scored this way for us?
Wow.
Somebody put a hex on Krama.
How did he not score in all of that confusion.
PERIŠIĆ!!!
He fixes Kramas mistake lol. How fitting.
Kramaric shoots right at the goalkeeper flashback. Bravo Perisic.
Lol what was he supposed to do there?! God I swear you guys have never played this game at any decent level and it shows
To not panic like a 16 year old and just blast, be an actual striker and calmly slot it into the corner of the net
I swear, someone has never seen Suker or any other top end striker pay.
Lol yes, slot it in the corner when you barely have time to even do what he did especially with 3 players plus a goalie in front of you. Vi igrali u trecoj seljackoj pa sada pametujete kramaricu
I’ll have you know it was a 2nd tier village team! I’m not saying Kramaric isn’t a good striker but even he would tell you he should have done much better and placed his shot rather than blasting
But I’m sure you were a top level player, pro material but just had some bad luck. LOL
Speaking of a typical seljak smart ass.
Lol funny thing is I am currently going through ACL rehab but no i was never that good but I did play at a decent level. I think Krama would tell you that that is a tough one to “slot” but hey agree to disagree
Krama needs to stop playing for us. How many goals has he missed at point blank?
Goddamn I don’t even want krama to score for my selfish reasons, I want him to score for him
Man screw VAR
But nice play on that call backed goal and overall play and link ups
Keep it going
Kova out against Slovakia on Monday sadly
Krama can’t catch a break. Isuse.
Ugh VAR strikes again
Kramaric makes a true striker play. Excellent! Too bad that Perisic was (supposedly) offside
Glad we stuck with Krama
Hopefully he got that monkey off his back and continues to score for us
Karma!!!!
Steve Podrebarac…..try sportsbay.es just tried it and it works. By the way we know each other. Havent seen you in like 10 years atleast. Fellow Croat from Hamilton.
Thanks Ante. Maybe see you at GMR during a Croatia game sometime. Let’s Go Croatia 🇭🇷
Hey Pod you try that link I told you about? See you at GMR sometime for sure man….all the best!
I didn’t try because I found one that worked great this time m.livetv.sx/en/ I’ll definitely be keeping all of the sites on my note pad just in case. I’m trying to figure out which Ante you are? I have it narrowed down but not 100% . Let’s Go Croatia 🇭🇷
Damn Sosa is such a good player.
Those Bayern rumors will probably come true.
I’m glad that UEFA prevented the traitor from switching haha
Lol, Krama continues to miss clear cut chances.
People here are gonna go crazy
Link: http://www.hesgoal.com/news/88696/Cyprus_vs_Croatia.html
Stanišić nervous? Lol
Bad giveaway
Link please anyone ?
can anyone provide a free link for todays game thanks
Vlasic is starting over Brekalo….he better prove something today. I don’t want to see him like a pedestrian!
You’re the biggest Vlasic homer out here.
Always saying things like “we go as Vlasic goes”
What exactly has brekalo proven to warranty a start lol
Well 3-2. Let’s see if they can counter again
Just started watching the u-21
They conceded then went on a crazy press and scored. I know it’s u21 but you can see the fire in their play
Playing together like this and playing well I know doesn’t always equate for senior squad but it’s really nice to see
Kacavenda is impressive as well
Old man Kačavenda had better step up soon, because he has Brkljača on his tail
The future is now
Bring up sucic for a taste and potentially simic
These guys are studs
Being Dario’s kid brings roko this X factor on maturing earlier
I’m just saying if we are still looking for a striker next year and he is balling
He will be what 19 then? Other countries bring up young studs, why can’t we
Because we have to wait until those who are older than him to retire. That’s the rule.
