81′ SUB. Modrić off for Mario Pašalić.
70′ SUBS The Sučić cousins come in for Kovačić and Marco Pašalić.
68′ Livaković bringing his game over from England with three saves in a row. Panama is pressing with their tournament on the line. They need to fund a goal quick and will throw everything at the Croatian net the last 20 minutes.
68′ Livaković with two huge saves and pushes it out for a corner!
57′ Marco Pašalić on a 1v1 with the keeper. He’s all alone and tries to chip the keeper but the keeper never goes down. He gets the rebound from a tight angle and skies it into the 5th row. Needs to do better.
54′ GOOOOAL!!!!! Budimir bags a perfect pass across the box back post from Stanišić!!!
46′ SUBS! Budimir come is for Musa in a straight #9 swap. Gvardiol comes off for Kramarić! I like it. Playing for a goal. LEt’s GOOOO!!!
HT: Not a great half by our boys by any means. Sloppy. Baturina our best player with his dribbling and shot from outside the box. Gvardiol broke his leg in January and is nowhere near 100%. Modrić or Kova need to come off for Petar Sučić. I don’t care which one.
Good news. Panama will open up in the 2nd half as a draw does nothing for them. They cannot go into their final match against England with only one point. I expect some fireworks in the 2nd half. Croatia played far too conservative out of the back and were very sloppy with all control.
30′ We’re a third way through the game and Panama has had the better chancers thus far. Nothing dynamic to the Croatian build up and they are working the ball up too slowly to the Panama box. Not enough 1:1 wing play for my liking. Would love Perišić and Pašalić to get more involved. Panama is playing for the first goal and are hungrier. If they do get it, they will certainly bunker. A draw does nothing for Panama in this match as they play England in their final match. But nothing creative from the Vatreni yet. Let’ turn it up before halftime!
After a 4-2 opening match defeat against England, Croatia look to rebound against North American side Panama in Toronto Tuesday night. A victory will put them back in the driver’s seat of a knockout round berth. I personally expect Dalić to release the hounds after scoring two in the 1st half vs. England. Anything short of a 3 or 4-goal performance from our beloved Vatreni would shock me.
Arrived in Toronto… just wanted to share… around 8pm or so was driving by the 407 portion near the Toronto airport and sited the Croatia worldup bus being escorted by mobile police motorcycles.. they are in town boys!
Vatreni su stigli bas Toronto gori od vrucine…
Bog blagoslovi nasu Reprezentaciju trebat ce im podrsku u ovom paklenom razdoblju!
Bit ce je*eno!
Around this time last week during Panama game weather was perfect in Toronto at the game.. Philedelphia was somewhat humid and raining kind of put a damper on before game time festivities but the win was sweet…
For this next game make sure you bring a second jersey and a change of clothing lol it will definitely be a sweat fest!
I agree with Franjo, I really didn’t hear the fan support. This group lacks pace and ideas to score. The midfield can’t control the game like they used to. They’re relying too much on veteran Perisic to be the creative one. Ghana will come out trying to win. The backline and goalkeeper need to have a big game. Moramo ići naprijed, a ne nazad.
I will be at the game tomorrow and will do my best to rile people up in my section!
Sretan put. Sretno našoj reprezentaciji.
Equdor beat Germany 2-1
Equador 2 Germans 1
I don’t think Ghana will sit back.from the get go I think they’ll try to score against us early ,then sit back,also Ghana weren’t scared of England lots of their players play in England grew up there so nothing unfamiliar,
was like a point to prove ex english colony they went into shame them out a bit frustrate them.Coach has quite good experience.
Faster then a Speeding Dalmatian,
Stronger then slowest train in Osijek,
Able to eat 2 tons of cevapi in a single bound,
Look it’s Klepetan,
It’s Rimic Automobili,
No, it’s SUPER SLAV.
As I’ve stated numerous times, we don’t need to be playing pretty Tika Taka football to break down the Bunker.
The more crosses into the box the better. We must play the same against Ghana. They will sit back all day.
As for prayers, Jesus is our only intercessor to our Almighty Father (1st Timothy 2:5)to cancel witchcraft and voodoo.
Use any other means of prayer and you will lose, please read your Bibles.
Never Fear, Super Slav is here.
10 minutes gone Germany 1 Equador 1
We need some moments of magic and defensive solidity in thi Ghana game ,everybody fighting like the 2nd half of Panama can you believe Baturina stats 6 dribbles ( 100% achieved) won 7 fouls for our team 15 duels a team high, the only player to have those first two stats in a world cup is Diego Maradonna in 1982 !! ; Read that again .
Budimir was fantastic with panama in the 2nd half up against a rough competitive defence ,play him again ,he was causing them problems seemed very up for this world cup battle .
Portugal you do not want to meet them if we get through ,Colombia are the better team to meet watched Colombias games nothing special there players are nothing great strikers nothing great good crowd support.
WE will have to fight as a unit but with some moments of technique and legend Croatian attacking style, we can go through ,come to fight, make this our best game of the group aggression with and good shots and finishin or just get a few in their net Aimo!
Some responses based on the posts here:
1) Zlatko deserves to get his statue in Zagreb, but we clearly need to move on with another coach. This team has no chemistry since every single WC qualifer had a different lineup in an easy group. His pettiness and stubborness extended to keeping Marco Pašalić and Musa out until late in qualifying to “punish” them from playing in MLS. The stubborness extended to waiting until November to use young Vuškovic instead of much earlier to get him much needed experience.
We have decent players but we’ve been horrific in all 4 friendlies and both World Cup matches with no reason to expect anything signficantly better against Ghana. Yes, he deserves all of the accolades but there’s no other coach who’s gotten luckier with horrific starting lineup and substitution choices.
2) Yes, the crowds have sucked at both games. Could care less they were cheering after the lone goal. It seems most came to drink, eat and post videos on Instagram instead of cheer the team on in the 1st half. I’m not interested in seeing any more pre-game videos. Show me fans getting excited when they’re seated. Not interested in any gigantic flag…I want to see the fans engaged in the stadium or give your tix to real fans.
3) Brekalo? Seriously? We have 9 quality midfielders on the roster but they don’t gel, so useless Brekalo is the answer? Is this what happens when casual posters contribute only when the team makes the Euros or the World Cup?
Ajme meni.
Why do all of my comments end up in moderation?
Because (due to your user name) it probably thinks you are Luka Vušković and you are being scapegoated and your comments are being relegated to the bench
Lol. Kind of like if my name was Zlatko, the same thing would happen.
If ma name was maminjo cube I wouldn’t have passed kindergarten man
Saranic reported for Istra pre-season training a few days ago
And he looks fit and sharp
Can’t believe Dalic didn’t call him up as an offensive option off the bench
He has that X-factor that someone like Kramaric doesn’t
Croatia face Ghana, they believe in Witch Doctors, BLACK MAGIC, supposably shut down Harry Kane & England.
We believe in OUR LADY,
REMEMBER MEDJIGORA.
Lets show them our DIVINE FAITH IN OUR LADY.
I WILL SAY A PRAYER EVERY DAY FOR A CROATIA WIN
@Maltese Johnny
Amen. We will need some divine intervention as we move along . . .
Should add . . . things may be a little bit better than your post suggests. The Catholic Church is doing well in Africa . . . There were fewer than 2 million Catholics in Africa in 1900. That figure is close to 300 million today. Ghana has about 800 Catholic Churches . . .
Having said that, stay on target and pray for Croatia!
@Iggy
croatiansports.com/croatia-0-panama-0-tuesday-7pm-et-kickoff-world-cup-match-2/#comments/528944
Oh boy, like you I had a nerve-racking time watching this game. Who would have thought it would get this tense against Panama!
***
@A Tin U
croatiansports.com/thousands-of-croatian-supporters-expected-to-turn-toronto-into-a-home-match-for-croatia/#comments/528819
Hey Tin, I didn’t know Farioli left Ajax for those reasons. I had originally thought it might because he was disappointed and felt responsible for that late-season collapse which cost them the title… surprised to hear that even during that title-chasing season, there were problems within the club. Gee, how is it possible that a big team like Ajax can be in turmoil for such a long time. Would be fantastic if Sutalo can join Como, someone like Cesc should be able to bring him to the next level.
All right, back to the WC 🙂
@Bartolec1912
I don’t think it gets any easier for Iggy from here. For all intents and purposes, we have now entered the knockout stage. If we lose a game, we’re out of the tournament.
I wonder how Ghana will approach the match with us? They may feel they are in a solid position and can now take some risks after that tie with England and having four points . . . maybe they will try and press us right from the opening kickoff and work to get an early lead.
Or they might bunker and look to score on a counterattack after we get frustrated.
It would be nice if we could get an early goal. That would force Ghana to open up a little, and the defenders are not high quality.
If we got one early, it wouldn’t surprise me if we popped in a few more. That would allow us to rest some starters and get more players into the rotation. It also might be good for Iggy’s anxiety level.
I look forward to the game!
That’s a good point about Ghana and their approach. They have essentially secured their qualification already, and on paper the 3rd place team has the arguably easier bracket, especially if Columbia gets a result over Portugal.
So I do wonder if they will just take the game easy or even rest some starters.
yeah i think we’re in deep shit.
look, i dont mind losing. All i want is us to show our ability, that’s it. If we play a Spain or Brazil and we lose trying to play, okay, fine, that can happen. But we shouldnt be struggling against Panama/Ghana.
