70′ GOOOOOOAL!!! Perišić marches down the left wing and somehow gets the cross off. Vlašić flies into the box and volleys home goal #3. We haven’t has an easy qualifying campaign like this in a long time. It sure is nice. Shit group, but hey, Vatreni have only conceded two goals in seven matches.
60′: SUBS. Modrić and Marco Pašalić come off. Vlašić and Fruk come on.
58′ GOOOOOOOOALLLL!!! 2-1 Croatia. And it’s Musa! From playing in the MLS with Dallas to being called up for the first time in two years, he gives Croatia the lead in Rijeka. Typical Musa goal. Back to goal, muscles his defender and sends a no-look shot to beat the keeper. Weel done!
50′ Kramarić heads the ball down into the ground right in front of goal but it creeps right past the outside of the post.
HT: Croatia 1 Faroe Islands 1. Vatreni are 45 minutes away from the World Cup if the do not conceded in this half.
45′ Modrić wants a goal so bad. He’s running the most out there and ripped two excellent shots that were trouble, one right at the goalie and the other was deflected just above the crossbar for a corner.
30′: Faroe Islands counter hard down the field and get a near break-away on goal. However, Livaković with a huge leg save and a beauty to keep it 1-1.
22′: GOOOOALLLL! Croatia level the game at 1-1. Gvardiol looks like a striker in the box! He traps a bouncing ball in the box, makes one move to his left and slits home a very clinical low-shot inside the far-right post. all is right again.
20′: Faroe Islands whips the ball into the box and after 2 headers, the ball skims off the far post. Easily could be 2-0 Faroe but the play was called dead for offside. This should settle the nerves. Vatreni need a goal if they want to qualify tonight.
15′: WOW. Faroe Islands take the early lead. 1-0. Turi grabs the ball at midfield, dribbles down 30 yards unchecked by any Croatian player, rips a shot from 18 yards out and the ball takes a crazy deflection off Vušković. Nothing he could do and nothing Livaković could do. He was frozen already leaning the wrong way.
Here we go! Croatia are 90 minutes away from punching their ticket to the 2026 World Cup in North America. All they need is a draw or better against the Faroe Islands in Rijeka Friday night to make it happen.
Lineup changes: 18 year-old CB Luka Vušković will get his first senior start for Croatia. Petar Musa received the start at the #9 spot after being called up due to the Budimir injury. Musa has not been with the team for 2 years.
I thought Vusko had a solid game for his first senior cap. Could he have come out sooner and challenged the forward once he saw that Modric hustled back and was covering the middle….yes probably. But it was still a lucky deflection. Asking your 18 yo defender to play in a back 3 in a big match that will qualify you for the WC was a big ask and he handled it well. At 18 he is already better the DCC, Erlic & Pong.
Faroe Islands goal – rewatch from 15:15
– Vuskovic wins duel and passes to Marco
– First mistake: Marco kicks it to Mario in midfield – this was the WRONG play – the right play was to pass it back to Liva to re-distribute to the left-hand side. First mistake on Marco
– Second mistake: Mario sees Marco pass coming – instead of trapping the ball calmly with his body and then taking a touch with his feet – he lets the ball go over his head – and than blindly and wildly kicks the ball and slices it. Second mistake on Mario
– Third & forth mistake: Mario’s slice ball magically lands in Gvardiol’s path – Gvardiol’s first touch was terrible and the ball gets away to him to Faroe player – Gvardiol then goes to dual with the Faroe player for the ball, loses the duel and tumbles over. Third and forth mistake on Josko
– Fifth mistake: Mario was slow to stop running forward and running back to track the Faroe goal-scorer – this slow stop and turn back, as well as overall lack of pace back – is the difference b/w him catching the Faroe player before he gets to shoot or not
– Sixth mistake: Josko needed time to get up from his tumble – then started tracking back – but kind of let up as he assumed Mario was going to get there (which he never did) and indecisive b/w that and the free Faroe player on the RW that is just standing there at this point
– Seventh mistake: Perisic first correctly was tracking the free Faroe player on the wing – but at some point that player stopped running forward and was no longer a threat – Perisic didn’t read that quick enough – if he did he could have gotten over quicker and tackled the Faroe player that ended up shooting before he even entered the box (especially as when Josko was getting back he deviated to that free Faroe player on the wing that wasn’t moving anywhere)
But – yeah – blame Vuskovic that the ball deflected off of him LMAO (of course he needs to be more mindful of the angle he’s putting his legs and body when the shot comes in – if he got the angle better – it wouldn’t have deflected like that – but it’s 15 minutes on his debut) – don’t necessarily agree he should have stepped up earlier – given Mario, Josko and Perisic were in the vicinity (but unfortunately none of them took the responsibility to stop the Faroe shooter)
There is a reason Anonymous has a Olympic Gold Medal in eye tests
Yep
You guys are funny, you forgot to mention dalic terrible tactics. Vuskovic was prolly blinded by the moon too. Everyone’s fault except him. Yes I agree all those things are true, however there are a lot of slip ups in soccer bad decisions and bad passes midfielders not tracking back. The other team is also trying to win. He’ll I’m sure modric gave the ball up at least 5 times last game
.
And no it’s not solely on the defender when that goal was conceded. But it’s also ok to point out that my 10 year old son probably would have stepped up faster than vuskovic did, that was literally one of the worst defending I’ve seen in a long time in that moment. Do you ever think a nests who is slow would walk back like that?