So, when Livaja decides to retire at 35, then we’ll call up Simic at 25…just like how Duje Caleta Car is already 25 years old and is not allowed to start. 😉
$250 on each
croatia +1.5 goals 1st half
cypress under .5 goals for game
croatia -2 for game
Tail or fade?
lets no forget U21 team so far they are beating Norway 2-0 (Simic, Sucic )
What’s a good steaming site for today’s game thanks in advance. Let’s go Croatia 🇭🇷
U21 Game is streaming on the HNTV youtube channel in about 15 minutes if anyone is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DMO3j5cXBc
Roko Šimić again
Sucic balling as usual. Bosko Sutalo has looked good at right wing back. Not bad at all with the ball at his feet for someone who is naturally a CB.
Do you know a steaming site for Croatia vs Cyprus thanks in advance . Let’s Go Croatia 🇭🇷
I have ESPN+ in the states but I know a lot of people use Hesgoal. This is another site I use for streaming games I don’t get:
https://redi1.soccerstreams.net/
I just wouldn’t recommend using that or hesgoal unless you have security on your computer and I also use adblock on my browser so I never really have problems since the popups usually get blocked and the ones that don’t my Norton security catches.
does anyone have a no signup link for game today that will work in canada thanks
Guys and girls, for $175 (initial setup including a mag box and an app) + $15/month you can have Croatian tv, US and CDN channels, England, UFC events, European channels … and some other movies and crap like that. I already mentioned this, you won’t have to be trying to find a link every time we play.
Over the years I’ve had to constantly buy different apps and channels and even then, I couldn’t watch qualifying games, Italian league, German league. They keep changing rights. DAZN had Italian soccer last year and now TLN televizes only 2 games per week. German soccer went from DAZN to $18/month on cable….I got tired of constantly looking for shitty links and watching on my iPhone or computer, I now have everything on one platfrom and I watch on my tv. Imagine watching a Croatian program and one of your family members in Croatia watching the same…at the same time!
I used to live in GTA, If I give you my phone number would you be interested in further helping with this issue. I’m so exhausted looking for games, if it wasn’t for Covid helping me boycott sports due to hypocrisy, Id be real mad. LOL
1- Rebic needs to learn how to control and pass followed by calling a friend to talk about his emotions so that he can be a man and apologize to Dalic/entire repka. Dude’s about to be another Kalinic and miss a major tournament which he easily could be at. He’s been starting as CF for most of the season so far.
2- Pasalic will score tomorrow and we will win again
3- Grbic should get some run imo
Do or die. Lets do this boys. Also, anyone have a reliable game link in advance please?
soccersports.net
When you find the Croatia game and click the link you may need to fish through a few ads but it works great.
I’m scared !!
Do we assume that Sime is finished with the NT?! No game time at club football makes it impossible to pick him.
Not yet. He’s not even 30 yet and he plays in a position of need.
If he can get back to his level at 2018, he’s better than Juranovic and quite possibly Stanisic.
But even if he doesn’t, he can be a valuable depth piece for us at RB.
Guys like Barisic, Vida and Lovren don’t matter as much because we have a lot of depth in the other defensive positions.
Aside from Juranovic and Stanisic (who is not typically an RB), we have nobody else who can play at RB.
However, I am perfectly fine with going with the youth movement and having Stanisic start there moving forward. Vrsaljko would be a nice-to-have as a backup, but would have to prove a lot to become a starter again.
He’s finished unfortunately. He backs up Trippier at Atletico who always plays…and they even have other guys they can slot in ahead of Sime. Its too bad but he is injury prone.
Love him and Lovren’s antics at the WC and his iconic photo with our flag after the England game was amazing.
I think he’s done too. There are different categories of knee injury. ACL, MCL, and LCL tears, you may recover to near pre-injury strength.