Apart from how Ghana approches the match with us, hmm… after listening to Ante’s podcast, I’m no longer sure what I want to see from us in this match. On the one hand, wanna see us play well and win but on the other, it seems taking a point and finishing third gives us a better chance of going farther in the KO stage? *shrugs 🤷♂️
Yeah good point about resting some starters and getting more players into the mix. Stanisic has had a long season and given his injury history plus his growing importance for us in this tournament, guess he should come off vs Ghana whenever possible, and maybe this will give Jakic a chance to get in some time as the backup RB.
MI HRVATI 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷
💪💪🇭🇷🇭🇷
@Iggy
https://croatiansports.com/croatia-0-panama-0-tuesday-7pm-et-kickoff-world-cup-match-2/#comments/528944
Oh boy, like you I had a nerve-racking time watching this game. Who would have thought it would get this tense against Panama!
***
@A Tin U
https://croatiansports.com/thousands-of-croatian-supporters-expected-to-turn-toronto-into-a-home-match-for-croatia/#comments/528819
Hey Tin, I didn’t know Farioli left Ajax for those reasons. I had originally thought it might because he was disappointed and felt responsible for that late-season collapse which cost them the title… surprised to hear that even during that title-chasing season, there were problems within the club. Gee, how is it possible that a big team like Ajax can be in turmoil for such a long time. Would be fantastic if Sutalo can join Como, someone like Cesc should be able to bring him to the next level.
All right, back to the WC 🙂
Dalic: “It’s very important to have balance and players who can come off the bench and change the match. I base my decisions on what I see in training. We don’t make decisions randomly. We pick the players we need. Sometimes, who finishes the match is more important than who starts it.”
I think he’s explaining why Marko came off the bench in game one and Budimir in game two.
As someone alluded to if Marco doesn’t go into full Rebic mode, and slams/ slots/chips that would home with calmness and authority, the Panama team opens up, and Croatia possibly scores another on additional counterattack.
Don’t get me wrong I believe Marco is our best option.
Segegic/Orsic/Musa would have had the quality to execute that opportunity I believe.
I loved Rebic he was into like axe kicks and stomps.But he was super quick.
He declined very quickly unfortunately. Rebić had a very low ceiling. If he developed the way he was supposed to, he would have been another Perišić for us. We were very behind because of him Rebić and his decisions to do and say what he did. His career fell off as well. If he was smarter, and kept his mouth shut, and tried harder to develop himself he could have been a great talent. However, that prospect is gone now.
Speed isn’t everything, I know people look at this World Cups and will start saying bit wait a second Mate look at what’s going on here.
The thing is a lot of teams don’t have quality. A Ghana has some quality in their strikers, but as a whole the team doesn’t strike you a someone who could beat a team like England. England were very unlucky that day and should have won. But even they had a difficult time with the aggression of these teams, it’s not just us.
As far as the Ghanian approach to quackery, Croatian’s really need to start praying more and to show their faith. It has always been our biggest strength and seeded in our history. All you need to do search a bit history. For example, Petar Šubić Zrinski in the battle of Szigetvar. Where the phrase “U boj u boj za narod svoj” is tied too.
We shouldn’t forget our Catholic Christian roots.
Four matches played today and only one result Brazil 3 Scotland 0 will help us if we lose by one goal margin to Ghana.
South Korea was awful today losing to South Africa but will be ahead of us on goal diff if we lose to Ghana.
The absolute sitter that Pasalic missed is going to haunt us!!!
Yes, there is a real possibility that it could.
Four matches tomorrow, the most realistic result that could go our way is for Germany not to lose to Ecuador.
Australia and Paraguay will most likely end as a draw giving both teams 4 points. Ideally, we need Australia to win or Paraguay to win by a margin of 2 or more goals.
Also, I cannot see Japan beating Sweden by 3 goals or more.
So I didn’t watch the Ghana Panama match.
But this Panamanian if that’s a word I became friends with as I had to sit with him said the Ghana match. Panama controlled the majority of the match
I don’t think they are as bad as some think
I’m not saying we played well. I’m just saying, they apparently played well against Ghana and so can we.
We keep going. Who we get we get. But we have to get there first
Your friend is correct I watched the match and Panama were the better team. They foolishly got caught on a counter in the 95th minute.
Also agree, they are not as bad as some people on this site think.
Panama have beaten USA twice in tournaments at a crucial stage so they arent a bad team maybe lacking a really good striker thank god for Livakovic.And the reverend Budimir.
2023 Concacaf Gold Cup knocked out USA on penalties 5-4 2024 Copa America group stage victory over USA 2-1.
And Panama missing their best midfielder (Carrasquilla) in their first two games – if they had him they could have won both games
SA and SK result not good for us. Shit!!!!
If we don’t win or get a point at least, we should go home.
Neymar with a Croatia-geriatric-like 16 minutes cameo today where he lost possession 9 times
Maybe Dalic can convince him to change NT and come start for us vs Ghana ?
Always room for another oldie
Bosnia is most likely going to play the U.S in Kansas on July 1st. Bosnia is the team that would pull off another penalty miracle win. The States don’t have Pulisic and might rest him for the knockout stages if he’s ready.
Finish strong and draw a Ghana side that will seek a goalless game. That means we play Portugal. I’d rather play them as opposed to Colombia. They look solid.. A second place finish would guarantee us Spain if we win the round of 32.
A draw isn’t what we want though. We should be eager to finish strong and play a full 90 minutes of our level. Lots still to happen. Lots of people are still upset with the result. The result was enough but not the performance. Teams like Haiti, Cape Verde. Congo and the Saudi’s are pushing top teams to the limit. Why wouldn’t Panama?
Our record is perfect against African teams at the World Cup and it will stay that way on Saturday
We march on!!! Ajmoooo
Super Slav: On a dying planet named Croton, genius scientist Jor-Elic sends his only begotten son Kal-Elic to be the saviour of humanity.
Baby Kals ship crash lands in the small Selo of Maletić, raised by simple farmers, Ivan and Marta Kentic.
Now as mild mannered sports reporter Klaric Kentic hides is secret identity as Croatia’s greatest hero,
Super Slav.
Faster then a Serbian Bullet,
Stronger then slowest train in Osijek,
Able to eat 2 tons of cevapi in a single bound,
Look it’s Klepetan,
It’s Rimic Automobili,
No, it’s SUPER SLAV.
Remember folks, Super Slav is always right. More Balls to break the Bunker.
You’re welcome Dalic for my amazing take on using basic crossing tactics to break defensive formations.
To all my Croatian Brethren, never fear, Super Slav is here:)
Quick thoughts on Dalic:
– He’s still making some decisions I disagree with (e.g. Not starting Marko first game, not starting P. Sucic last game).
BUT …
Many on here were calling for Budimir to be completely dropped because he doesn’t perform with the team. In these bunker-type games Budimir is ideal – a lot of possession out to the sides and whip the ball in. Dalic put him in.
He also subbed out Gvardiol and Vuskovic when he didn’t like the performance … not many coaches would do that.
I try to give Dalic benefit of doubt as he sees the players in training. That’s something we don’t see. Yeah, I wish we had another Stani and Marko type player.
We’re going to need to win against the little teams and need some luck, but – assuming we don’t meet Spain early – we can reasonably expect a run to the quarters.
Great news guys
Dalic says Pero is only a RW now
It’s either him or Marco
That’s why Pero didn’t start last game (bc was the RW)
Did he even watch him play once at Inter this season ?
Anonymous can’t anymore
This is beyond MORONIC at this stage
In all seriousness – if he insists on starting Modric again – put Luka as RW and put Pero in midfield where he belongs
*bc Marco was the RE
RW
So much whinging.
The Guardian said Modric was quick to take off the black shirt.
This is what sports has become. We must celebrate every anniversary/milestone ad nauseam.
Locally, the Toronto Blue Jays have a new anniversary celebration every month, it seems.
I don’t watch much hockey, but whenever the wife turns on the Leafs on a Saturday there is some pre-game ceremony honouring blah blah blah.
If someone isn’t honoured for their 2.76th anniversary of something something, people bitch.
I don’t care for the ceremonial crap and I think soccer does it less than other sports.
In other sports it’s all about selling tickets. For example, in baseball the Yankees would typically time the retiring of numbers of players on days they are playing crap teams that typically wouldn’t sell as many tix.
Having said that, Luka hitting 200 caps is pretty special and should be celebrated. He’s just too modest and team goal oriented to care about this when we’re in the middle of a WC and there is more work to be done.
Dalić poorly prepared for this tournament.
No backup fullbacks (despite having some fitness issues going into the tournament) and now we have to react and rely on a 37 year old Perišić to play LB.
Still relying greatly on the older vets (despite their fitness levels) but is quick to bench young stars like Petar Sučić and Luka Vušković.
We had a very easy qualifying campaign, and we didn’t really use the time to try out some of these other formation and player options.
Then we suddenly go three at the back, then change our minds on it now, and now we are questioning who we should even be playing due to fitness issues (but all we have off the bench are centre backs).
Even if we get by, we’ll have to rely entirely in luck for progression.
To add to a couple of your comments: Roster construction is a real thing and the last guys on the roster could mean something if fitness, injuries or poor performance come in to play.
Going through the CB position, Sutalo seems to be an auto-starter for Dalić at CB. He gave Vuskovic the shortest of leashes. Then next you have Pongracic. Then DCC. And then Erlic. And Stanisic and Gvardiol can play these positions if needed.