Taxi for Gattuso
Day before the match Gattuso comes out and says (to para-phrase) “Not fair Italy lost 1 match and not qualifying for the World Cup…..South America teams have too many spots (6 out of 10 spots to qualify + a PO spot) and Europe don’t get enough”
Well fast-forward a day and Gattuso has lost two matches
What Gattuso didn’t realize is by saying that he was also saying Italy was going to beat Norway in the last game (and stay with one loss) – just the added motivation Norway needed to rip them apart
People need to use their brains and THINK before they speak – you never want to give your opponent any fuel to latch onto and provide additional motivation
Similar – but different – a reporter asked Dalic if Modric will play tomorrow and Montenegro fans want to see him – Dalic said for sure he’ll play we want to give that to Montenegro fans – why say that ? Why tempt God with such promises when Modric could pick up a niggle in the the 24 hours b/w the press conference and the match
Basic stuff these guys should now/realize at their age (especially Gattuso as this was a pre-planned thought he had that he wanted to share at the press conference – Dalic was asked on the spot and gave a nice diplomatic answer)
Vuskovic is just as good if not better than Micky van de Ven at 18 years of age. VDV is real good btw..
Micky VDV’s U19 coach told him “The guys who are playing right now are way better than you. You are not fast enough…We don’t really see the potential for you to become a first-team player.”
Now he’s the fast player in the Premier League
Sadly, Dalic confirmed in the press conference late Sunday that Vuskovic is with the U21
Hungary had 2 eligible U21s play today for the Senior Team vs. Ireland
Alex Toth started in midfield today and was a sub vs. Armenia
Zsombor Gruber was an unused sub in both games
If the U21 Hungary match vs. Croatia is SOOOOOOO important – is Hungary sending their TWO BEST U21 PLAYERS now down to face Croatia ?
Or is it just Dalic / nose-pickers that are sending Vuskovic to face Hungary who are going to be missing their TWO BEST U21 PLAYERS
Such stupidity – Olic crying to get Vuskovic – where Prpic and Mlacic are more than good enough – to face Hungary U21 THAT WILL BE WITHOUT THEIR TWO ELIGIBLE AND BEST U21 PLAYERS
Infuriating
P.S. here’s a nice compilation of Vuskovic’s debut
x.com/THFC_Mastrigt/status/1989691976732536899
So, i haven’t been following this new format, but even if Italy wins in the playoffs they shouldn’t be pot 1 over Germany or Croatia if either side wins out right?
If Germany wins tomorrow, they’re in.
If Germany ties or loses and Croatia wins, Croatia is in
Or did it change?
I asked the same question earlier, but my comment was moderated.
Since then, I have read in the media that if we win? and Germany loses or draws? that we will be in Pot 1.
Italy’s loss to Norway today just dropped them down to 12th place behind Morocco for the next FIFA ranking release.
Italy are no longer a Pot 1 team now despite FIFA’s desperate attempt to seed them.
I’m guessing that FIFA is still going to reserve Italy’s playoff spot as a Pot 2 seed, which will work out better for us if we end up in Pot 2.
We are currently 10th in the World Ranking (only 3pts behind Germany) so if Germany messes up and draws Slovakia, they will drop below us and we become a Pot 1 team (assuming we win in Montenegro).
Such a shame we couldn’t win in Prague. We lost so many points because of that draw. We would’ve been guaranteed Pot 1.
n.b. for any other World Cup with one host we wouldn’t be having this discussion – the only other World Cup that’s had more than one host nation was Japan/Korea – just bad luck that this one was three hosts that are put into Pot 1 i.e. in any other World Cup (save Japan/Korea) the top two Pot 2 teams for 2026 would otherwise be Pot 1 teams
There is still time though – Mr. T might be saving the best for last – i.e. having his buddy Infantino, that just made up a new FIFA peace prize to give him, kick out Canada and Mexico as hosts – that would solve it all lol
With that loss Italy is out of Pot 1 even if they qualify for the World Cup.
Can Slovakia beat or draw away to Germany ?
If we beat Montenegro ? would a draw between Germany and Slovakia be enough for us to be in Pot 1 ??
Italy just got thrashed. Norway will be a tough out in the WC.
They’re a Pot C team too.
Somehow, some way, FIFA will find Italy…I mean Italy will find…a way through.
It will still be tough.
There are some really stubborn teams in the playoff round, and Italy needs to beat TWO of them to secure qualification.
Anything can happen in a one-game elimination round. Italy already knows this when Macedonia eliminated Italy last time, before Italy even got a chance to play their second playoff opponent (Portugal) who ended up beating Macedonia.
Certainly hope we dont draw Norway, sheesh
3-1 Norway
Haaland 2 goals after called out by Anonymous
You’re welcome
4-1 for good measure
Donna 4 goals 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Vicario must start in the PO
Kotarski snubbed Italy #1
Bad life decisions
The trashing talking in U17 tournament penalties is funny – not only Croatia (Sivalec clip) – but a few of the other games
Haaland starting
Italy switched to back 4
4-4-2 mirror
Reading peoples comment about Vuskovic playing for U-21 I mean I get it it he should prolly stay with senior team. However if people can be honest Vuskovic did not play well it was a bad debut for the senior team. So I can’t really be too mad at dalic for sending him down he’s not ready to be our starter. And yes he has skill and probably will have a decent career but he’s no generational talent.