Based on all the secrecy around his injury, though, I’m guessing it was something else, maybe a nasty cartilage tear or something. If it was a cartilage injury for example, that substance never grows back and can’t be replaced synthetically, those injuries kill careers (think Greg Oden in the NBA). He is nowhere near his pre WC fitness, has never even approached that fitness level, I really think his knee is done. Hope I’m wrong, I have no contact at HNS or anything to say what type of injury he had. But again, it was so hush-hush, it was all very weird (with Pjaca they just immediately announced ACL tears)
I think the problem is not just playing time at a high level but he’s attitude last game. We were losing and he was walking to get the ball when it went out of bounds. Luka was screaming at him to run to get the ball. So I have a feeling, Dalic wants to cut that shit out early. I respect it; act like fool, go sit with Kalinic. But I also respect how Dalic calls guys back like Brekalo and Sosa.
We know Cyprus is going to bunker. We know they are going to play the counter.
We need to hit them hard and hot them hard early. A goal inside 30 minutes is ideal. It will take any hope away from them, open the game up, and we should bag another 1-2 goals.
The fact that we only beat them 1-0 after losing to Slovenia is beyond me. Play fast. Play quickly up the wings. If we have our typical slow building of the play through midfield on every possession, I’m going to lose it. I’d like to slaughter Cyprus and Slovakia this week.
Please do not be the Cardiac Croatians this week. 4 goals from the next 2 games will make Ante happy.
how about {o
pointing some players here, like:
Brekalo, Vlasic and Ivanusec
vs Cyprus
time for Brekalo – not worth for a call _o)I with his sloppy pass
time for Vlasic – to fall _o)| with no skill in ball control
……_| Halilovic will bring us out of the darkness |_…..
The reason why … they can’t score is because of RW
4 goals would basically get us 6 points against these two.
Just keep in mind, we’re playing without a striker.
I won’t complain if it’s 1-0, 1-0. All that matters is making it. We’ll turn on the style when we get there.
We dominated the first half in that Cyprus game and should have been up by more than 1 goal…
But then we stopped playing in the second half, and we allowed Cyprus to slowly get back into the game (and they had some potential game-tying chances as a result).
I don’t want to see any dropoff in “urgency” in this game.
I don’t care about how many goals we score, and I don’t even care how early we score. So long as we play with urgency for the full 90 minutes (with no dropoff), we will be fine.
The moment Dalic sees someone coasting on the field, send them a warning, then sub them out if it continues.
We have five subs and a lot of quality depth. May as well use it.
Ideal line up.. won’t happen juranovic injured..
———PERISIC——-KRAMARIC——-
——————–MODRIC———————
———-KOVACIC-BROZOVIC———–
—SOSA———————–JURANOVIC
———GVARDIOL–STANISIC———–
———————-DCC————————-
—————–LIVAKOVIC——————–
Most likely…
——————KRAMARIC——————-
—-PERISIC–(VLASIC>)–BREKALO-
——————–MODRIC———————
———-KOVACIC–BROZOVIC———-
—SOSA—————————STANISIC
————GVARDIOL–VIDA—————
—————–LIVAKOVIC——————–
DALIC wants at least one “voda” at backline thinks DCC ain’t there yet..
Otherwise not sure but if BREKALO in form yes if not IVANUSEC for me there… MODRIC/VLASIC “slatke brige” it’s all good.. if KRAMARIC stinks it.. “LIVAJA to the rescue”…PASALIC my pick for “JOCKER” winning header if all fails 90th minute… if we score early we should be able to control game! Otherwise it will be a long one!
You have 12 players in your lineup lol
Lol no it’s 11 boss
It’s Cyprus folks. It doesn’t matter who plays. If it’s a draw or heaven forbid a loss we don’t deserve anything. Play the damn bench we will win. Only question is goal differential. That’s all
Vlasic sucks gonna be the first Croatian to be a bust in England twice.
Can we give him a bit of time before saying that
Maybe you can say he is “playing like a bust” if indeed he is
I have faith in him
The man is 24 years….give him some time to develop. Could be like Modric. Struggle to get minutes as a rookie but ends up in a better league. I personally think he won’t stay long at west ham.
the guy didnt have a preseason with westham. modric was subpar his whole first season in madrid because of no preseason and then the next year he exploded.