Nothing against Erlic, but why was he invited if he wasn’t close to being in the plans.
Is our only cover at LB/RB is Perisic who is best used offensively or out of his natural position Jakic? Maybe Pong can play there, but I haven’t seen much of that.
The same thing has been done with the RW position. We have options that could have been called, but Marco is the only one on the roster that is playing there naturally.
The extreme loyalty to players that aren’t going to sniff the pitch at the expense of players who could fill in at their natural position is haunting us.
I think Dalic was hoping for 3 at the back, otherwise LB = Gvardiol/Perisic/Stani and RB = Stani/Jakic
I have a feeling Jakic is injured as he’s seen no time. Would have made more sense bringing Jakic in and switching Stani to the LB rather than bringing Perisic back at his age.
I can see what you’re saying about 3 in the back, But if he was ONE bad game away from reverting back to 4 at the back, he should have planned for that.
And further, if he had knowledge of Jakic not being 100%, then that makes his roster construction decisions even worse.
I agree with you. Should have been confident with 3 in the back before the start of the tournament.
The problem is we really don’t have any starting quality backs or wingers to choose from.
Smolcic would be the only option as a RB that was a no brainer and yet Dalic chose to take another useless mid/cb that will never see the field.
Yes, we have some young possibilities in Segecic as a winger, Stojkovic (more of an attacking mid), Ivanovic (out of form and more of a #9).
In terms of fullback/wingbacks we have nothing.
Juranovic – always injured and out of form
Sosa – one dimensional and barely plays now for his club.
Bradaric- barely plays for club and more of a LW/wingback
Valincic – as a RB was playing well, got hurt and lost form.
Who am I missing?
As a result, Dalic is forced to play mids as wingers.
It gets worse. Like many, I was at the game last night and we all saw how we looked on the first half. Had the ball and nothing else.
Gvardiol has been shockingly bad, forcing Dalic to sub him and play Perisic as a LB/wingback. He may have to move him back the CB making this problem worse.
Marco Pasalic is an automatic starter at RW. He has what we’ve been lacking as a winger.
Stanisic is an automatic starter as a RB. Played well last night, great assist on the Budi goal and is fast.
Once Perisic is gone, we need to figure out what to do on our left side.
All in all, we got the points and moved on. It was a fun day at Croatia House and a great environment at the game!
Has Dalic seen Como just yet extended Smolcic’s contract to 2031 from 2029 (w higher wages) and Como are in CL?
Dearth of fullback options and Dalic leaves an actual RB on a CL team at home
Dalić is pathetic. Any other professional coach Croatia would reach QF without much drama. He makes blunders, is he related to some of his favorite players like kramaric who are useless. Why would you not play Marco Pasalic for 60 minutes at least?? Vlasic is not good enough.
He removed Brekalo from team due to personal grudge? Croatia is acting like a third world country y not changing the coaches. Why are these guys sitting there for 10 years. Bring in European club coaches like Ancelloti. lol at Brazil Portugal etc all professional coaches.
Sigur only 7 minutes in 3 matches LMAO
I give the Croatia crowd a C+
I was excited to take my grandkids to the gathering and parade and expected some real intensity
It was mostly people standing around
And once you got to the flag, it was mostly people struggling to get out of the furnace underneath it, a couple flares lit occasionally, and some fairly uninspired, sporadic, and uncoordinated singing.
The grandkids were left wondering what’s the big deal about this?
Plus it then took an hour to get into the stadium even with the highest hospitality level ticket.
Finally the crowd in the stadium was fair weather. As Croatia struggled in the first half they were at 3 of 10 on the intensity scale. So much so that choir boy livakovic had to wave his hands to get them louder. Sad.
Finally once the final whistle blew, the stadium came to life and the vibes were great with the team circling the pitch and nije u soldima sve playing.
Crowd was in it once victory was secured but not when the team needed them in the struggle.
Your a loser the crowd was great!
Come on..
Come on..
How did you see this all from mama’s basement?
What kind of results are we wanting these next couple of days for those really looking at the groups and is smarter then some of us here 😉
IMO
It’s all a waste of time and don’t bother
It’s all just mental masterbati@n
Croatia needs to go win the next match
So we now know why Nike created a vertical white strip on the home jersey
So they could stick “200” on the front and sell a special Luka 200 edition
LMAO
Winning ugly is fine with me just keep winning.
Sometimes an engine sputters a little before it comes to life.
Ajmo!
Bog i Hrvati
For anyone that thinks MLS Musa should be playing over Budimir, just look at scoring leaders in La Liga (the best league) the last 3 years. 5th, 3rd, 3rd. Yes, more goals than Yamal and Vini jr.
And one reason he wasn’t number 1 at least once was injury! Budimir is great at what he does, and he showed it against Panama. Instant impact.
Front page of Toronto Star. (Remember newspapers?)
https://freeimage.host/i/CuMmPv1
Okay. That sucked.
Great goal tho.
Very somber analysis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUxxTX5Hx0o
A very accurate analysis actually.
As soon as I saw it was ESPN(FC) I clicked off it. They are self-promoting and clueless. Their website has more spelling/grammar errors than Anonymous does.
OK the latter was a stretch.
Pundits are going to pundit. These guys analysis is better than the typical American Alexi Lalas type, but remember they are commenting on the one/two Croatia games they watch a year and it is essentially a snapshot in time.
I never put too much stock in what they say because it is usually reactionary and in a vacuum.
Luka V was the problem according to many of u MORONS in the England game – actually most of u – but Josko gets yanked yesterday at HT because he’s still not fit – please kindly re-assess Luka V’s performance vs. England (knowing that Josko was even less fit vs. England) and thank you
Anonymous your not the only one that’s frustrated that ai didn’t play Vusković many of us are and don’t agree with that decision.
Baturina was BY FAR the best offensive player for Croatia
He’s a completely different player than even 6 months – it’s incredible – unrecognizable – it’s like Croatia has a new player out of nowhere – Cesc has done God’s work with the boy
What Anonymous particularly appreciates is his arrogance on the field – the boy has that dog in him now – it’s beautiful to see – he wants the ball and he wants to make things happen
If he continues to progress even further from here – wow – just wow
And he needs to replicate yesterday’s performance against teams like England where he was nowhere near as effective
Here’s a nice comp of all his actions
x.com/DFG456DFG789/status/2069800326991904999?s=20
Stanisic is also BY FAR the best defender we have – he is a real leader on the field – he should be in consideration for captain – always given people instructions – kept telling Marco what to do and where to go – and he has high standards – e.g. when Pongracic randomly passed it out of bounds (with no player anywhere around) Stanisic started sarcastically clapping on Pong’s gaff – love to see that – make all the players accountable on the field – nowhere for anyone to hide
Marco P – he really needs to work on his final ball, quality and decision making in the final 3rd – not talking about the missed break-away – I mean in general – most of his decisions were wrong – and the quality on his balls was terrible – aside from that flick back to Stanisic for the goal
Perisic at LB was really good – good anticipation and judgement when to step up vs. when to stay back – unbelievable that Dalic has a poor 38 y/o Perisic playing LB at a WC
Musa was pretty anonymous in the first half – Budimir was much better – more energetic – more action – more involved in the game
Josko – still not fit
Kova – still not fit
Modric – BIG HEART – he did what he could – more involved this game – more touches on the ball – Anonymous thinks it’s RETARDED that the team celebrate his 200th game after the match with those black t-shirts — is this a World Cup for Croatia – and a ceremony for Modric’s last dance ? A quick acknowledgement is fine – but after how the team has played the first two games – it’s totally tone deaf to start throwing Modric in the air and taking team pictures with the dumb black t-shirts – come on guys – you’re there to take Croatia through the WC
No Vuskovic – it was obvious Croatia was lacking on corners – both offensive and defence – zero control in either situation or someone to look at getting a head on it – the corners were still in disarray – if Panama had more quality (and weren’t so short) they could have done more damage on the corners they had – as Maminjo said playing Pong maybe increases the floor (moreso bc he has more experience) but reduces the ceiling – Vuskovic on the field provides that X-factor when trying to squeeze out a goal or two in a close game like yesterday
Krama – just a passenger – only 12 touches in the second half – hell Mario had 10 touches in 9 minutes lol
On the Marco break-away – look at how fast Baturina runs down speed – he outruns like 6 players – fastest of everyone – he starts 15 yards beyond Marco – and surpasses him – of course selfish Marco should have passed it to a completely open Baturina – but that effort and work rate to get forward – it’s incredible how fast he is now – simply unrecognizable – simply incredible
It looked like a selfish play to me but I was not on the field with the ball. But if that is the case, that is why Coach Dalic is maybe hesitant to start him. I think of the Orsic pass to Majer against Canada in ‘18- very unselfish. I hope he didn’t see the player in the right side because if he did, let’s not question Coach Dalic’s reasons for not starting him
I’m sorry, Baturina was nowhere near as effective against England??!!
I am going to assume that that is either a mistake you didn’t mean to write or something Google AI wrote for you in error…
Mainly because in both games Baturina was best player. He was just as effective against England… Are you forgetting his goal? Or the way he pressed England??
Lol, strange comment.
Agreed that’s why I said farewell tour. After two bad performances there’s no clapping and throwing a guy in the air.
Not serious it is what it is this is, I now know for sure what this tournament is.