I’ve never seen a super star be slow at any position. And he will never be gvardiol.
Hey vlad. I disagree. I thought vuskovic had an excellent debut. There were parts of the game where he was dictating both defense and offense. Mid way through second half his teammates kept giving him the ball and he was dictating like a quarter back, pointing where he wanted players ahead of him to move. His passing was exceptionally smooth and precise. His head was always up assessing the field when had the ball. His decision making was 95 %. He showed when he was isolated 1 vs 1 that he knows how to jockey and close a player without overcommitting and getting beaten. He definitely has the ability to be at least as good as gvardiol is now, if not better. That is high praise because gvardiol is already close to being world class. His foot speed does need to improve but we didn’t see it here. He looked slow because when he had the ball he stood still with it. This is simply a different style of play to what we are used to. Indeed the trend in modern football is for defenders to stay still with the ball and attract the press before releasing space ahead of them with a sharp pass. Top debut. He has convinced me now that he needs to stay with the senior team and play as often as possible.
A word on Dalic. I was thinking about it today. We have a small pool of players compared to bigger nations. If Dalic were to give caps to every promising player he would soon run out of new options. If those players fail to make the grade it creates a culture of failure, whereby new national team players feel they may well fail to make the grade. This is why he sticks to seniority. It means if you do get a chance you really really deserve it. It’s the best way to maintain standards for a smaller nation.
Many thanks
Cmon man take off the homer glasses. As good as Gvardiol or better? Really ?
Gvardiol is a unicorn.
To make that statement really means you are not watching the same game. When Gvardiol was at euros 2020 he made some mistakes but that was against Spain and England. He also stood out, and you can see his talent. WC 2022 Gvardiol was awesome. Gvardiol is our best player at the moment.
I never watched Vuskovic really play until yesterday and I too drank the cool aid on him, reading articles and seeing him start for Hamburg I thought well I guess he’s ready, I was wrong.
We played against Faroe Island at home of course we were gonna have the ball 80% and him literally being the last man he would be involved and again we played against Faroe Island.
simply if your at fault for a goal and almost another I can’t say you had a good game.
Yes he seems to be confident with his communication and can make a good pass and he has skill. All things are true, Also true he is slow and he’s recovery at tracking back is poor. Those things you can’t really teach or gain. Will he improve of course will he read the game better of course is he at least a bench player for national team at age 18 sure? It doesn’t mean he won’t be a national team player, it just means your limited and likely not super star material. And at the moment isn’t automatically starter and people should back off the criticism of dalic weather he plays him or not.
I could be wrong but I’ve just never seen a star player even at defence be slow I doubt that Vuskovic is going to be the exception. Again doesn’t mean he won’t have a good career.
@Vlad
Would you consider Virgil van Dijk a superstar?
He’s a slow but talented CB.
Also, I don’t recall seeing you on here pumping up Gvardiol four years ago when he was as young as Vuskovic.
There were some of us screaming for Dalic to call him up as a 19 year-old, and you were nowhere to be found. But now, you seem to think Gvardiol is a generational talent.
Perhaps the same situation is playing out with Vuskovic too.
@ Maminjo
Lol, this is a weird comment.
I don remember 4 days ago never mind 4 years ago but I guess you do.
However since I love dinamo I’m pretty sure I thought Gvardiol was the best after watching him for 30 seconds.
Again I don’t remember 4 years ago but I really find it hard to imagine I would have been against gvardiol. Just like I was hoping sutalo would start in 2022.
Also I’ve been on this chat on and off for from the Very beginning. I disappear some times because of weird comments like your last one.
Van Dijk no I don’t think he is a superstar. I think he’s overrated. Also he’s not Vuskovic slow. Van Dijk is not a speedster but he isn’t a slug like Vuskovic. Vuskovic is literally one of the slowest players I’ve seen, he’s 36 year old corluka slow. He reminds me when I was in Zagreb many years ago and everyone was talking about kranjcar In the papers next Zidane, I was like WTF is everyone on crack. Super skilled super slow.
Literally admitted I hadn’t watched Vuskovic before yesterday andI drank the cool aid and had him starting. However admittedly I was wrong and it’s ok to be wrong.
Vlad. I don’t think your comments are crazy. I just think you are being way too harsh on him. You’re talking about “kool aid” this kid has played in 4 different nations top leagues. Aged 18. On loan. He never slacked off. Never complained. Never started playing ‘call of duty’ or ‘fifa’ more than he trains. And the kid has been exceptional. He scored goal of the season in Belgian league last year WITH A SCISSOR KICK. He was at fault for the fairoes goal. He backed off too far, but was unlucky nonetheless. He is defender. When your team concedes a goal it usually means some kind of mistake , big or small.
In terms of speed. I’ve seen vuskovic pick up some speed. He is 18 years old and very big. There is no reason that with the right athletic work he cannot become as fast as vidic, Terry, corluka, simunovic, Tudor, kovac, Bilic, there are so many top defenders who aren’t particularly quick. Ok I’m like you I can’t remember last week never mind lost them all. But it’s never been the main attribute a centre back needs. He absolutely has all the others in abundance. It doesn’t mean he WILL become a top top player it just means that very likely he does have the potential to be a world class defender. I repeat my claim about the recent match. He LOOKS slow because he is unhurried. He is unhurried BECAUSE he is class.
