The Vatreni are 90 minutes away from qualifying for their 4th straight World Cup and 7th overall; only missing South Africa in 2010. Croatia will only need a draw or better versus the Faroe Islands Friday in Rijeka to punch their ticket.
But don’t count this Faroese team out by any means. Any other year and this is an easy 3-0 win without blinking an eye. But this Faroe Islands team has viking blood running through their veins in 2025. Not only did they defeat both Czechia and Montenegro in October World Cup qualifiers, but they are still alive to qualify for the World Cup. They will be gunning for a win and only a win in Rijeka as a draw does nothing for them with Czechia a point ahead, playing Gibraltar in their final match.
Expect Faroe Islands to be a pain in the ass in Rijeka as they will play compact in the back waiting for their chance to counter. The best scenario for Modrić and the boys is score an early goal in the opening 30 minutes which would calm the nerves and open Faroe up.
Luka Vušković is expected to start the match and will then leave the squad to join the U21s later in the week for their qualifier against Hungary November 18th.
Mateo Kovačić (heel) and Ante Budimir (calf) have been omitted from the squad due to injury. Kova may require additional surgery and could be out until March; possibly even the World Cup. Budimir’s injury is not serious. Mislav Oršić and Petar Musa have been called up in their place.
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Hoping they give Mislav Oršić at least 45 minutes over the next two games . If he scores again, or if he just creates chances on goal, and shows some speed, he should be on the team for good.
The time is now for Vuskovic not 2030. Modric won’t be here in 2030. We need to go all in. As Luka the Elder said to Livakovic ,” You need to be decisive and not afraid to make a mistake.”
The same speech should be given to Dalic.
Sideshow Bob will be there well into the 30’s. He wants and he’s going to play with his son.
Thinks he’s Gordie Howe
I think the pure talent and physical presence of Luka will outweigh the potentially youthful mistakes he is bound to make. Lets go in swinging, and if we go down, we gave the world our best face. Luka has swagger beyond his age.
As you say, should we not have played Gvardiol because he was made to look silly a few times along the way and made some mistakes along his learning adventure.
Young Livakovic did better when he aggressively was decisive with his positioning, and that can be applied here.
We know what the score sheet and what the highlights says. Believe it!
Pričao je Dalić i o Luki Vuškoviću, koji briljira u dresu HSV-a.
– Naš je plan da Luka počne utakmicu, da malo promijenimo način igre, da pokušamo nešto drugo. Igrat će sigurno, vidjet ćemo za ostale stopere. Naša je sreća da imamo jako dobre igrače u zadnjoj liniji, to su pokazale kvalifikacije. Primili smo samo jedan gol, i to iz kornera. Neka tako i dalje ostane, tu smo najčvršći – dodao je izbornik, pa progovorio o prebačaju na igru s trojicom stopera.
– Probat ćemo i to s Lukom u ekipi. Sada je šansa da to probamo, da se okušamo u nekom novom načinu igre, da damo priliku igračima koji se nisu naigrali.
“Naša je sreća da imamo jako dobre igrače u zadnjoj liniji, to su pokazale kvalifikacije”
Ha ha.
We were never going to give up many goals to the teams in this group.
Most of our CBs are just depth players and would get smoked by any decent team.
Our only good CBs are Gvardiol, Vušković and Šutalo (who’s probably not in full form yet this season).
Vušković should be integrated as a STARTER…
Not as someone that needs to be tried out as a potential backup player.
We need Luka Vušković for this upcoming World Cup the same way we needed Gvardiol for the last one.
the kovacic injury concerns me
Many have considered him a luxury and even expendable
But he’s not
Croatia allegedly has a lot of midfield talent but does it?
We got a 40 yr old modric and a 20 yr old sucic that are the only players able to consistently lock down playing time on major teams
Kovacic would be the other one. When healthy he remains an upper class midfielder capable of playing against the best midfields in the world. Without him we’ll be one step behind and much thinner
Modrić, Sučić and Krama behind the striker is fine.
Problem will be depth.
It’s nice having multiple options off the bench if someone is having a bad game.
Mario Pašalić is fine off the bench. Kova might be out of form, but may be a good bench option if they don’t try to force him to start.
If we’re losing faith in guys like Majer or Baturina, then we need to call up young guys on the upswing (Jagušić) or other guys who are on a resurgence (like Toma Bašić).
It’s nausea seeing Nikola Moro’s name on the callup sheet.