@Vlad
Imagine if we tied or lost – would they still have gone ahead with the black tshirt and throwing him the air ????
Presumably yes !!!
Unreal
Farewell tour
After they made the shirts i guess they would for sure!
I believe it was Stanisic that gave Musa an earful when he didnt cover Kane on that corner too.
I was at the match in Toronto too amd Stanisic definitely stood out. Quality player.
The Budimir goal importance cannot be overstated, or overappreciated to Croatian survival in this tournament. With that said I still see Musa as the more desired striker.
When Olic made goals of this type, it was derided as a typical Olic Tap in Goal as an intended insult. When Budimir makes a low skilled tap in, it is called Ante Budimir genius.
Ante Budimir goal was a defection off his inside thigh. Basically, he got is body in front of a heat seeking missile by Stanisic. Similar in dynamics to Perisic hand call against France. It would take a Lukaku bad day at the office to miss that opportunity.
We are still in the tournament because of Marco, Stanisic right line wing play, breaking Stanisic to wide open free space to delivery that excellent cross.
The skill and quality of Musa goal vs Budimir deflection is not really comparable.
I still like Marco Pasalic, but like everyone is disturbed by his inability to slot the goalie on the breakaway. Gave me memories of Rebic and Kovacic non goals of the past.
The way Sukar would slice up goalies in the day of yore, are dearly missed.
We still are missing a true number 9. But to be fair we have way bigger problems than that right now.
All true that he knocked it in. But in fairness, Budimir also got himself into that position where he could knock it in. He didn’t float through the air and land there by some fluke just as the ball arrived. He did what a striker needs to do.
I think starting Musa in Dallas was the right decision by Dalic because Musa was the only player on either team playing at home. But having played Musa in Dallas, and having worked Matanović into the lineup against England as well, I was suprised when Dalic did not start Budimir against Panama.
He is the third highest goal scorer in La Liga over the past two seasons combined. Only two players in the league have a higher goal count. Musa plays against weaker defenders in an inferior league. Budimir should start as the striker against Ghana, which are a big physical team.
People note how well Stanisic is doing, but he is routinely playing against very tough competition including Champions League games against the best, PSG etc. The class of players he plays with, and against, is critical . . . you can see how that transfers into a World Cup game and that he brings that compete level and class of competition with him.
If Kova and Gvardiol were 100 percent healthy, the same would be said for them at Manchester City. Petar Sucic is another one who played well this past year against the likes of Arsenal and Napoli. There are others.
Marco Pasalic does some good things, has some some quick movement and speed, he made that tricky pass to Stanisic and helped set up the goal, but Marco is generally playing in a very average league and against very average players. I hope in the end he has a great World Cup, and I hope that he gets a good offer in a top five league, but It is a big jump up for him to play at this level. That he is your starting winger, and that people have been over-the-top enthusiastic about him for months on end and pushed for him so vigorously, probably says at least as much about the options we have available at that position as it does about Pasalic’s qualities. I am neutral as to whether he starts or subs in.
Dalic has to find the right mix against Ghana.
I am not sure what the formula is.
I feel that Vuskovic brings a physical presence against a big physical team and should start. He is also an offensive threat in a way that Pong is not. I think Petar Sucic and Baturina must start. Stanisic must start. And Livakovic must start. Modric too. He made the play, as gbvh has noted, to send Marco Pasalic in home free. Modric is also good defensively, and he is our leader.
We really need Kovacic and Gvardiol to round into top form to go deep. Kova seems closer. I thought he was steady against Panama. I don’t know how quickly Gvardiol can get his timing and tempo, strength and stamina back to where it needs to be. He is getting games in, he is getting practice in, and he’s a great young athlete. I would think it will come back very quickly. But it’s obviously not yet there just quite yet.
Dalic has to find the right mix of players and the right game plan for Ghana. And we will win.
After yesterday now I know this is just a farewell tour. We are not serious about winning games and I will treat it as such.
I’m glad they won for the fans who were amazing and represented well.
In no way can you bench P sucic, that tells me everything I need to know. Krama getting significant minutes like WTF. He’s too slow for this soccer. It’s all about pleasing the seniors not winning games.
Yesterday Kova and modric were bad I don’t know what people were watching but kova was bad. I don’t care about anyone else to comment defence or strikers if your two CDM can’t run win a ball and cover everything else falls. Yes gvardiol was bad too but I don’t care it starts and end with the two guys in the middle. Neither player covers like a 6 and it always leaves us vulnerable.
I don’t care if P sucic made a mistake when coming on like some suggested he needs to play. Kova and modric have been making silly mistakes in both games and they can’t run.
This will be a wasted tournament, I can’t see us winning a knockout game with Modric and Kova and now we are a tournament behind for turning the page. I never thought Kova and modric would be this bad. It’s ok to be a little biased and play seniors but now it’s too much to be so out of form and obvious.
Like I said the other day Dalic needed to talk to gvardiol and be like dude chill play smart. I don’t know why he doesn’t play smarter given his so out of form.
Livakovic, Baturina and stanisic have been our best players they have a common theme they both run and have some jump. Great pass by stanisic
It’s never gonna happen but this team desperately needs a true 6 in the middle of the park. Far too often on counters we never have a midfielder in position helping out. Our mid should be Moro #6 and sucic cousins as the two # 8. Baturina left and Marco on the right.
I think a tie will get us out of group and for a small nation that is a success on its own. But I don’t expect and wins in knockout rounds. Kova and modric don’t Have it.
Dude we won the game
He is right tho. You cannot help but see it. Our midfield was playing like shit, and so was our defence. That needed to be 3-0 win minimum.
The younger players needed time to meld in this tournament and Dalic didn’t really give them time to do so during the qualifiers and now it’s biting him in the ass.
I think it’s silly that Vusković was kept out of this one. I think it’s nuts that he left out one of his best midfield prospects in Petar Sučić who is a solid starter. I am not sure if the intent was to rest him for Ghana maybe it was. But now with the yellow.ita.hard to tell.if he will start.
In reality, based on our FIFA ranking and past success, this is match we should be winning with our B squad by at least by two goals.
Kovacic and Modric played well. Modric long balls were on point, Perisic needed to win some of those in the box. Kovacic was clinical with the ball on his foot not making mental mistakes and made some important defensive plays when tracking back. P. Sucic came in and almost cost us a goal giving the ball up in a dangerous position due to overdribbling, aka trying to be too cute. I like P. Sucic….but again Dalic relies on vets because he believes that won’t make as many bonehead mistakes as the young bucks.
What planet are you on? Kovačić had two turnovers… Not against Brazil or England but against Panama!
What did he contribute defensively or offensively in this game please tell me???
Even his main stay of being a ball carrier is called into question this tournament because he couldn’t even achieve that in this game.
Our midfield was the worst part of this game easily.nto far behind was our defense.
Kovačić should not have been called up period.
Majer had some really good games during the qualifiers, I would have rather seen him play here.
The next game is in 4 days (vs. the 6 days b/w England and Panama)
It could be that Dalic is saving Petar Sucic for Ghana – as he might see them as the “better” opponent – and didn’t want to run him into the ground
Petar will start next game – maybe even Luka Sucic in the “RW” role
I would hope so but now he had a yellow card which isn’t ideal and this is easily the kind of game he could get another card because of the speed of the opponents. So that carries another risk.
When do the yellow cards clear? It was a stupid yellow card to get, since the Panama player was dribbling into two defenders.
The rulebook now wipes the slate clean twice during the tournament instead of once. Any player carrying a yellow card out of the group stage starts the knockout round fresh. The same reset happens after the quarterfinals, so nobody heads into the semifinals with a yellow card hanging over their head.
So Petar Sučić can play against Ghana with no worries?
I have an idea, it might be crazy based on how he bas been playing. But I think it could work.
What if Gvardiol played as a winger instead of a left back and Perišić stayed as the left back with Jakić as a potential substitute? Gvardiol is good on the press and he hasn’t been able to help much defensively. I dunno I know he is not in form but maybe that would change for him if he could freely play up front and be creative.
We know Perišić can do it and play as left back.
Dalic saying players were not strong under pressure. Dude, aren’t you part of the team? Should we vet this out in the qualifiers. Issue is that Dalic did not do in the qualifiers what he needed to do. He needed to play our kids so their ready for the WC pressure. Now he says they did not do well under pressure. Come on, man. You’re the coach, look at your paycheque , you’re getting paid so do your job. Kind of ridiculous to say your players can’t handle pressure. We won but that Panama game was pretty sub standard against a 3rd world country.
My starters for the Ghana match based on performances so far:
Livaković — No questions there, he’s been world-class.
Stanišić — Has not been the problem defensively and great assist on Budimir goal; Ghana’s wingers are very fast, and Stanišić can keep up.
Pongračić — Played well against Panama with some important clearances and blocks as well as a couple of brilliant long balls; is our fastest CB and also good with the ball at his feet and playing in the air. Speed will be essential against Ghana, so Pongračić should start.
Šutalo — Played well against Panama and is the 2nd fastest CB after Pongračić; I don’t usually like him, but when you look at how fast Ghana’s forwards are, speed becomes a major factor, and he’s quicker than Vušković.