Showcase the youth tomorrow, Dalic has to start planning his squad for WC 2022 and it begins now, when does Luka 2.0 make his debut?
HRVATSKA (4-2-3-): Livaković – Stanišić, Ćaleta-Car, Gvardiol, Sosa – Brozović, Kovačić – Vlašić, Modrić, Perišić – Kramarić this what croatia media is saying only Vlasic brekalo is last decision by dalic pasalic livaja ivanusec first subs
Yea I just saw this lineup on Sportske Novosti too.
You even pasted the typo in the “4-2-3-1” formation, ha ha.
I like the lineup.
Duje Caleta-Car is the oldest player in the backline. I love it.
But he’s rusty. I hope this backline makes no errors, because I feel like Dalic would be very quick triggered to bring his vets back.
We really need to start planning for WC2022 next year, and these young backline players need their gametime and chemistry together.
Get Pongracic in there for Duje (off the bench) and give them starts and consistent playing time. over the next 12 months until the tournament begins.
Vida/Lovren/Barisic can stay and be backups. Vrsaljko too, unless he becomes 2018 Vrsaljko again.
That’s a lot of young talent and veteran depth right there.
Ya you have to be optimistic about our defensive future
Maybe in a few years we will say our defense is our strong suit for once
Tho I could see kova sucic and whoever else if broz still doing well running the show nicely come next euro
Im going to russia game in split so i hope that game can be slag na torti. 6 points these 2 games i idemo
If we get 6 points and Russia gets a loss, I think it’s safe to say we’ve already qualified for first. Then the last game at home has to be a win for Russia if they lost a game or don’t get at least 3 points. Doubtful though the Slovaks or Slovenia can pull an upset considering Russia has look decent.
Meh, Russia has trouble scoring, just the way we do sometimes. Even if the Slovenci or Slovaks can tie Russia, that gives us a little bit of breathing room.
Looking back now, thank god the Slovaks beat them early in the qualifying cycle, otherwise we’d most likely be staring at a 2nd place finish, at this point.
Yea, this group was expected to be a mess.
When Slovakia tied both Cyprus and Malta early in the campaign, I knew that they would take points from Russia (and they actually beat them).
Slovenia, Russia, and Slovakia are all in the same category and lack depth and consistency.
We have the depth at least, where we will likely win every game with a couple of gaffes due to injury or poor coaching decision.
Even know we have injuries and multiple out-of-form players, and look at the lineup we can still field.
We should top this group. Anything less is a failure.
Bring up roko simic
How can we not have a striker
Well hopefully krama finds his feet again
I didn’t know we lacked that many right side players
Surely there will be someone coming up surprising
Juranovic and ivanusec both look like they really want to play tho
Let’s see what they can do
And hopefully brekalo steps up his game again
He is what only 22-23 still?
He has shown talent. Yes he lacks a bit of size but maybe his effort will pick up and then he can be back
Rebic… hopefully he can smooth things over with dalic. He definitely can help us still
I think we need to give guys like Simic and Sucic (maybe include Stipe Biuk too) a bit more time to develop with the U-21’s and get more club time before throwing their names around for senior repka caps. Simic is still at Liefering in the Austrian 2nd division and we should be ok with Kramaric and whoever else is in form/healthy at forward. We’re obviously stacked in the middle and Sucic will I’m sure get a cap in either a friendly leading up to the WC or post WC. Same goes with Biuk, he’s had his ups and downs at Hajduk and we’re also stacked at LW.
We usually have a good or decent lineup, I don’t think thats any concern of ours. I usually get nervous when I see how we approach the game.
Breaking a team thats bunkering and playing a counter-attack means we need to constantly pressure them high to create turnovers and force mistakes, play faster passes, move the ball so we find openings as their defenders are adjusting and can be out of position.