Further. Fans who go on about their team having ONLY beaten this team or that team don’t know football. This is armchair heirachy thinking. “Faeroe islands are a joke” no they really really are not a joke. I played football to a good standard. No way I could get in their team at my peak. I’m not saying that is some kind of bench mark. I’m saying that the difference in REPUTATION is not the same thing as difference in speed and skill. The ACTUAL margins are so small you wouldn’t believe. If a faroe idjsnds player came to play in a game with your friends you’d think you played against messi. Then you’d watch again and see something different. They beat Czech Republic last game. This is in the real world. In armchair football consumer token 2 for the price of one, razzle dazzle, Oprah Winfrey we live in a democracy and GDP is a thing world – Faroe Islands are “minnows”. Sorry for the very long point here.
In short. Vuskovic is GOOD
Like honestly I don’t understand what I said that was so harsh on the kid? Feel free to explain. I said he won’t be a superstar? That’s harh on a kid? I said he’s slow that’s harsh?
I literally said he can have a good career just won’t be a superstar. And that’s harsh?
last game he was way to far from closing a defender and I’m pretty sure it was because of his speed.
Also literally all those defenders you mentioned were not as slow as vuskovic, and played in a different era.
Please don’t mention Faroe Islands like there some great team because they beat some average European team.
Gvardiol isn’t perfect and had slow spells for us as well.
I recall during our Euro2024 qualifications, Gvardiol played poorly and made all kinds of mistakes when we played Turkey and Wales.
We were lucky to qualify despite being the top seed in that weak group.
Gvardiol also played poorly at his first Euro (though not his fault for being thrown into the fire with zero prep).
You just watched Vušković play in a back three that (for some reason) never works for us, against a deceptively underrated team.
Weirdly enough, all of Vušković’s debuts are forgettable ones.
I think he did okay, despite not playing with another CB and having a very defensively weak Mario Pašalić in front of him in midfield.
I, personally, would love to see him paired with Gvardiol in a back four so we can reclaim that defensive magic we had at the 2022 World Cup (but with Vušković being a massive upgrade over Lovren).
Making mistakes doesn’t concern me. All players make mistakes. Gvardiol has had many games where he was off, cause he was tired or over confident which has led to mistakes. But the guy also does so much and tries so hard, he goes up and down the pitch left and right of course he will get coughs out of position or make a mistake. His role on our team is literally play all over the pitch. He’s like a cheat code.
Vuskovic on two occasions in first half speed either led to a goal or almost lead to another goal. Yes on the Faroe island first goal the guy had a lot of space to run at vuskovic but still back peddling that much and not stepping up is very concerning. I have to believe he’s concerned on getting burned. WhTs worse is perisic was right there in coverage how do you not step up?
Also when Marco pasalic caughs up the ball and gets caught out of position and the Faroe island guy had a partial break. Vuskovic reaction is slow and his back tracking is so slow.
I’m sorry both these moment are very concerning. yes he’s only 18 and can shed a few pounds and train to get more high level he needs to be. But today I don’t think he should be starting. Certainly not a guaranteed starter.
Sigh. Can someone unblock my comment that is awaiting moderation?
😂
Right so it’s because he is from Hajduk that makes sense Vlad. Excellent reason to dislike someone, not bias at all.
Well no that’s not it, I just used my eyes to see that the guy can’t run or tackle and think hmm, those are important traits in defending.
Sure. So..
Defensively, he completed two tackles, seven clearances, six headed clearances, two interceptions and eight recoveries. He won 3 of his 5 ground duels and 8 of his 13 aerial duels.
Still not convinced that those are very good stats for 18 year old on the biggest stage.
Yeah he can definitely improve but come on man!
If he is doing this at 18 he is only going to get better with time.
Yeah he was slow at times sure, I could agree that he doesn’t have the same dynamism as Gavrdiol or the pace, at least in this game. He was doing his job defensively though.
That’s fine. We can agree to disagree then. I just think he is a better option than what’s there currently there in DCC and Pongracic. Pongracic especially does not recover well in my view, at least not when plays for Croatia.
These guys are good substitutes in my view. Definitely worth having around, but they aren’t starters.
Šutalo has been are most solid defender by far next to Gavrdiol. But having Stanišić and Vusković seemed fine to me especially in the second half. It was different game at that point when we had a back four.
It’s strange to me, because from the games I watched at Fiorentina, Pongracic was great but for us I just didn’t see it. Way too many errors. DCC also has some bad games from time to time as well. Consistency seems to be the problem.
The only issue with Vusković, in my view, is that he is young so his discipline may be a problem. But so far he seems to be doing great.
Lol
All these stupid stats, why did Faroe Island score. It was Vuskovic didn’t close down his man. Why would he allow so much time and space for that player to walk in and shoot?
Maldini at 13 years old would have close down that player. However he was scared in open space to be burned.
If you can’t see that then there’s no point about talking to anyone on this site.
Vlad, I agree with your comments.
Vuskovic in post-match interview admitted that the goal was his mistake i.e. he should have come to meet the onrushing attacker instead of retreating back into the penalty box. Not sure why some people on this site have difficulty in agreeing with this? perhaps lack of knowledge?
The kid is slow as was his brother Mario who is currently suspended. It runs in the genes. The speed might improve slightly but he is never going to be Speedy Gonzales. I also think that he needs to shed a kilo or two of baby fat.
The kid is 18 and has great potential, and to compensate lack of speed he will need to improve his ability to anticipate and read the game. This will come with experience.