Perišić at LB — It’s a shame, but Gvardiol has been the weak link defensively against England and Panama : against England is one thing because their team is stacked and they played really well, but Gvardiol was being burned just as badly by Panama, who pretty much only created chances by attacking down the left side. Ghana’s most dangerous plays against England came down that side. Croatia looked much more secure after Dalić subbed out Gvardiol and moved Perišić to LB. Some are saying we’ll lose his attacking, but right now our defense is a much greater concern. Baturina and Kramarić can also attack down the left side, so I vote Ivan at LB.
Kovačić – He played OK against England, played better against Panama, and is a combination of fast, strong, and smart that will be needed against Ghana.
Petar Sučić – His speed and skill are going to be critical as well as his creativity to break Ghana’s strong defense. The assist against England was brilliant, and he brings the spark Croatia needs in order to get the win and advance to the next round.
Marco Pašalić – He is unfortunately sometimes sloppy and sometimes not the smartest player, but he has created important chances in both matches and has done a lot to close off the right side of Croatia’s defense in both matches. He also has the strength and speed to keep up with Ghana’s wingers and the shot to beat Ghana’s keeper (England’s biggest mistake was not putting the ball on target, and they would have been punished on two occasions if not for their England-exclusive favorable refereeing).
Baturina – Croatia’s best midfielder in the tournament so far; he came ready to play at the World Cup and has to keep starting for being excellent all-around.
Budimir – Scored a goal on the only chance that came his way and did a great job of putting pressure on the Panama defense by playing deep, making runs, fighting for every ball: all the stuff that Budimir does at Osasuna that makes him a nightmare to defend and helps his team win matches.
The 11th player is a toss-up for me between Modrić, Luka Sučić, and Mario Pašalić. Modrić has had a very poor two matches but is Luka Modrić and has it in him to play great, just maybe not against these counterattacking teams. Mario Pašalić is always an offensive threat, set off the play for the Musa goal against England, and put in a brave shift defending against England. He has the strength and bunker-breaking skills to be important against Ghana. Luka Sučić hasn’t played many minutes, but I’d trust him there for similar reasons.
I didn’t think the Panama match was that bad aside from Gvardiol and Modrić both getting burned time after time.
Can I just say what an atmosphere the game was yesterday. Thousands of red and white all over Toronto. We represented loud and proud.
We had an ugly start to the game. Panama came close numerous times. Livaković of course saved us once again. By far the best goalkeeper at the tournament so far. Panama had us beat on the counter attacks at times but our skill level was no match. We should’ve won by 2-0 or 3-0 but any victory I’ll take. Look at the other major teams that don’t have a win yet; Uruguay, Belgium, Senegal. Spain struggled against Cape Verde. The smaller teams aren’t a push over anymore and it’s shown evidently.
Stanisic, Livaković, Kovacic, Baturina and Budimir all had amazing games. Apart from them, nobody stood out or impressed me. Luka is old and struggling but a trooper. Gvardiol is dealing healing and can’t play a full 90 yet. Ghana defended well and definitely were robbed of a penalty. I’m not sure what happened with England. Did they do that purposely to screw us over? 80% possession, 19 shots, 3 on target for England. That’s pitiful compared to their game against us. Ghana played smart and parked the bus. Despite only having 2 shots total, they had a few dangerous chances.
Panama had four shots on target against Ghana. I believe we can handle Ghana. Ghana plays well defensively and may just park the bus and accept a second place.
Panama will not walk over England. Might be a 2-0/3-1 victory. It be a miracles if Panama drew.
As it stands now…we would play Colombia and then winner of Belgium and Canada.
Let’s get a win Saturday. A draw wouldn’t be the worst result but let’s just play better.
Not bringing more fullbacks is biting us. And I’m not thrilled if switching Perisic to LB like we did in the 2nd half is Dalić first option for ‘fixing’ the Gvardiol situation. It reduces Perisic offensive effectiveness.
We knew Gvardiol was coming off injury and he is clearly not 100% and it’s hurting us big time.
Gvardiol tends to take risks and step up on people in defense. If he doesn’t get it right, he gets blown by. When he’s healthy, he usually is fast enough to recover. That’s not happening now.
I dunno Stjepan I think that it is more the personelle that he brought rather than how many defenders, midfielders, or strikers he brought. Both Kovačić and Gvardiol were both injured before the main tournament, in Kovačić’s case even before the qualifiers.
So it makes little sense to bring these players along when they are potential liabilities. I can understand bringing Gvardiol, because he was only out for four months, but Kovačić? That one does not make sense at all.
He could have picked any other option. As much as I am fan of Kovačić he simply isn’t in form. He had one or two turnovers in both matches. Against England, okay it’s tough opponent, but against Panama?? I don’t really get that.
I think after this World Cup we are going to have some growing pains. It is gonna be a period of a rebuild.
What’s hurting us in this World cup is that players are out of form.
It’s hard to believe that we went from such a great qualifying campaign to games where our players look so disjointed like in this one. I think that has to be the reason so many Croatian’s are surprised.
Teams like Panama and Ghana are just playing aggressively. They play high and fast. I think that is what is keeping them going. They do not possess quality so they compensate with aggression. That is what is throwing Croatia and many other teams off. I do think Panama committed many fouls and in this world cup they are letting many things slide for the sake keeping the game moving.
I think Ghana was lucky to win against Panama. Croatia should have played much better in this match up and to be honest, like Kvartuć, I was expecting 3-0 to 4-0 game for us.
I am not sure what it is but the youth players are struggling under Dalić… struggling to showcase themselves. None of them are producing what they should be based on their potential. It is very alarming.
Games like this at this stage of the tournament are not good at all.
Thankfully Budimir put that ball in the net to save us in this match and the time expired against a weaker opponent. Ghana will be more challenging.
Either way I think that Baturina is our standout player for that match and he along with Petar Sučić are our future in the midfield.
Baturina was remarkable in both games.
Livakovic is also one mention in both of these games. He has been remarkable. He has been consistently stepping up for us.
Agreed.
A Panamanian player stepped on Liva’s foot or ankle. After that he could not kick the ball downfield. I really hope that wasn’t intentional but I have my doubts.
That’s what I was referring to above, these sorts of things have not be called and should be. Many things are being left out to keep the game moving unfortunately.
that gouvna stood on his foot on purpose
Goal difference matters now. For third place teams. In the case we lost to ghana.
Currently we are behind sweden and scotland in goal difference.
Hopefully pasalic miss is not that decisive
That’s why I was saying they needed to win this by at least 3 points in the previous thread. I had a feeling that some shithousery was gonna happen in the England and Ghana match that would put us further on the back foot.
Now all hope rests on the next game.
I higher goal differential would at least allow us to walk away with a tie the next game.
Now the game really is in Ghana’s wheelhouse.
The referees were fantastic Good full of honesty African Catholic refs with a concience ..no sneeky calls..god bless our Catholic refs in our last hope game..can’t say it enough..they were honest!!
Agreed Ivica. Ref was really good yesterday
Some thoughts:
– nice move to start Musa, but have the slower Budimir come in against a bunker situation in the 2nd half when Panama was more tired
– Pasalic needs to start
– Switching starters (and different subs) in game 1/2 might hopefully keeps us a bit fresher for Ghana/knockout
– Is Jakic injured? Surprised he’s gotten no time, even to help hold down the 1-0 lead.
Which pasalic zec?
Marco
Thought the same Zec. Not sure why Jakic hasn’t played at all . Any inside word from Croatiansports?
Ante is a patriot. I doubt he lets any secret injury news slip out online.
We’re gonna make it men!
Modric and Kovacic played well nice passing didn’t give up the ball much in bad areas. P. Sucic comes on and gives up ball in terrible dangerous area almost immediately…this is why Dalic leans on veterans they are less likely to make those mistakes….Gvardiol and other poor day today.
My guy are you forgetting that horrific free kick “attempt” that should’ve ended with a goal for Panama.
One play don’t a game make “my guy.” Messi missed the entire net on a PK the other day.
My guy, he should have also had an assist in his pocket for sending in Marco on that breakaway. (I’m a Marco fan, surprised he missed….twice.)
He needs to move to a European League. Much like Musa. The quality is different still in MLS. I understand it’s changing but it’s still not there.
My guy, my issue is that he’s calling out P. Sucic for his giveaway and is saying that “veterans are less likely to make those mistakes” when Luka’s was 100 times worse.
Are we also forgetting the penalty he gave away last game too?
I dunno what say. There are too many people that are die hard on the veterans. These games make it painstakingly obvious that things are changing.
The youth must play and more often than the veterans.
Still too early, but might be a better route finishing third in the group than second – Colombia, then Canada/Belgium, then Argentina.
If England chokes and we jump to first, we could have Cape Verde, then Mexico/Scotland, then Brazil/Norway.
Zec, let’s savor this one for a sec.
I just got back.
But yeah man, you’re absolutely right
Haha you’re right! But can’t help thinking ahead.
A third place run could also have us playing in Vancouver.
For sure..
England isn’t going to choke against an impotent Panama. That’s a pipedream.
A choke in this case is just a tie. It’s possible especially if they rest a few key players.
Marco P bangs in that break away and we are cruising to a 3-0 victory.
Livakovic is a beast in goal.
Baturina has taken the mantle as our #10.
Budimir was due and now he can start against Ghana.
He is a monster in the box.
Modric and Kovacic cannot start together. Petar Sucic comes in for Mateo.
Mateo comes in for Modric early second half.