On another note, we need some individual contributions up top. We usually count on Perisic and he’s pretty good at delivering for us but we need a secondary and 3rd threat on a regular basis. Players that directly create and cause problems to defenders. No matter how mad or how bad some people feel about Rebic, when he was in form and feeling good, I always felt like at any moment he could create a scoring chance for himself or a teammate. We’ve seen glimpses of Brekalo doing that as well but he’s been inconsistent…Vlasic also tends to go for very long periods of not being involved in the game and on a good day, he might get a chance and he can usually score….BUT THATS NOT ENOUGH if you ask me.
Watch the Italians play and they have dangerous and opportunistic attackers, always looking to break through and challenge their opponents. They have weapons at many positions and this is a big difference between them and us. Our strength is controlling the tempo but we heavily lack in being dangerous and scoring goals! In order for us to be 10% better, we need players like Perisic, Rebic (I know he’s not on the team but he’s one of few dangerous attackers), Brekalo ( on his best day) to make defenders back off and afraid to commit to the challenge, but we just don’t see it enough!
Italianos have coaching they always have to some level- we haven’t had a coach yet- we have had bad actors, plumbers, electricians , goat herders, blackmailers, and mainly yes men. Can’t compare us to Italianos
Ha! Well said. Was just talking to my Italian physio about how they have the best coaches.
Which one is Stimac, the blackmailer?
I don’t believe the Italians have even close to the raw talent we have. It’s just coached so much better there.
100% istina- well said and it pains me so to see them win even if they are our neighbors- love Italians- have so many associates that are just like Croatians- but can we just get one good coach- even the Italians said if we had a coach we would of won in 2018- so true
I’d say all these losers we have as coaches have the essence of blackmail- that’s how they got the job in the first place. It’s actually quite embarrassing for such a talented athletic country to have this level of corruption in a sport- we just can’t shake it for some reason.
Orsic is good at this. Creates chances out of nothing. He need to play every game.
I would start him at RW if he was comfortable there. But he needs to at least come off the bench every game and give us a spark.
I’m fine with the lineup as it has a lot of talent.
My only concern would be strategy, and what we plan to do if Cyprus and Malta decide to crowd the middle of the field.
We have Sosa and Perisic to send in crosses on that left side, but noone on the right side since Juranovic is out and I’m not sure if Brekalo or Ivanusec are able to send anything in.
We have Krama up top and even though he’s got a good header, it’s not really his forte.
Either way, we have most of our top offensive talent out there, so we should be able to get it done.
I agree that I wish we went with another keeper, just so Livakovic doesn’t become our automatic #1 and that the Ivusic game is seen as simply a one-off situation.
I’ve seen Sosa play approximately 3 or 4 times and I really like the crosses and attacks he produces. Its been a long time since I’ve liked one of our left backs and he’s an interesting player to watch.
If I’m Dalic, I’m expecting Cyprus/Malta to crowd the middle and force us to the flanks.
A few keys to that;
-Sosa/Perisic and Stanisic/Brekalo have to be ready for big days.If these teams want to stop Luka/Mateo from beating us, our buildup on the flanks has to be quick and efficient. None of that walking the ball up.
Other part is our finishing needs to be good, looking at Kramaric. At a bare minimum, we should be going into HT of both games with some type of lead. I hate that crap when we play down to inferior sides and wait for a winner at the 70-80 minute mark. Also, Kramaric needs a goal or two in these games to get the confidence back up. He’s missed a number of sitters going back to the Euro. He’s a good finisher for club, we need to start seing that for us – especially if we want to make noise in Qatar. I personally don’t have a ton of confidence in Budimir or Petkovic being the go to player when it comes to striker. Andrej needs to step the fuck up.
Krama had some good chances last game.
He missed them, but he was in the right positions. I would still stick with Krama.
Just gotta give him consistent time and some consistent teammates (not Livaja) and we will have to see if it “clicks” one day.
I would just stick it out with Krama as starter, and Budimir off the bench (where he seems to have success with us as a joker).
There’s no other striker out there that is worth experimenting with (like Colak or whoever). I wouldn’t bother calling up any of these random strikers unless they’re actually doing something significant.