Is he ready for the starting 11 at the WC ? no he is NOT and Dalic won’t be silly enough to do so. Now that Gvardiol is predominantly playing as a CB for Man City he should be playing that for the national team in partnership with Sutalo.
WC is still 8 months away, so let’s wait and see what happens with form and potentially injuries but currently as things stand DCC, Erlic and even Pongracic are ahead of Vuskovic in the pecking order for the CB positions. Stanisic can also play as a CB.
Vlad….
Bad debut??? What bad debut???
It’s a bad debut, why cause of one mistake. He had the best stats of all defenders and 8.0 fotmob rating in that match. Kid was exceptional. Dalic played a shitty system and he admitted it in the interview after. A back three does not work, and even Dali said never again. You don’t put a young defender in that kind of a system anyways.
I think people are giving Visković a hard time because he was at fault for that goal scored. Which by the way he owned up to that mistake at the conclusion of the game. Kid had a great debut, to the point where Tottenham are raving about it all over their website.
What was so exceptional, almost every time he had the ball he had all the time in the world and no pressure applied. He’s good on the ball and he made some good passes as the last man back and Faroe island bunkering that’s exceptional?
I don’t care about the goal. I care that he kept back peddling and didn’t step up on the goal. Makes me think he’s not confident in his speed. Those are things I see not his beautiful passes under literally zero pressure.
I see the partial break away after Marco pasalic coughing up the ball, he was so slow at tracking back that’s concerning.
The guy has skill however he has to decide does he want to be great or the next Niko kranjcar. He needs to shed a few pounds and hit the gym more.
Time will tell.
Any news if Luka Vuskovic is staying with the A-team ?
Last Anonymous heard Luka said post-match he “thinks” he’ll play w the U21s next (but wasn’t definitive)
Guess the longer we don’t hear anything definitive the better (i.e. they are only going to announce if he goes to U21, not if he stays w/ the A-team)
Dalic / nose-pickers – Anonymous doesn’t ask for much – but can we please take Jagusic from Olic and give him 30 minutes vs. Montenegro – PLEASE
On Nova TV during the match, they said he was going to U21.
I read the interview with Luka Vuskovic in which he said that he feels responsible for the Faroes goal and that it has been agreed that he will join the U21 for the match against Hungary.
I don’t think that Dalic had any plans of playing him against Montenegro, so he is better of playing for the U21 and help them against Hungary.
Against Montenegro expect guys like DCC, Erlic, Pongracic and Jakic to get a run. Gvardiol had full 90 minutes so he will probably be on the bench as will Stanisic, Modric and Perisic ?
Dalic said in the press conference the plan was for Vuskovic to start against Faroe and play for the under21 in there big game against Hungary.
He’s being sent to the U21s to help Olic save his job again
Sunday evening – they’ve landed in Montenegro – and still no official announcement that Vuskovic ain’t with them….
UEFA playoffs got even harder after today’s matches.
The three countries that have made the playoffs due to their Uefa Nations League rankings are:
Sweden, Romania and Northern Ireland.
The fourth country will come from Wales or Macedonia. They play each other in Cardiff on Tuesday with the loser coming third in the group, however due to their UNL ranking a spot in the playoffs is guaranteed. Macedonia is currently second on goal difference with 13 points like Wales.
Moldova and San Marino miss out on play offs.
Pretty much one of these teams is going to be seeded.
FIFA is going to reserve a Pot A seed for Italy. But since the draw is in three weeks, and the playoffs are a few months later… Whoever beats Italy gets seeded.
Since they’re already holding the Pot A spot for Italy, then my guess is FIFA will do whatever it takes for Italy to progress.
But there’s only so much you can do (maybe a VAR decision or PK going your way).
There’s still a big risk that Italy doesn’t qualify, and the spot is handed to some bum team like Sweden.
The draw for the UEFA play offs will take place on Thursday 20 November in Zurich starting at 13:00 hrs. Look forward to watching this and hope that Italy gets a tough draw.
Good to see BH came back from behind to beat Romania 3 – 1 and at least guarantee themselves a playoff spot. Romania in the first half missed some sitters and the match should have over by half time instead it was only 1 – 0 to them.
Turning point in the match came in the 67 minute when a Romanian player that just came on as sub kicked Kang Fu style Katic in the head and got red carded.
Score was 1 – 1 at the time. The second goal for BH was a stunner into top corner.
Croats Sunjic and Katic play for them although Sunjic was suspended today.
Sunjic is a defensive midfielder and a good player, it is a pity that we never called him up to play for Croatia. He would have been useful to have in our squad.
Here is a video from Dalic, Gvardiol and Musa after the match. Apparently, Dalic isn’t going to experiment with 3 at the back anymore because there isn’t enough time to practice it and the team was developed with 4 at the back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynioksZH9Y
U17 WC
Uzbekistan 1 v Croatia 1(Uzbeks win 4 – 3 on penalties)
Overall, I thought that Uzbeks were slightly the better team quicker on and off the ball. We should have scored in the 5th minute with a header, instead it was the Uzbecks who took the lead with a header around the 20 min mark.
Kusanovic equlised in the 80th minute and from then on, we were the better team and should have been awarded a spot kick in the 88th minute when Kusanovic was clearly fouled inside the box but instead of falling down he stumbled and had a shot on goal and missed. The referee was called over by VAR but decided not to give a penalty despite clear evidence that Kusanovic was kicked on the foot and as a result was put off balance.