Ghana –
Budimir
Perišić – Baturina – Marco P
P Sučić – Modrić
Gvardiol -Višković – Šutalo – Stanisic
Livakovic
Mateo
Mario
Matanovic
L Sučić
Kramaric
Gvardiol can warm the bench ,look at how he was the weakness.on his side once he was out it was better tactically ,Ghana will definitely put a fast player against him if rhey play him there ,maybe hes worried about being injured physicaly behind rhe 8ball who cares, let him sit out .
We need to relax on him as he missed a big part of the year with that injury. We still need him!
A lot of reactionary and panicked comments.
Ghana only beat Panama 1-0 at the last minute barely but then tied England today.
Panama just stood in their box with 8 guys for 90 minutes waiting for counters, they played pretty anti football as it was they’re best chance, they didn’t wanna duel for control and just accepted if they got the space on counter they could squeeze something and didn’t wanna fight the midfield battle. So don’t judge Musa or something for not having space or chances. The guy genuinely had like 3 markers at all times, budimir is a more physical player and good at creating space, this is his bread and butter, budimir is better for these park the bus matches, but Musa will be better vs high lines. Just tactics.
Baturina was our best player in general, completes so many dribbles under pressure, again must start.
Kramaric didn’t do much other than kinda defend, misplaced some passes but I can see the idea for him coming on this game since Panama defense was unorganized where he maybe could have found something, even despite the clutter and many players back. But I wouldn’t start Kramaric. This front line will still be our best vs Ghana.
I’m gonna give a pass to Marco Pašalić since he set up the first goal, we don’t win without Marco today, not to mention how much he defended, created and gave modric an outlet in pressure. But guys tell me who is fast enough for that counter attack other than Marco? If this was 2022 then Kramaric runs like a snail behind and doesn’t even latch into it and we don’t talk about it like vs Argentina 2022. Anyone here criticizing him is forgetting about the work he did other than the goal chance like creating that first goal.
I still think Gvardiol and Vuskovic as a CB duo would have been better today and the rest of the tournament, Panama were poor in the final 3rd and Livakovic saved us a lot. Lucky defensively but modric and Kovacic put in a shift defensively, I don’t know why they did that short free kick though but I guess learn for next match, if Vuskovic was on I’d rather they just launch it to him in the box every set piece we have.
Perisic defended well generally in the air and worked hard in attack and defence but again no space for him to attack much and Panama kept sticking to him clearing his passes and any service to him.
Many times in build up Vuskovic would have done something special and sutalo just side passes and struggled under pressure. Šutalo was still pretty aggressive unlike usual like vs England, he was better than panamas possession play. He got the easy clearances but it was more Panama fumbling than anything we did defensively, mostly Livakovic saving us. Pongracic and sutalo didn’t really get challenged properly like in the England match.
Messy game overall, but was more our setup and how Panama played. Dalic accepted our midfield control tactic, avoided the racing and fast paced game and just let our midfield play with the ball and keep possession as much as they wanted to, slow it down on purpose as to not have any athletic duels with limiting the sprints as little as possible. Don’t know why a lot of people here didn’t know this in this in our comment section, this is just how we had to play vs Panama.
Gvardiol and stanisic were going forward too much in the first half, we needed them more defensively, good assist from stanisic in the 2nd half but we don’t get the goal without Marco Pašalić fancy pass in behind. I still feel we could get that overlap from a different player had stanisic went LB, also can’t judge it since we don’t know the quality he would do on the left, although tactically it would have been good as we had some counters on the left and couldn’t connect the final ball behind although stanisic is very good in those areas when at left back, he’d have supported Perisic better than Gvardiol who’s having some fitness problems, Gvardiol should had just been our CB he’s still very effective in the box and build up without worrying about his fitness running up and down and defending 1v1 duels. Stanisic would have been better on some of those duels and Gvardiol cleaning up from CB.
Pongracic was stepping up more today with big duels but I’m not gonna judge our defence vs Panama who couldn’t punish us effectively with the openings we allowed, it’s clear any quality team exploits them more.
Shambolic from Dalic to scapegoat Vuskovic when our defensive problems existed since 2024 euros and sutalo. Ok game but just tactics today, Panama played weird and other teams won’t play like this.
I said before Gvardiol isn’t a specialist in defending wide areas, he’s versatile and good at a lot but he’s far better defending in the box, he was blocking and clearing more when centrally today anyway and with his fitness, he’d be better as our CB. Perisic did well at LB but vs stronger squads putting stanisic at LB and Jakic RB will probably be better, but I didn’t mind Perisic at LB today pretty solid today.
Too bad Vušković didn’t get any minutes as he would had destroyed them, guaranteed some strong set pieces from Vuskovic today if he’d play and solid build up and playmaking, but since we’ve likely qualified with the 3 points for at least 3rd. Possibly get 1st if England draw or lose to Panama and we beat Ghana or 2nd if England win and we beat Ghana, Panama are 4th now despite anything vs England, we’re at least 3rd and depending on other 3rd place teams will go through on 3 points at least, although drawing Ghana would basically guarantee the 3rd place placement and going through that route. Anyways I’m just saying we have nothing to lose from trying Vuskovic at CB with Vuskovic considering sutalo and Pongracic just ran 90 minutes and weren’t particular convincing anyways. Jakic still hasn’t got minutes and forcing Perisic another 90 minutes at LB wouldn’t be wise, stanisic is basically required to play fullback whichever side he is. Can’t blame Vuskovic for anything today since he didn’t play.
Semenyo and Inaki Williams are strong wingers, having hard working defensive fullbacks vs their wingers with our wingers also tracking back like Marco and Perisic would be the best startegy, therefore I suggest our lineup vs Ghana be:
GK Livaković
LB Stanišić
LCB Gvardiol
RCB Vušković
RB Jakić
LDM Petar Sučić
RDM Modrić
CAM Baturina
LW Perišić
RW Marco Pašalić
ST Musa
We’ll need Musa’s pace vs Ghana and Marco unlocks our midfield as an attacking outlet for modric, seriously so many areas modric would lose the ball like vs England without Marco being there, he played him in space so much. Marco also tracks back and creates so much for us, despite that goal chance wasted, don’t get reactionary or panicky, Ronaldo missed easy chances for Portugal yet scored 2 today, Messi missed a penalty yet is their top performer, Marco should have played it across to Baturina but stuff happens, I’m just happy we got the chance usually we never do with how poor our attack has been for years. The general game Marco provides us was unrivaled, again no one is even catching the counter, maybe if we started Marco for 2 years now like we should have he’d have more experience in counters, we rarely ever have counters ever anyways since everyone is slow attacking besides Marco, Musa and Baturina.
Again Musa didn’t get much room and I don’t really blame him it wasn’t the game for him, budimir breaks down parked buses, but top teams will never park vs us, so Musa’s dynamic play will get more mileage against a high line using his pace.
Baturina is our best dribbler, we don’t miss Kovacic dribbling if Baturina is there plus Baturina offensive support is unrivaled for us. Plus Kovacic is still a great sub option, but Kovacic should start if we do Perisic LB, Baturina LW then stanisic back to Rb and drop Jakic and modric, Petar Sucic and Kovacic midfield, just depends on the game but I wouldn’t start Perisic at LB vs Ghana.
Perišić still incredibly important for us.
Someone said he’d start Petkovic and rebic, I’m sorry but Rebić not only is washed now and basically lost us the game vs Spain, but vs Denmark in 2018 WC in his prime, modric gave him an even easier chance than Marcos today and he fluffed it worse, I don’t think we can judge Marco considering how much he provides on the wing while also considering how rebic and Petkovic missed open nets. I mean Petkovic with that penalty situation in 2024 was just so poor, I mean he had an open net and dived for a pen.
It would be a major mistake to not start Marco Pasalic, in fact we looked far worse in midfield when Marco pasalic came off since we didn’t have a good wide option anymore and Petar Sucic gave the free kick outside our box since we had no wide option, marco is must start still.
Not gonna judge modric, he had passing options and controlled the game better than any player we have could’ve, he defended hard and worked hard, a couple misplaced passes and decisions but nothing a more coherent tactic and gameplan wouldn’t fix, good playmaking too despite having no room in the final third. Kovacic was fine but Petar Sucic will be a better start vs Ghana, if we could fit Kovacic and modric with Petar Sucic that’d be nice but Baturina has to start and Perisic still great.
I don’t think Kramaric can start this tournament ever, Baturina is just so much better now, sorry but it’s the primary reason we came close to England and won today too.
I’ll say again good ball from Marco pasalic to stanisic and good cross from stanisic to budimir, and good work from budimir today with the physical duels and goal, it was his game today, he’s great vs those park the bus teams.
Gvardiol will be better at CB, I don’t think he has the fitness to be our fullback right now and is better defending the box and being our build up and saving us anyways. Vuskovic the best possible partner no doubt.
We really could have used some Vuskovic quality today, missing inspiration in possession and would have kept us very safe, a deep 4231 and 442 in defence like I projected would get the best out of Vuskovic, and now he’s rested for Ghana ready for 90 minutes.
Petar Sucic connection with Baturina would have been better with him going forward and Gvardiol staying back unlike how we pushed Gvardiol towards so much with stanisic creating too large gaps.
Modric gone then you’re ok
Agree with your line-up vs Ghana.
Yikes .
Gvardiol – useless . He shouldn’t start at all for the remainder of the tournament.
Not wanting to get hurt . He’s a liability .
Jakic Vuskovic Sutalo stanisic
Would be my ideal back 4 for Ghana
Agree about Gvardiol.
