A Wales draw and a Croatian victory leaves Vatreni fans satisfied after a brutal October qualifying cycle. Croatia’s destiny now lies in its own hands with one final match hosting the Armenians in Zagreb. Should Croatia be victorious, they book their ticket to Germany this summer.
It’s no secret the line-up is not currently at full strength with the likes of Ivan Perišić, Mateo Kovačić and Bruno Petković out due to injury, but how did their replacements perform and how does Dalić play his cards on Tuesday against Armenia?
Dominik Livaković: 6/10
Liva faced no shots but didn’t have a superb game in terms of distributing the ball. An average rating of 6/10 seems reasonable although I’m almost inclined to give him an N/A rating considering he didn’t have much to do.
Joško Gvardiol: 6/10
Don’t get me wrong, Gvardiol certainly displayed his defensive qualities and his qualities on the ball. He completed four interceptions, a tackle, three clearances, won most of his duels and had the most touches out of any player on the field. But his decision making today was pretty bad and he’s lucky he’s as talented as he is and that Latvia is as bad as they are, because against top opposition he would’ve been punished for some of those passes and dribbles. This is proven by the fact he has the most possessions lost out of any Croatian player today with 26. I’m honestly just not really a fan of him on the left side but he’s certainly better than Barišić and an out of form Sosa so it’s fine for now. Ideally, an in form Sosa would take his place and he could move back into the CB pairing.
Martin Erlić: 7.5/10
It’s clear he’s not as talented on the ball as Gvardiol or Šutalo may be but this man is truly a rock at the back. He’s very reliable and his defensive fundamentals are great. He won 90% of his duels and completed very clean tackles, including one in our box that didn’t even worry me for a second. He wasn’t tested too much but did excellently well with what came his way.
Josip Šutalo: 7/10
All around solid game from him, just a good defensive showing. Hopefully his club form continues to improve and reflects on the pitch with the National Team. He had some nice interceptions and ball progressions, but once again, just wasn’t really tested much.
Josip Stanišić: 5.5/10
Stani kind of reminded me of a right-sided Barišić today, which is pretty problematic. I think it’s pretty clear Juranović is better for the time being, although Stanišić does have nice potential. Not a bad option off the bench for now, but he just doesn’t really offer much moving up the pitch and looks occasionally shaky at the back. I think he needs more playing time with Leverkusen or perhaps a different loan would benefit him as I doubt Leverkusen will change their winning formula right now.
Luka Modrić: 6.5/10
I think one of the best take aways from this game that’s sliding under the radar is the fact that Croatia performed well without a good Modrić performance. Yes, it’s just Latvia, but Modrić was a passenger in today’s match and we saw Kramarić, Gvardiol, Majer and Ivanušec take control of the game a bit more. All in all, Luka was just as good as he usually is but just didn’t really need to turn on the jets and was often subject to rough play from the Latvians as he was an obvious target due to his name. It’s nice to see other players step up in a game where “shutting down Modrić” seemed to be on the mind of the Latvian midfield and defence.
Marcelo Brozović: 6.5/10
Brozović was very involved, but got similar physical treatment to Modrić and seemed to be getting stepped on every play, resulting in a few Latvian yellow cards. This attention let other players flourish a bit more, and this isn’t saying he played badly, just that he didn’t need to pull the strings in order to win today. Still a solid performance from him as usual as he sprayed the ball around the field nicely.
Andrej Kramarić: 8/10
It really goes so unspoken amongst the Croatian footballing community just how good Kramarić has become over the last year for us. He may not be a world class forward, but he’s probably just what we always wanted him to be right now. He’s finally scoring consistently and his play is much less selfish. He’s excellent on the ball and finally seems to be using it to the benefit of the team. I think his confidence is back and he appreciates the fluid role he’s been given. He potted a nicely placed shot today and distributed the ball well, not much more you can ask for.
Luka Ivanušec: 8/10
He’s truly been a very good Perišić replacement and I hope he continues with these performances. We missed him last month, and look how that turned out. Ivanušec is very explosive and runs at the defence well, leading to a nicely placed assist on Majer’s goal. I like him in this role until we see a fully fit and healthy Perišić back in the squad, and even then he’d be a very effective late sub.