Ye it was a poor showing from the team today. Patrick Horvat very disappointing. Sivalec looked much better when he came on. From what I’ve seen and I watched all the games I only see Jakirovic as a potential national team player one day.
Yes, I agree.
Both Horvat boys were poor.
Difficult 1st half – 2nd half much better
Luka V did ok for debut and got better as match went on
First goal – don’t forgot Mario wildly kicking the ball and slicing it – then Gvardiol taking a bad first touch and then loosing the duel – sure Luka body/leg position led the deflection in but we need to let him make a few mistakes to keep learning
Please rewatch the 1 v 1 duel at 79:10 – this is 100 times better from Luka – he has already improved being flat footed / standing by taking little baby steps to keep legs moving and balance – this is exactly what Anonymously pointed out as the problem and what he needs to do to fix it – nice to see he recognizes values Anonymous’ eye tests
Stanisic looked like Cafu out there – beautiful cross into Musa – who did excellently on first touch, creating separation and the finish/shot
That play when Marco rushed back full speed to put the Faroe player off his shot – wow what work rate
Pero was smooth as silk – playing at 100% clearly – such good balance and close control and dribbling – we have such a gem
Perisic run from half-way line and cross to Vlasic goal – so good
Josko was outstanding – so good technically it’s unreal
Liva saved us a couple of times – Dalic says he’s a lock for #1
Luke Dragusica
Nasty stuff
Ajmo Mladi!
Beat those Uzbeks.
Make Borat proud.
Anonymouse Top 10 Observations with his well trained eye test.
1: Have the Croatian Coaching Gods gone crazy?
2: Starting the game with a 3-4-3 attack and allowing our players to play.
3: Changing the 3-4-3 to a little more defensive 4-4-2 yet still attacking in the 2nd half instead of bunkering for 90mins, uncanny level 1 coaching.
4: Playing both Marco and Mario at the same time.
5: Subbing off an unproductive Mario at 2nd half.
6: Inserting young phenom Luka Vuskovic.
7: A mixture of control Tika Taka and crosses into the box.
8: Vlasic The Vlocket or Real Rocket Pickles surpassing Rakitic with far less games played.
9:Playing players in appropriate positions.
10:Proving the strategy/game against the Czechs was all due poor coaching. Bunkering for 90 mins with no lead is just plain stupid.
11: Bonus points. Lastly, I know all you nose pickers envy the great football brain of Anonymouse but it’s my pleasure to share my vast Cliff Clavin knowledge with all of you.
I hope we all can appreciate what Coach Dalic has done for Croatia. We don’t have the wealth of talent like Didier Deschamps’ team, or Tuchel’s team or Fuente’s team but Dalic keeps his team playing at a high level. If he can keep to his game (the players remaining healthy) and with a little luck, we can make a 3rd World Cup semifinal. Viva Zlatko!
Beyond winning, I love the traditional conservative Croatian values he gives homage to: faith, family, and god.
A lot different than the secular ear ringed rocking coach such as Bilic, or the Germanized stoic Kovac.
Stjepan….we do have a wealth of talent that is the problem. It just took him this long to call these players up.
No idea why musa is not called up for 2 yrs..he is proven to be a goal scorer no matter where he goes, or just given with limited minutes.
I hope ivanovic can be next musa as well.
Matanovic needs to start contributing with his club soon.
For midfield wise, we still have kovacic, majer, baturina who all need to find a new club. Kovacic will have trouble finding one as he is still injured. This will help beef up our reserves in midfield department.
We need marco pasalic and musa who have adapted well in MLS and may perform well given their “homeground” advantage.
For defence, i rather have gvardiol as CB than LB. We will see how juranovic and bradaric evolve in next few months.
Gk, i really hope semper can be called up..i watched his highlights..he is really good and consistent
Anonymouse Top 10 Observations with his well trained eye test.
1: Have the Croatian Coaching Gods gone crazy?
2: Starting the game with a 3-4-3 attack and allowing our players to play.
3: Changing the 3-4-3 to a little more defensive 4-4-2 yet still attacking in the 2nd half instead of bunkering for 90mins, uncanny level 1 coaching.
4: Playing both Marco and Mario at the same time.
5: Subbing off an unproductive Mario at 2nd half.
6: Inserting young phenom Luka Vuskovic.
7: A mixture of control Tika Taka and crosses into the box.
8: Vlasic The Vlocket or Real Rocket Pickles surpassing Rakitic with far less games played.
9:Playing players in appropriate positions.
10:Proving the strategy/game against the Czechs was all due poor coaching. Bunkering for 90 mins with no lead is just plain stupid.
11: Bonus points. Lastly, I know all you nose pickers envy the great football brain of Anonymouse but it’s my pleasure to share my vast Cliff Clavin knowledge with all of you.
Great result but we looked very susceptible to counter attacks. Smart teams are playing us like Argentina in 2022 with ultra bunker, waiting for a misplaced pass to spring forward. We could easily been down by 2 if Livakovič doesn’t stop with his left foot.
We haven’t had a direct, dangerous starting forward to take guys on since 2018 Perišiċ. We need someone to beat defenders, causing the defence to collapse and open up spaces to exploit. Otherwise, it could be a tough tournament for us.
Marco Pašalić and Petar Sučić both looked pretty good at breaking the bunker with their dribbling. Faroe Islands defended well, so it was a good test. Those two young players and Stanišić passed the bunker-breaking test, but Marco Pašalić was entirely at fault for one of the Faroes opportunities. Toni Fruk for another one late in the game.