Jakic is a midfielder and I would not play him at RB. This is WC not Euro qualifier against Montenegro or Faroes.
We are still in it, that is the main thing.
Our Group L plays third round matches on the last day of group stage matches, and we should know by than what we need to make the round of 32. Three points might be enough ? although because of our negative goal difference we will need in all probability a draw to make sure.
Dalic did the right thing with his subs at half time and putting Perisic at left back.
Gvardiol is not fit and should not start again (LB or CB), with all our defensive problems against England and Panama first half were on the left side.
Pongracic did OK with defensive duties apart from one or two bad passes and lost possession once on the half way. Sutalo was solid in defence today as was Livakovic in goal.
Marco Pasalic trying to be cute with that attempted chip instead of shooting on goal. Luckily it did not cost us today but could come back to bite us if we miss out on goal difference.
It was not a pretty win, but we won. Maybe winning ugly again would make teams underestimate us in the knockout round. Gvardiol seemed to be in trouble the whole first half. Musa was quiet. Great job by Coach Dalic getting Budimir and Kramaric in there quickly. If Pasalic makes the pass, it would have turned into a route. But maybe it’s better we win ugly, even though it takes away years from the fans’ lives.
A win is a win! A lot of these teams are playing aggressive and are having favourable calls.
Kovačić was none existent for me. Not sure why he was on. Modrić had some good passes but even he was getting gassed toward the end. One nice beautiful pass in the final third by him but it didn’t happen.
Baturina was the best player on the field, he is our future. The substitutes didn’t have much time to make an impact outside of Budimir.
I thought Kova was good once he warmed up into the match
Real winner was the crowd in Toronto. Many said you can’t replicate a Croatia European feel but that was pretty good. Boys looked kind of buzzed out there. Maybe some Panamanian hooch to get loosened up. We won. Now, who knows against Ghana. I can’t say we can play better and that game was probably a 5.2 out 10. Lucky Panama can’t score under any circumstances.
Not sure about the crowd ? on TV Panama fans were much more louder.
It wasn’t. I was in the lower bowl in their section and I drowned them out with U Boj…
Can second that. In person we were much much louder.
I’ll be at the Philly game. Hope to see some of you there. If anyone knows the Croatian spots pregame, let me know. And hopefully we see a different team.
Where we pregaming?
I’ll let you know thx josip
A win is a win, but man that game does little to instil any confidence in us moving forward. You could definitely make the case for Panama being the better team tonight, which is frankly embarrassing for us.
At this point, I find it hard to see us beating Ghana, we may need to just try and squeeze out a draw with them to move on as a 3rd place team…
We’ll be ok
I was at center pitch
This team is fine. Timing is off. 10 needs off.
We’ll be fine
10 (Modrić) was the better player in the midfield. 8 (Kovačić) was way out of place did nothing. Gvardiol was also having a bad game again.
No he wasn’t. He was crap and everyone knows it
I am not suggesting Modrić had a great game, but he did a lot more than Kovačić from what I could see.
What did Kovačić do all game aside from a couple of turnovers?
No he wasn’t. He was crap. He shouldn’t play against Ghana or we are in peril.
His closing speed is gone.
His contribution to the NT will be rewarded at some point.
The first half we looked like a team ranked 100. The second half gave us some hope, however slight, that we can still do something at this World Cup. I thought Krama gave us a lift. He still is really clever with the ball. Glad Dalic substituted early and often.
How in the world did Marco P screw up that breakaway???? Just horrible.
Liva was great but it looks like he may have a foot injury when the Panamanian player hurt him. Panama were game but predictably dirty which is unforgiveable if you are a sportsman. Panama really can’t finish. Serves them right.
When was the last time Dalic substituted someone for Gvardiol? He deserved to be replaced. Give Dalic credit.
Norway was fun to watch. I hope they beat France. Reminds me of us in 2018.
We won. The only reason we won is that Panama are so inept around goal. We have a Swiss Cheese defence that will probably leak against Ghana. I hope we get lucky against Ghana because on exposed form we should lose that one. Hopefully Dalic continues to be dipped in shit.
Fuck that was nerve-wracking. I watched it with my old man and we both agreed it was one of the worst performances HRV has ever put out. Absolutely shameful display. But we won…. just. So we live to fight another day. I dont know how on earth we are possibly going to compete with Ghana let alone teams in the knockout phase though, we look horrible.
The whole team is absolutely disgraceful sans Liva and Bati. Everyone else needs to be replaced.
Tough and ugly at times but we got the result. I agree, complete game vs Ghana, they will be playing tight defence, on to Philly!
Finally a clean sheet after 7 games.
The breakaway in the 57′ which could have put us 2-0 up, maybe Marco P should have passed the ball instead of taking a 2nd attempt. He did very well to combine with Stani for Budimir’s goal. Glad Dalic started him today.
I lost count of the number of times the Panama players fouled Baturina. I’m also wondering, why didn’t the ref (or at least flagged by VAR) book Martinez for stepping on Livakovic’s foot? It looks semi-deliberate to me.
Lastly a big, big shoutout to the Toronto crowd. @Dannyj, Z, Slavonac, etc, you guys have been wonderful today. Thank you for making this literally a home game for us! 🙂
You’re welcome sir!
Yeah everything you said is right.
That all being said we didnt play well either. Bati-gol was our only good player – oh and Liva – imo.
someones comment 100% on the nail ,Perisic covered way better than Gvardiol once Gvardiol dragged off at half time( too much money )his position he should sit on the bench, Budimir came on gave them.many problems and was a physical presence defended free kicks and offense from the get go to crucial goal
Gvardiol is not fit and should not start again as a LB or CB.
A win is a win. Nice Budimir sub in. If our team is going to get out of the group they are going to have to play a complete game vs. Ghana and with more intensity.
Croatia got a chance to top this group, England might choke, win for Croatia against Ghana, anything can happen
Tbag did me proud
We learned a lot in this game; that Gvardiol is way off form — Perisic closed down the left wing. Maybe move Gvardiol to CB.
Dalic is playing chess!!
A win is a win!
I know we won but I feel like shit
Budimir best game in our shirt take a bow!!!
As soon as Croatia get possession, they kick it away.
If we don’t get a second I’m worried about a late game equalizer by Panama.
I can’t believe what I’m watching here. A player chases the ball and has time to slide on the ground and whip in a dangerous cross whilst our players sit back and watch. U r fucking kidding me with this shit. Sramotno!!!!
my bubba can play better then this team wow. what a disappointment
Ante Budimir!!!!!!!!!! That’s what he’s being doing in La Liga and he finally got service in the box.
Time for different strategy Dalic!
budimir 1-0 eat it crnnas
Dalic busted heads at halftime
I told u Ghana would draw England and we wouldn’t make it through 🤔, I’m not surprised the slightest
Budimir on(,musa off)on Kramaric on Gvardiol off
Three CBs now? Is Perisic going to drop back and cover that side?
We look like Czechoslovakia out there!
I just woke up from a 7 year slumber to find out ipsgit Dalic is still head coach. Still no Petkovic and Rebic? Yes, to this day, they are better options than Musa and whomever plays rw (other than young Pasalic).
Ping Pongravic is not worthy to start, ever.
If somebody has Dalic’s ear, when they park the bus you take quick and numerous attempts to penetrate. It is simple math, instead Dalic has us passing it around w no direction.
Get Musa out now.
So arrogant
All Croatia subs on the pitch warming up and kicking balls
All Panama subs in dressing room
Wow the disrespect
Ngl we are cooked, we look like equals to Panama… it has been a good run tho
The coach should put in Budimir and Kramarić. Take out anyone who shows low intensity. Attack the middle!
I’m at the game boys
Great atmosphere
Even tho I’m around Panamas
Their number 3 cb, Is bossing it
Yeah Luka man it’s the 200th game
Make something happen
Baturina looks solid again
Stanišić has good speed
You can really see it in person
Hopefully they can strike quick
Put the sucic twins in I guess;)
Thanks for the report DannyJ!!!
Now celebrate the win!
Croatia have been the better team, but honestly not by much. Lots of possession, very little end product. Panama came to park the bus and Croatia haven’t shown enough creativity or movement to break them down. Im almost ZZzzzzZZ
Defensively we’ve been comfortable because Panama barely attack, but that’s what makes this frustrating. If we are serious about advancing, we got to create more than this, this is sad.
Also is it just me or are some players literally barely putting in effort * Gvardial Cough cough*
Somebody needs to put a fork in Modric. He’s cooked and is starting to burn.
I didn’t think Luka could have two bad games in a row; turns out yes he can. That free kick we had where he just passed them the ball and then they went on a run sums up our play. Absolutely disgraceful to watch, we are a shadow of ourselves. There’s no way we can beat Ghana and we don’t even look like scoring in this match at all. Only good players on the field are Baturina and Liva. Ironically this is the game that needed Luka V in it to help out in attack so ofc we didnt fucking pick him.
We really need Petar Sučić out there
One positive thing i’ll say: Baturina looks good, real good. He’s a star.
I’m glad vuskovic didn’t play man
Maybe modric should play till 2030 and go for the 300 cap
yeah i want to believe we can turn rhis around but unless some tactical adjustment it looks undeserving of the crowd support.Dalic hfyffhc do something.