Lovro Majer: 8/10
Although he got a goal and an assist, I don’t want to give him a better rating than Ivanušec or Krama since the assist was kind of flukey. But still, a very commanding game from the 25-year old attacking midfielder. He looked confident and he’s very good on the ball, I think Dalić gives him the start against Armenia.
Ante Budimir: 6/10
I can’t really give him a better rating considering I forgot he was even playing at times. Still, I think I prefer him to Musa right now. He did alright with an off angled cross and almost got it on net. He’s simply just not receiving service, but that may be okay for now. I think it’s pretty evident that Petković is our number 1 guy at the moment, but Budimir can be interim starter as far as I’m concerned. He works like a dog and although he’s not the quickest, he did cause a few good turnovers that resulted in counter-attacks for the Vatreni. I don’t think I saw Musa doing that once. And even if we can’t get him the service, he’s a hardworking big body to help lead the line which helps our more talented and explosive players like Ivanušec, Kramarić, Majer or Marco Pašalić to exploit space behind him.
Subs:
Mario Pašalić: 6/10
I really like him as a sub but I think that’s as good as it’s going to get for him right now. He gives us a bit more killer instinct in the box but Majer simply brings more to the game.
Marco Pašalić: 8/10
I was pleasantly surprised. He’s a bit similar to Ivanušec in play style but seems more aggressive and has better dribbling. This kid could be a wild card for the National Team going forward and he’s got loads of potential. Could he be the solution to our lack of a true right-winger? I hope so. In just 10 minutes, he completed a few dribbles, moved the ball up well and got himself into a prime goalscoring position and nearly scored as the ball hit the inside of the post and travelled along the goal line. Would’ve been so great to see him bag his first just ten minutes into his debut.
Martin Baturina: N/A
Didn’t play long enough to say much, but that clip of him subbing in for Modrić might be a big one should this young star reach his potential one day…
I think Marco P. has earned himself more minutes against Armenia (hopefully in the region of 20-30) and the fact Dalić decided to call-up Beljo after today’s game is certainly interesting. Should Dalić stick with the same lineup or shake things up against Armenia?
Budimir was awful. What do you people see when you watch him ? If everyone is just happy he runs and creates pressure on the D then replace him with Simic. Simic does the exact same thing but is better on the ball, better passer and will be a better goal scorer if he isn’t already.
Easy to answer. I see a) a player whose positioning opens up spaces for his teammates to make easy finishes into the back of the net; b) a player who wins the divided balls at midfield most of the time (not just against Latvia, also in La Liga); c) a player whose runs are dangerous and result in goals most of the times that the ball lands in front of him (again, that’s why he scored 5 goals in the past month); d) a player who always goes for the best play for the team, rather than the play that gets him the most attention or the best view on the highlight reel. Budimir will never be a star, and he doesn’t care. He’s just a footballer, and he’s good at what he does, even if it’s unimpressive to the average viewer (but not unimpressive to his coaches or teammates). Also, he’s a genuinely good person, which is another reason he’s there. All of that together helps the team win. How many matches has Croatia lost with Budimir in the lineup?
I think stanisic deserves more than 5.5. The second goal was all down to him, double give and go with modric and the cross. He also dug out a beautiful cross which budimir put over the bar first half. He is defensively solid and his passing is subtle and intelligent. Only Latvia but he did nothing wrong. We’ve seen what he can do against mbappe. He just needs a run of games for his confidence and we will see a very reliable, quality RB
Stanisic was our weakest player on the backline and that includes an average Gvardiol playing LB.
I think we are seeing why Stanisic has never been a regular with his club side.
@Maminjo
Got it buddy👍 (re your reply to my Ukraine question)
So glad we can take these damn playoffs and shove it to the back of our minds now, well almost ha ha.
Zivjeli svi! Ajmoooo
Calm down everyone. It was only Latvia. Can’t read too much into the performances considering Latvia is so awful.
