That’s right boys and girls, Croatia has already clinched the #1 seed in Group B with their 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday; all done with one more group game to play versus Poland this upcoming Monday. This is the first time ever that Croatia has won their group in a major tournament and also the first time we’ve made it out of group play since the 1998 World Cup in France. Croatia will play the winner of the Czech Republic/Turkey game in Vienna on June 20th.
So what does this mean? Well, Croatia has never been in such a stress-free situation like this before. Not only do we get to rest some key starters due to normal wear and tear against Poland, but we also get a sneak peak at our future. Obviously, I do not know coach Slaven Bilić’s plan for the game, but I would give the likes of Nikola Kalinić , Nikola Pokrivač, Anas Sharbini and Ivan Klasnić plenty of gametime to get some solid experience. I’d like to see what Klasnić’s physical condition is since we haven’t seen him in the first 2 Euro games.
I’m actually a bit disappointed in Bilić for substituting Petrić for Olić instead of letting Klasnić get some time with a 2-0 lead. Petrić did nothing for a second game in a row. Croatia played so much better with Ivan Rakitić in the 4-5-1 formation. Modrić ran the midfield beautifully using Kranjčar and Rakitić on the wings. Ćorluka and Pranjić played solid ‘D’ while making full runs upfield with the ball. Croatia controlled tempo majority of the game and was unlucky to have more goals.
As well as Niko Kranjčar played today, he could not put the ball in the back of the net. He had two amazing looks on goal putting 1 over and the other right at German goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann.
The other thing we need to fix is how to deal with these 2 goal leads. Just like in the match at Wembley, Croatia easily breaks down when having this kind of lead. Why? We stop playing two-way ball and put 9 players on defense and hope that will hold them off for the next 20 minutes or so. We play kickball and just clear it out of the zone when anything gets close instead of playing possesion and keeping the other team honest with attacking football. This is exactly how Podoloski scored his goal and it will happen again in this tournament if Bilić keeps playing this style late in the games.
Speaking of Bilić, what kind of substitutions is this guy making these days?! First, he puts in Petrić for a tired Olić instead of seeing what Klasnić has to offer. At this point in the game with a 2 goal lead, the striker is only there to put pressure on the defense when the ball is cleared anyways. Petrić did a mediocre job even at this. And then my favorite one of all—–JERKO LEKO for Srna in the 80th!- you’ve got to be kidding me. What has he done lately? Nothing. What did he do in the game? Nothing. I thought the ovbious choice was Vukojević, especially when he was subbed in against Austria. Maybe there’s some madness behind Bilić’s plan that I don’t see. Please educate me on the matter if you have an answer.
All in all, it was obviously a great day for Croatian soccer. We beat the tournament favorites, secured a spot in the quarterfinals and don’t even have to show up against Poland. I’m looking forward to seeing the rookies play, but we can’t forget who our coach is; from what I remember, last time Bilić and company had already qualified and were up against a team that had everything to play for…we brought it and we brought it hard. I’m sure you know the rest of the story.
WHERE IS ENGLAND???
yeh, i agree with denis on both. and i think croatia has the only fans to have more than 1 chant in their arsenal…
Wow, look at all these Croatian fans participating. All of you have names too…
Each and every one of you have excellent points and insight of the game.
Leko is a great player just hasnt had the luck or time to shine with the national team. However, he is still one of the first subs in every meaningful game for Croatia.
The atmosphere in Klagenfurt is amazing.
Besides Argentina, I dont think anyone has fans like Croatia!
yes we have to play like we did against germany and we should be fine….and the yellow card situation has changed this year…cards are now cancelled after the quarterfinal round…so simunic, robert kovac,srna,and modric cannot get a card in the next 2 games…
Alright guys, good to know!!
Thanks Ante!
If we play good football, we should be able to get to the semis. I am a bit concerned about our yellow cards tho, perhaps we should sit out a couple of guys who are sitting on a caution.
trust me joze…ur in good hands here….
ohhhhhh my mistake didnt read the above comment
great great game
but were not first yet…if we lose to poland and germany smash austria germany will be first on goal difference so we still might have to play portugal
the first tiebreaker in euros is head to head…so even if poland and germany wins…we already beat the germans which is why we locked up the top seed alredy….goal diff. is for the world cup…dont ask me why its different…
robert cerjanec said…
I was there, screaming my guts out!!
We played unreal!!!
Are you all sure we have the number one seed locked up? I thought goal difference was the first tie-breaker (meaning if we don’t get at least a point from poland, than we can still finish behind germany)?
Correct me if I am wrong (which I may be), but I think we need to tie poland to totally clinch first??
AJDE VATRENI, IDEMO DALJE!!!
I was there, screaming my guts out!!
We played unreal!!!
Are you all sure we have the number one seed locked up? I thought goal difference was the first tie-breaker (meaning if we don’t get at least a point from poland, than we can still finish behind germany)?
Correct me if I am wrong (which I may be), but I think we need to tie poland to totally clinch first??
AJDE VATRENI, IDEMO DALJE!!!
Whoever you are anonymous Germany did not play bad they got shut down and outplayed. They came alive when Croatia shut down and decided to play defensive, and as you saw Croatia got a wake up call when the goal was scored against them. Again, they shut down Germany for the remainder of the game. As far as substitutes go I hope Bilic plays some of his subs for the game against Poland so no starters get cards, to give starters a rest, and to allow some of his younger players to get some International experience.
Crnigrad
Monaco AND dynamo Kyiv are horrible, good past but im sorry, Monaco lost around 6 to 8 0 this season i believe and how long has it been since Kyiv is in the champions? couple of years, the guy shouldn’t even be in the squad he is 36 and there are better choices aka Vukojevic.
Overall played good just the whole “lets go play defense for 20 minutes and hope we scrape a win” does NOT work out for me or for the croatian team, you can’t let that be the talk of the game after, especially after playing such a good game of football.
Just my thoughts, Bilic think twice about your subs.
Thank You
Germany played bad so that Croatia could play that good. Don’t feel to confindent now, we seen what happen with the Germans…
Dude.. it’s FOOTBALL!!!!!!! I hate that word ‘soccer’ 😛
Anyhow.. we played great yesterday. We were better than the Germans, simple as that.
Go Croatia!!!!! HRVATSKA!!!!! 😉
I think your comments in relation to LEKO are a bit harsh. Vukojevic, while he is a great young player he doesn’t have a great deal of big match experience. Where on the other hand Leko has plyed at some big clubs(Dyn Kyiv Monaco) and has been around the international scene for a while. I think it was the right move, but what do i know. I’d say Ognen will get a run against Poland.
I agree with regard to Klasnic, he deserves his chance. But , i think you’re a bit harsh on Petric. He did what he had to do
Anyway keep it up, love the site
U Boj U Boj