Oh boy if they lose
Then we’re officially eliminated
If he doesn’t get ten outta here, im outta here. Pathetic display
Dalic needs to go. His lineup selections these first two matches are beyond abysmal. Tired of this guy thinking he’s smarter than everyone else. It’s not rocket science on how to lineup with what we have.
Terrible performance so far this tournament. Modric is done as well. Fully washed up.
This might be the worst performance I’ve ever seen from us.
This team is a goddamn mess! What is going on with them???
10
We lucky Panama ain’t good that’s all I see
So far
10 is done.
Sorry fellas
Panama is not fucking around. Hrvatska better get their shit together in the first half or sayonara motherfuckers.
Is it just me or is Gvardiol getting caught a lot on the left side. It seems that Panama’s right midfielder is getting behind him a lot and their 2 really good chances have come after Gvardiol has gotten caught out of position.
yeah ur right
Fuck me we are lucky we got Liva. We should be losing this game. We are completely fucked. We don’t know how to play.
We’re bad. I’m at centerpitch and this is not very good.
Crowd is excellent
We are so shit bye everyone it was nice knowing you
lol only chance on target was from them and a ref from somewhere in Africa drinks break
Is this game going ok so far? The feelings I’m having are saying “No”. Or does Croatia need to settle down and hit a rhythm?
Great defensive performance by Ghana. Low defensive block in and around the box and England could not break them down. That is the way we should have played against England.
I thought that Ghana was also a bit unlucky and should have had a penalty late on when the England defender made the tackle and never touched the ball and there was definite contact with the legs of the Ghanian forward.
Good to see that Marco Pasalic is starting on the right wing against Panama.
I’m not surprised that Pongracic is starting in the back four, he has had a solid season in Italy. DCC has not played for more than a month due to back injury.
It was clearly a penalty – what is VAR doing, getting lap dances, or, getting paid?
Croatia would be Eliminated with a loss tonight because of England result
All business necessary – get the job done
The bad thing about this result is that Ghana now has 4 points and it will mean that Croatia will have to beat them in order to finish second. Ghana will most like bunker against Croatia and play for the tie. As you can see, they are not easy to break down. We will have a tough time with Ghana. It would have been almost better for Ghana to win and then if Croatia beats them, it would have been a threeway tie for first. There was also a missed penalty kick for Ghana when the Ghana player gets taken down in the box late in the second half and the defender makes no contact with the ball. England was very lucky to have not lost after 2 very questionable referee decisions.
Good & bad news for Croatia ,
Bad news its Knock out football for Croatia,
Good News, win both games, England lose or draw,
Croatia Top the Group
So Ghana and England are already through now. Why do i get the feeling this Panama game will be a 0-0 draw and we wont be able to break them down and then we are gonna have an all-or-nothing last game v Ghana. Sigh. Plz god let us score early.
Typical England B.S. The Ghanaian is sent on a through ball. England’s goalie Prickford comes out, makes no contact with the ball, and turns into the Ghanaian forward making solid contact with him preventing him from going by him and scoring.. I am a referee. Instead of showing a red card to Pickford for colliding intentionally with the Ghana forward and taking away a goal scoring opportunity, who touched the ball past Pickford, they give a free kick to England. The Ghanaian players and fans are in shock and have their heads in their hands. What f—ing garbage! It looks like England will get as much FIFA help as is needed for them to either go far or win the whole thing!
LOL Petar Sucic not starting. Pongracic in back 4. I want to see the Dalic apologists‘ mental gymnastics when we fail to get 3 points against Panama. He should‘ve been fired after the Italy game in the last Euros. This is an incompetent, incorrigible coach with a coaching staff who‘s just as bad.
Hopefully, we even make it out of group stages because I’m not feeling optimistic. Ghana do not play badly.
Notice that Ghana are playing with a back four and their defensive midfielders are shutting down Bellingham and Rice. Ghana are giving up almost nothing threatening. Hint to Dalic! The refereeing is still favouring England though. Kane gets hit from behind in the head , free kick. Ayew gets hit from behind in the head and cuts him, drop ball. What a surprise!
Ghana are better than us. Don’t even look like conceding tbh.
WERE FUCKED GUYS
i am pissing my little pink panties LOL
They are playing four at the back. Just relax. England are still winning this game. They didn’t make the same mistake we did. Ghana is hardly touching the ball
I hope we can beat Panama. For some reason am scared with these fast teams catching our defense off guard
I think it’s not for some reason, it’s for good reason. All it takes is one through ball and they are one-on-one with Liva, happens over and over again these last few years.
We’re just lucky Liva normally bails us out.
Iggy, the Hrvati got this. Keep calm and carry on. Haha. It must be early in your area. Idemo naprijed.
I hope Dalic goes
Perisic Budimir Marco P
Kova Modric P. Sucic
Stani Gvardiol Pong Jakic
Liva
idemo gdi perisic ide
Most portals have P sucic on bench
Time to move on from Dalić
Yeah, I think this is the sad reality unfortunately his time had come.
AJMOOOOOO!!!!
Let’s start our run
For the love of god, four years of preparation for the World Cup and we still didn’t mark the player with the number 9 on his back during corners. If we actually stick to our men on set pieces, maybe we won’t concede 4 goals.
Petar needs to be playing a more defensive role in midfield, like a Brozović or Soldo to take some presssure of Mods. The other players on the field have to compensate for Mods by doing more covering, which would give him more energy offensively.
When we play the bigger nations, the referee decisions always go their way. We have to be absolutely careful inside the box because it’s always the same story, we will end up losing the game off some bullshit penalty. We can’t give the refs any excuse to screw us over.
WE’RE IN DEEP SHIT
Haha love it
No you not.
My ass just pulled up
All ok
Dva nula.
Hrvatska mora pobijediti!
stop making multiple threads you scumbags
Predictions:
Panama will defend with everyone except the striker behind the ball and will play long balls to try to win. Croatia will have to break the bunker. Budimir will prove the best choice for this situation and will score by heading in a lobbed pass from Modrić or Perišić.
Perišić will have a field day attacking down the left side and will assist on a goal.
Pongračić will start and will send in crosses for Budimir.
The rumored lineup is designed to put Croatia in one-on-one mode. Dalić is putting on Croatia’s best dribblers at each position plus Budimir who is a strong individual player in his own way. I don’t expect Ćaleta-Car to start over Pongračić. Pongračić is a better dribbler and overall athlete. Panama is not used to competing against a team that can hold that much possession and will struggle to possess the ball. Croatia will tiki-taka their way to a win.
Love it , great post. This is what will happen.
(I really do wish however that Dalic would play Luka V and Gvardiol in the center with Stan on the left and Jakic on the right .)
—————————Budimir——————————
—Perisic—————————————Marco.P.
——————Kovacic——Modric———————
Gvardiol—————Sucic—————Stanisic—
——————DCC—————Erlic———————
I don’t see Baturina starting unless he wants to rest Perisic and I doubt he will play Kramaric or Vlasic on the left but it’s an option…. I think Marco.P. will start….
I believe Vlasic/Kramaric will be utilized to sub out Marco.P. and Baturina for Perisic…. Moro and Mario Pasalic will be subbing out 2-3 in the middle (probably Kova/Modra) and Jakic as RB option as well as Pograncic the other option on the left or centrally especially if Perisic drops back to LB and we decide to go more offensive
This is tournament football – scoring more than 3 against anyone but the tiniest minnows is a high bar. I’ll be happy if they score a couple the quality of the ones they put past England, and eliminate defensive errors. That would show me that they are ready for Ghana and knockout matches.
Hopefully the stories about starting XI are not true, because those are some downgrades that don`t add anything tactically, debatably apart from Kova.
Specific predictions?
– Me crying like a bitch during the anthem.
– Kovačić comes in only once Luka is depleted. He gets a proper ovation for his 200th cap, and fittingly hands the reigns to his trusted friend.
– Vušković starts. Every game. For the next 10 years. No questions.
– Musa or Šutalo are dropped for their marking during Kane’s goal.
– Budimir starts, giving way to Musa later. Message sent.
– The Baturina – Sučić combination strikes again (in reverse).
– Marco Pašalić finally gets a start, subbed late for nearing-form Kramarić.
– We will secure a 2 goal lead within 65 minutes, and begin protecting starters vs a dirty Panama squad.
The team left the Alexandria hotel at 9am today
Hajduk will make some more euros off Luka V to Brighton (780k based on 52m)
Za Hajduk je ključno razdoblje od Vuškovićeve 12. do 16. godine. FIFA-ina pravila su jasna: za svaku godinu treniranja igrača između 12. i 15. rođendana klubu pripada 0.25 posto odštete, a za godine od 16. do 23. rođendana po 0.5 posto. Ako se Hajduku uračuna cijelo razdoblje od 12. do 16. godine, splitskom klubu pripada ukupno 1.5 posto odštete.
Koliko bi točno Hajduk zaradio?
Računica je stoga vrlo jednostavna. U slučaju transfera vrijednog 50 milijuna eura, Hajduk bi dobio 750 tisuća eura. Ako bi se transfer ostvario za 52 milijuna eura, koliko prema Romanovim navodima iznosi ponuda Brightona, Hajdukov dio iznosio bi oko 780 tisuća eura.
Da bi zaradio okruglih milijun eura, Vuškovićev transfer morao bi dosegnuti iznos od oko 66.7 milijuna eura. Na transferu od 60 milijuna eura Hajduk bi uprihodio 900 tisuća eura.