Armenia plays well (but can’t ever seem to score).
We’ll see how well we respond to Armenia who will constantly run and pressure our guys.
So long as we pressure them right back (like we did in the first game against them) and so long as Vida doesn’t play, we should be fine.
I had a big post on my thoughts and as per usual my battery died
I’ll keep it short
Kovacic better worry about his job especially if krama becomes more central player
With majer
And young baturina and sucic wanting their time
Kovacic saving grace if he doesn’t kick his game up is Luka retirement
I don’t think young pasalic is expected to be the saviour as Davor says below, however exactly what Dalić said you could see in his interviews
Unless the kid is faking it. He has that I’ll play better for the repka then club mentality
You can see it’s special for him
And as I always say we just need this attitude with average to above average guys and we will be just fine
Cause we know as a a whole you take most of our guys they are mostly all above average in talent level
Anyways, let’s see what he can do
Hopefully dalic finds teh winning formula. Beljo looked dangerous in the bit we saw
Let’s hope they can all watch budimirs work rate
That extra hounding of the other players eventually will pay off into something
Maybe creates his own chance or more chances for other guys
Let’s face it, no one is getting service right now
Budimir showed at this point that’s his value and my hope is for him to see he can keep a spot by playing that type of game
Petko will be back, krama is there It’s enough to hold the Fort till beljo or simic break through
Someone put pjaca in a second striker type role. I always thought he could reinvent himself into something like that after his awful injuries
Maybe same with Perisic when he gets back
Funny how a win, getting a few guys back and some young energy can do huh
Ball is in our court
We always leave it till the last day
Business as usual
We aren’t the cardiac Croatians for nothing and let’s remind everyone how Kramarić took the team on his back and took us to Russia and rest is history
Baturina and sucic with all luck will be the luka/rakitic 2.0
Or at least 1.5;)
“Funny how a win, getting a few guys back and some young energy can do huh”
So true! Funny thing, this game of football.
***
“Baturina and sucic with all luck will be the luka/rakitic 2.0
Or at least 1.5;)”
Gonna be 2.0 trust me😁
BOG I HRVATI I ANTE PAVELIC =U=. Za Dom Good game boys now lets have a better one next…..
I don’t think you realize how many on this message forum have families with partizan roots.
I think kovacic needs to be on bench for us when healthy as sub for luka or broz imo.
Yea, Kovacic is already 30 in March so I wouldn’t overly invest in him.
If he’s out of form, you bench him and that’s that. He’s not a Modric caliber midfielder where you give him the benefit of the doubt and reintegrate him into the starting eleven the first chance you get. He has to earn it.
There are too many guys who are more than capable of playing a central midfield role for us in Krama, Ivanusec, Majer, etc…all of whom have been playing better than him in 2023.
For the future, I like how Baturina and Sucic are progressing.
It’s critical that their next club move isn’t something stupid that lands them on the bench and halts their development.
Broz and Krama are both around Kova’s age, so they could be that vet in the middle with these youngsters.
We also still have Ivanusec and Majer too, who could take another step.
If we had a new coach who didn’t have an existing relationship with Kovacic, then he would be in trouble. Dalic will always try to start Kovacic, and I think he is an automatic starter for Euro2024 regardless.
A lot of people think I just troll, but it’s mostly cause they don’t like to hear the truth.
I’ve actually long supported Kramaric and provided the stats to back it up as people around here loved to overreact constantly and suggested guys like Budimir as a replacement.
Fun game: Here’s a composition of Croatian attacks players. There goals + assists per 90 , goals, assists, goals + assists, minutes played, and how many games that equates to.. See if you can guess who’s who. The top efficiency spot may surprise you.