Sucic looked good on the ball but his shooting was bad. Looked like he was trying to hit pigeons instead of the goal.
They were very bad shots. I though it was American football at one point. It’s a lot of pressure, and I’m sure the angles were not great either.
When can we buy team specific tickets whats the 411 with tickets for cro…
March is going to be epic.
I love that there are so many young players that need to be in form with their respective clubs to earn a spot.
Marco P and Musa bringing skill sets to the repka of dribbling and scoring while representing the MLS.
Vlašić is yes for me all day. He is physical and is tough and can shoot from all angles.
Is Perišić fully recovered from knee surgery and has another chapter to write this summer ?
what the deal with tickets when can we buy team specific tickets?
Musa, Matanović, and Vlasic all looked very physical today, with minimum minutes to the later two, but we viewed a glimpse of their current potential.
Orsic was cagey, elusive, ever moving, opportunistic, and always looking for the open space to hammer one into the corner.
Love Kramaric’s chip shot that barely didn’t go in. Orsic almost volleyed the rebound in but bounced too high to direct it properly.
Gvardiol goal is for the history books. Stanisic new aggressive Juranovic defensive -offensive style is impressive, and effective.
I think we controlled the possession: 75% to 25%.
For the first time in years we have qualified for a major tournament in without any drama
Musa making a late push to be included.
You have to figure that Budimir and Ivanović are guaranteed to be in the squad…
But we have all these others like Musa, Matanović, Franko Kovačević, Dion Beljo who have recently been called up or on standby. I wouldn’t even rule out Petković or Kulenović depending on how their seasons go.
Poor Frigan probably would have been in the mix if he didn’t blow his knee.
We can’t take all these forwards so hopefully we see some of them step up at club level until March, and we see what they can do against Colombia and Brazil.
I have said this before . We need every young player we have that has talent . Musa is young and in form . hopefully he stays that way. We have nothing to lose bringing him along
He’s not young. He’s 27.
But yes, he’s been playing regularly. It may be a bush league but it looks like he’s in form.
That goal would have been a goal anywhere because of how hard he shot it
Musa with a classic striker goal, taking the ball well and burying his chance. Nice to see him make a push as another striker option for us.We really need that.
Great to have Stanisic back as well. I’m a fan of Gvardiol as our LB given we can have a Sutalo/Vuskovic partnership. Too bad for Jakic that he is a backup as he’s played very well for us. Vuskovic needs to work on his speed but aside from that looked comfortable out there
The development and play of Marco Pasalic is key! Having him on the right with his pace and attack, Perisic on the left and Kramaric playing behind our striker with Modric and Sucic holding things down centrally is a great lineup for us.
Losing Kova is tough but might be a blessing as I think it forces Dalic to play a 4-2-3-1 which is ideal for the talent we have. With Kova he’d revert to a 4-3-3 and force Kova into the lineup, Krama on the right etc.
As long as we can stay healthy and have players in form we’ll be in excellent shape for another deep run.
Slovakia with a 91 minute winner against Northern Ireland. Next match away to Germany in three days to determine the group winner.
Win by Slovakia means that slim chances that Serbia had of making the playoffs through their UNL ranking are gone and they are out of the WC.
Dalic in after the match interview said that this will be the last time that he will try to play three at the back. Thank God for that, because the first half they caused us lots of problems on the counter which better teams would take advantage of.
Vuskovic played Ok, partly to blame for their goal but his biggest problem is speed which is evident for all to see. With that first half breakaway that Livakovic saved he and Stanisic got caught out of position and then Vuskovic just lacked speed to come across and intercept the attack. I also think that he needs to shed a couple of kilos of baby fat.
Next match for Vuskovic is U21 against Hungary from what I heard on NOVA TV.
Livakovic with a really good performance in goal despite not playing for months.
Never been a big fan of Musa but that was a nice finish and so was the goal by Vlasic.
Not sure if Mario Pasalic touched a ball in the first half?
Marco Pasalic not so good today with his crosses and lost possession in the first half which lead to their breakaway that Livakovic saved.
In 2022, we qualified after a rainy dirty mud-fest in Russia, where the winning goal, was a Hell Mary cross by Sosa, through a lake of water, deflected into the goal by the Russian defender.
This qualification is so much “cleaner” in more ways than one, compared to any in our past history.
Qualifying in this manner feels like a victory already.
Now we need to draw USA for the opening tournament match and make Pulisic 2nd guess his decision. lol.
Or Canada and Niko Sigur.
Although Id prefer the States.
Barring any BS home calls they look pretty weak under Poch.
The lineup that started the second half should probably be the starting lineup. They played great together.
Vlašić actually looked really good out there. Oršić looks like he’s still capable of contributing. Matanović was pretty good. It was cool for Fruk to play with the repka in front of his home crowd, but I would rather not see him called up again for a while. Croatia has more effective midfielders who are better at holding possession and creating chances.
A good win.
I think Dalic had the same defence out there in the second half as the Croatiasports.com suggestion.
Four at the back should be the starting defence at WC, and the best might well be:
Stanisic-Vuskovic-Sutalo-Gvardiol
I think that works better than three. As Mart says, three at the back doesn’t seem to work as well for us.
This way Stanisic and Gvardiol can support the attack up the right and left flanks. They are both well suited to that role and experienced playing in that role. Today both those two contributed offensively, and I think we need that at WC. Stanisic also put a nice ball into Musa for that second goal. Gvardiol goal was key to get us going.