Aside from Vida and Livakovic, I think thats as close to an ideal XI as we could hope for at present moment.
Our RW situation just makes me laugh. I know Brekalo and Perisic can play on thre right if needed, but we just have NOTHING at the NT level, HNL or youths in terms of a natural RW prospect. LW is by far our deepest position, from senior NT down to youths.
Also, if we take command of this game early (say 2-0 at HT), lets give Luka the hook at HT and give his legs a rest. And potentially one from either Perisic/Broz. I think if we can save some legs here torwards the end of the cycle from our big guns (Perisic, Modric, Broz, Kovacic, Vlasic) and continue to integrate newer pieces (Sosa, Stanisic, Ivusic, Gvardiol at CB, etc.) we might overachieve in Qatar…
It’s actually comical at the unbalance we have on the left side vs the right side.
Is there suddenly a shortage of right-footed players in the world? lol
We literally have Perisic, Rebic, Orsic, Brekalo, Bradaric, Sosa, Barisic, Gvardiol, Lovric, and Pjaca…all capable of running up that left side (either as a LB or LW).
We only have Juranovic (at RB) who can do the same on the right side, ha ha.
When you look at our youth players, it doesn’t end.
We have guys like Stipe Biuk, Bartol Franjic, Antonio Marin, etc…all left sided players.
Luckily, we have Ivan Saranic who can play on the RW…but his main position is still the CAM role. Depending on how Sucic and these other central midfielders pan out for us, Saranic could be a future prospect for us on the right side.
Orsic usually looks for his shot from the top of the box, I’d be curious to know if he could do well as a striker?! He is always looking for a hole or a lane to run or pass into and thats what I like about him, he wants to find that goal all the time.
Always thought Pjaca was more a right-sided player.
And Vlasic has played there before.
Either way the right has some catching up to do.
All it takes is one kickass player (Stanisic) to make that wing his own for the next decade.
Not sure Stanisic has played/wants to play as a winger/wingback. From everything I’ve read and seen, he’s typically played either as a CB or RB (looks like he’s even gotten time in at LB) in a 4ATB.
Yea he can play RB, but doesn’t run up that right side and send in crosses.
We have a few players that can play RB, but not provide that level of offence that Juranovic can.
Personally, I’m fine with Stanisic starting at RB (since he’s likely better than Juranovic defensively) but in case we need the offence on that side, we can sub in Juranovic.
Shame we don’t have a natural right winger that can swing in crosses.
Keeping Vida in the lineup may not be a bad idea. We are all pumped to see our young guns play together in the back, but it doesn’t hurt to also have someone with his experience and passion. He may still have something to offer…at least until the new guys find their feet.
Also, I agree with Cigan about overkill. Dalić needs to plan some rotation for these two “back to back” games. Maybe even rest Modrić?
Vida 4 life! 🤘🏻
He almost fell off the party bus about a dozen times when they returned to Zagreb in 2018. The least we can do is let him play a few qualifiers 😉
feel like modric, kova, broz all playing is overkill against cyprus. probably let modric or kovacic rest and add another attacker(pasalic?) uptop would be smart.
If anyone has link to watch game, puno hvala. The Monday game is listed as being on uefa.tv, tomorrow not though.
The website I use for Croatia games is hesgoal.com. Kind of a sketchy website but the streams always work well for me
If your in the states, best option is signing up for ESPN+. $6 a month, you get streams to every UEFA qualifier and commentary is in English, for those that have yet to fully embrace the Croatian language.
If that is lineup then modric and kovacic need to play as AM and shoot the ball and brekalo perisic as well cut and shoot. Nice possession team too conservative imo. Kramaric isnt a target man so for get crosses unless gvardiol vida on corners.
What do you guys think if rakitic had not retired kovacic would still be on bench.
Ideal lineup
That’s a starting 11 most of us want other than vida and livakovic.
I’m actually ok with vida we do need a veteran presence back there.