GA/90 GLs A G+A Minutes Games
0.87 15 3 18 1,856 21
0.83 29 5 34 3,698 41
0.81 45 6 51 5,649 63
0.76 4 2 6 712 8
0.67 27 9 36 4,862 54
0.65 10 2 12 1,667 19
0.62 33 11 44 6,385 71
0.57 33 30 63 9,907 110
0.46 15 0 15 2,947 33
0.44 20 8 28 5,685 63
0.43 9 3 12 2,529 28
0.32 1 2 3 854 9
Perisic
did u know
in his first 26 games he only scored 1 goal
out of his 33 goals – 8 were in friendlies
some were bc of goalie errors (e.g. Buffon @ san siro 2014, etc)
In the end – he became a stud – scoring key goals in 2018
point being
we will need to be patient w/ next generation
If they don’t score after 10 minutes – doesn’t mean we give up on them
imagine if we gave up on Perisic after 5 or 10 or 15 or 20 or 25 games bc he only scored 1 goal up to then ?
See comments below – Dalic has clearly read the room (smartly he relied on the ‘old’ generation to qualify while integrating the new at the end of qualifying w/ eye that they take over in 9 months)
Now sprinkle in Sucic and Simic (and Bjelo) – and we’re seeing how the core will take shape
We already have Stanisic / Erlic / Satulo / Gvardiol / Sosa – in defence
And together – as previewed – u have building a team / next generation around Gvardiol (+/- 2 yrs)
The inference of what he says below is those 25 y.o.+ won’t be part of next Euros and beyond – unless they are performing outstandingly at their position vs. the next [21] y.o. ready to take the slot
We should all be excited – we’re seeing the start of the next generation coming together – and god willing – will be able to compete together over the next [5] Euro / WCs together
#####
@TheCroatianLad
Zlatko Dalić on Pašalić and Baturina:
“I congratulated both of them on their debut, they are certainly our future. Pašalić entered a great opportunity, it’s a shame he didn’t score on his debut. That guy came into the national team with so much energy, motivation, and desire. He shows how much it means to him in training. I want and need such players in the national team, not those who hesitate about coming or not. He won me over with that, and all of us. I’m sorry he didn’t score a goal. ”
“Baturina does everything on his own, proving himself as a player, and he deserves a place in the national team. It will be great if we qualify for the EURO and give these players a chance to assert themselves and become the core. It’s time for them, we need to gradually make a generational shift again, as we did after Russia. But it’s time for the younger ones to bring new energy and life. They have justified their call-ups through training.” 🚨
“He hasn’t played for a while for us to talk specifically about his performance, but what he showed in the past week in training, his attitude, approach, desire, and quality is exactly what we need. We need such players in the national team who, when they come, are happy and proud. When you see the desire in him to play for the Croatian national team, it’s something great. He has the quality, and he, along with Baturina, whom I also congratulate on his debut, will be the future of the national team. Of course, they still have a lot to work on to reach the level of the long-standing representatives. It’s nice to discover new players who come to the national team with enthusiasm.” 🚨
Per: HNS
#####
Very good game from the boys. Ended it early then cruise control with one eye on Tuesday. No injuries and Bria and Gvardiol avoided a yellow and will play Tuesday.
The Wales draw killed two birds with one stone. Put us back on pole position to qualify controlling our own destiny. Now they must win over the Turks to have any chance to qualify. The Turks though want to get points to top the group so won’t take it lightly as we can win the group still.
And second stone, Armenia was eliminated. Plus their captain got a yellow and is suspended vs us.
Let’s win on front of our fans and celebrate. And also get Perisic to Euros. He will be ready by then.
#weareCroatia
They did enough to beat Latvia.
But still not buying this Pasalic hype. He looked OK, but missed an easy goal.
Nothing special. The guy couldnt play first team football in germany. Comes to Croatia and plays OK in a bad league. And now people think he is answer. Playing Latvia yesterday was same as playing Varazdin
If Croatia do win as expected on Tuesday and qualify, it looks like they would not have gotten a #1 seed even if they got 4 points in the Turkey and Wales games (this assumes Spain beats Georgia, England beats or ties North Macedonia and Belgium beats Azerbaijan, all safe bets). Croatia would have had to win both games last month and both games this week. And as mentioned yesterday, it is looking like the #3 seeds are just as difficult or more than the potential #2 seeds, with Netherlands and Italy (assuming they tie or beat Ukraine) in pot #3. So I don’t care about the Turkey/Wales game, just handle Armenia and all is good and we wait for the draw on Saturday.