General player comments:
Vlasic had some jump today. We have depth.
Petar Sucic played well. I thought Perisic also played well. The national team brings out the best in Perisic.
This was Vuskovic’s first start and he was solid. Only 18, he’ll be even a better player by the summer. He is working on his speed, and he will get stronger and faster. He is a strong candidate to start for us.
It would be nice if Matanovic can earn a starting spot in the Bundesliga. He seems to have a lot of potential. A big, skilled player . . .
Livakovic should have looked rusty but instead he played well as has been noted by others. He was decisive when he has to be. What move can he make at this juncture? Does a return to Dinamo make the most sense to guarantee his minutes? and then he will get HNL and Europa games as well. . . Then if he has a great World Cup maybe he gets a good spot on a team in another league for 2026-27 season. . . What do people suggest for Livakovic?
Lastly: what should we do for our lineup against Montenegro now that we have qualified?
I would try out the same (or a similar) lineup.
Keep guys like Vušković in there with the core starters.
Go four at the back with Gvardiol at CB partnering Vušković. Stanišić at LB with Jakić at RB.
Get Ivanović in there for 90 minutes up top somewhere. He didn’t play today.
It’ll always be Modrić/Krama/Sučić as the midfield trio, so I’d just play around with the forwards and see how they gel with our central trio.
Fruk is not a midfielder.
I don’t see why Fruk is in the squad at this stage. Maybe at some point but he just doesn’t have what it takes yet. He was all over the place.
Zlatko , you gave the kids some time and we got some players. Congratulations to our beloved little homeland and all that support the checkers. Such a nice thing to see us on top of a crap group and ready to come to North America. I called 2-0 , close enough and Gvardi scored, I called that. Did I bet on it, no. Not that brave. Sami nasi, Neko drugo!!!
We qualified, as clean as can be. I don’t know why Livakovic can’t get minutes outside of the national team, he had a good game. I thought Luka V. played well, even though the only goal went off his leg, and did not aggressively diffuse the attack as maybe he could have.
Yeah Petar Musa! Good enough for Dallas FC, good enough for a WC qualifier.
Good enough to play against Faroe Islands. 😉
Go 🫎!
I support this comment! 😁
This is the fourth time that Dalic has tried playing three at the back and once again it is not working. Faroes are causing us problems on transition and if not for the Livakovic save we could be down 2 – 1.
With the Faroes goal, Vuskovic should have come out to meet the onrushing player instead of retreating back into the penalty box.
Very nice Amusing goal. Livakovic earning his pay today. Keeping us in the game again.
Orsic, can’t believe my eyes is playing. Nice goal my vlasic.
Before too many complaints start, I’d like to say that at least this lineup has the most in-form players on the field. The weakest link is Mario Pašalić, but given how Croatia’s counterattacks have been and how much we are reaching the baseline and getting shots off, having him there must be accomplishing something. I would like to see Jakić or Moro instead of Pašalić, but this game plan is working to break the bunker.
lol Petar Sucic is gonna wake up with bruises everywhere tomorrow poor guy – but I guess it shows that he puts himself in dangerous positions
Don’t get me wrong, I cheer for Vuskovic, but god he is slow!! I’m surprised how much that’s the case! He looks even too chill sometimes walking too much and a little unfocused/too confident at times – I believe it’s the fact that he’s very young that’s showing there. He’ll be brought to mature fast if Dalic keeps starting him. Would have love to see him in a 4-something line up though to get a real comparison! Still I love seeing him finally on there
Josko! Jez! We found are striker.
Number 5 has me thinkin we are playing Jamaica Is.
Ouch! Get It back Luka ! It is early.
All the pounding the table
Vuskovic finally gets a start
Anonymous is delighted w a tear of joy that he finally gets his chance
Can’t watch live – but will check in after watching
Hopefully we see a nice long diagonal pass Vuskovic to Marco on the wing who blasts a goal in (or at least a nice cross for Musa to head in)
Ajmo Hrvatska
If anyone has a streaming link, it would be much appreciated.
I wonder what moniker Dalic has on this site. He definitely listening, and trying to meet halfway, and appease some critics.
That will do the trick. Very interesting, something for everyone, perfect for none.
Pravo!…..We have the youth and speed on the right wing.
Kramaric should get some service from Sucic and Marco.
The big Vusko test, and a hopeful confirmation of Marco’s known abilities.
Hopeful for Musa surprise party.
Pray the Kardiac kids don’t show up today, and we dominate to close this out in a quick fashion.
Petar playing very high and laterally is not what I’d have imagined since he’s a very intelligent game creater even from further back, and his hard work behind would be crucial in a match where we have only 3 players in the back, since he’s better in defending than Mario Pasa
Also at this point i’d even have preferred to see Moro who i’m not fond of at Mario’s place, even just to see something different and maybe finally understand why Dalic keeps calling him up without giving him real play time. Also it’s been showed over and over again that Mario brings not only more when starting later, but also just doesn’t play well/barely contributes significantly when he’s a starter
Forgot to say that otherwise in general i don’t hate the idea of this line up even if i’d have changed a few things.
I’m also not against Musa starting. Amongst the central strikers called up he gets the most play time and makes something of it (even if it’s in MLS)
The was a pretty Silky move that Petar pull off in a very traffic filled forward position , let’s see what happens.