I think 6 points was very attainable in October, which would have made us one of the highest seeded teams in the tournament.
But, there’s no point in thinking about this anymore.
Pot 2 is definitely weak because of the group winners from those weaker groups being included in Pot 2 (Albania, Hungary, Romania).
However Pot 3 is not a guarantee for either Turkey or Croatia, and dropping to POT 4 is a strong possibility for the team that loses points on Tuesday.
Turkey still needs to secure a point over Wales on Tuesday to guarantee a Pot 2 seed…but if they lose, they can drop to Pot 4.
Four out of the six teams (currently in Pot 3) will very likely end up with 16 or more points.
This doesn’t include Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia who could all secure wins in their final game and get 16 points as well.
This would mean that a 16-point team will end up in Pot 4 (which is the current point total of Turkey).
So, even if it’s better to finish Pot 3 instead of Pot 2…the risk of falling into Pot 4 is too real for Turkey, so they will still gun for achieving at least a draw in Wales.
How would you like to be the other pots and waiting for the pot 4 team to draw and you see Croatia
We may have looked beatable recently
But ain’t no one wants that;)
16 points will guarantee pot 3. Serbia ended with 14 points, second in the Romania/Switzerland group will have a maximum of 13 points and the Czechs can only max out at 15 points. The only way Croatia could be in pot 4 (other than winning the playoff) is if they lose to or tie Armenia and Wales doesn’t beat Turkey. And the above tie scenario would be enough for pot 3 if Italy or Slovenia tie tomorrow. But if we can’t beat Armenia at home at Maksimir, shame on us.
I have formulated a recipe with what I’ve seen with the current crop of players last few matches.. conclusions for Armenia
3-4-1-2 (3-4-3) Ideal starting lineup
—————-Beljo————–Budimir——————
————————-Kramaric——————————
Ivanusec————————————M.Pasalic-
——————Modric——Brozovic——————
——Gvardiol——-—Erlic——-—Sutalo————
————————-Livakovic—————————
Dalic said we need a second striker…
I Agree.. This would be an interesting thought might you think?
Ideal Subs for each player in regards to change whether it’s grit size speed or offensive defensive characteristics that the other does not offer but complements nonetheless the team as a whole… beg to differ?? Let me know y’all thoughts? To me the only toss up is whether to start Majer or Kramaric both scored for us… but I see us playing better game all around with faster wingers.. feel like we are to slow with both them on…
————-—Pjaca—————Pasalic—————
——————————Majer——————————
—-Sosa—————————————Juranovic
——————-Baturina——Moro———————
—–Pograncic———Vida——-Stanisic———
————————-—-Ivusic——————————
Dalic is an absolutely shit manager!
He won’t dare to use this formation.
…………… Petkovic ………… Budimir ….…………
Ivanusec………… Kramaric …………Juranovic
………………Lv Mayer………Lk Modric……………..
……….Gvardiol…..Mar Erlic…..J Sutalo………
…………………….….. Livakovic ………………………..
Dalic is a low-tier tactician and absolute shit
He will never figure out this masterpiece line!
Martin Erlic is my cousin, it’s great to have him play for the Vatreni!
I don’t usually disagree with you, but I have to disagree about some of the ratings and statements above:
Andrej Kramarić may not be a world-class forward but he may be a world-class midfielder. He played like one today. He went box-to-box, he brought the ball down flawlessly at midfield, he distributed the ball very well, finished a one-timer as the second line of attack, and covered open spaces to keep the attacking formation when Ivanusec drifted out of position. That’s all midfielder stuff. He’s a midfielder, and he looked at least as good as Kovačić if not better today, when he finally got to play in his position.
Budimir deserves more than a 6/10. He wasn’t great in the first half, but he set up three or four clear goal-scoring chances in the second half. There was the one he won the ball and brought it forward himself before laying it off to Majer on the right who inexplicably chose to dribble to the end line (once again) instead of shooting or playing back to Budimir and wasted the chance. He won the ball and made the “hockey assist” on the play that Marco Pasalić finished off the post. He set Majer up for a one-timer goal near the end of the game that Majer hit too soft. I think he also won the ball that set Mario Pasalić up for the long run that Mario crossed when he should have shot. Also, the runs he was making throughout the game were dangerous ones with the word goal written all over them. If ANY of those threaded passes Budimir’s teammates made to him had been timed early enough to beat the defense and land in front of him instead of behind, he would have been on the scoresheet. He’s successfully finished a lot of those running plays against top La Liga competition over the years. Budimir earned his complete game out there, got better as the match went on, and made a case for playing another full match against Armenia. At the very least, he made it impossible for Latvia to keep possession. I give him a 7.5
Baturina deserves a 9/10 for what he did during his short time on the field. He won a ball for Croatia in the right defensive corner, and he completed a chain of seemingly impossible dribbles down the left touch line to get Croatia into scoring position, singlehandedly. Simply amazing technique and football smarts!
Ajmo!
Yes…That run was unbelievable! I almost forgot about that.
No Kovacic = winning
Kovapologist too? Bro
Marco Pasilic is Dave Portnoy’s Doppelgänger
where’s that guy who after our last 2 losses made a comment along the lines of “jebi ga… 2 failed marraiges.. 2 shitty kids.. a shitty job i hate… health problems, and all i ask is our beloved vatreni win their games to qualify and i cant even have that”
lol hopefully that guy is feeling a bit happier today
I’m here, lurking in the shadows. Happy with todays result and the way they played. Had to pray to 3 different Gods however. Including the blue elephant one.
😂yes life is much brighter when our beloved Vatreni are playing well
Yes, the ratings are pretty spot-on, but it’s hard to take much from this game since Latvia is awful as this should have been another 5-0 performance.
That’s not fair.
Turkey needed a 95th minute injury time goal against a red carded Latvia team to win their game in this stadium.
Wales needed a PK to win in their matchup.
You can’t undermine any team nowadays, especially on their home field. Croatia put this game away early. and they deserve credit for it.
I too will join the chorus that Gvardiol had an off game. I do not mind experimenting with him at LB. He is learning that role at Man City and as Guardiola said it will take him time but he is working super hard.
Simple fact is that we have a glut of high quality CB coming through and if we can develop some of them into more creative and attacking roles we should. Gvardiol is a prime example of this.
Though both Marko Pasalic and Baturina showed promise and Ivanusec was very aggressive. Modric deserves more then 6.5 and he was instrumental.
Agreed on Modric. Contributed crucially to both goals. I feel like teammates a few times were not ready for his passes and botched them. That don’t really happen at Real. Mayer was caught totally flat-footed on the one that Modric delivered to him to the top of the box, among others.
Good analysis Markus. To answer your question…i think Dalic will, and should stick with a similar lineup. Replace whoever is tired/knocked accordingly. Modric should come off as soon as we get the game in our control. I think Gvardiol will be fine at LB for now…he just had a bit of an off game. At this point Dalic needs to stay on the same course, and just get us over the finish line.
When Erlic and Sutalo play as the CB our defence looks a lot stronger.
Gvardiol today as a left back was poor with his passing. Gvardiol is not a LB but is a lot better than Sosa and Barisic defensively. The reason he does not play as a CB for Man City is his lack of experience and inability to read the game which sometimes leads to poor positioning. I also think that he is not the tallest central defender and those 5-10 cm that he lacks is important in EPL where you get a lot of crosses coming into the box.
In regards to player ratings for me nobody deserved an 8.
Majer and Kramaric 7.5, followed by Erlic and Sutalo with 7.
Modric, Brozovic, Ivanusec and Marco Pasalic with 6.5 and the rest 6.
Agreed with Gvardiol. He just doesn’t look as comfortable on the left as opposed to the center. I wish they stop this silly experiment of putting him at LB
Agreed, I’d much rather a proper LB (i.e. Sosa even though people have their concerns) in that team then having to move our best defender and the best young defender in the world out of position.
Bingo
He plays a proper LB for the best team in the world. Man City…