Croatia have been drawn against Spain, England, and Czechia in the September–November 2026 window of the UEFA Nations League.
It is, without question, one of the toughest groups the competition has ever produced. With only the top two nations advancing directly to the quarterfinals, every match will carry knockout-level intensity.
There has never been a clearer “Group of Death” in Nations League history.
remember when Croatia had Spain and England right after WC 2018?
Or when they had France and Portugal
That was our worst performance during that time. We lost heavily to Spain 6-0. Drew England 0-0 but came back beat Spain 3-2 We were up against England away and blew the lead. 10 goals allowed in 4 matches and only 4 scored. Brutal.
How much did Ilia Malinin pocket today for falling four times and giving up gold ?
1st after the short, 15th in the long, 8th overall
What were the betting odds on Malinin to NOT medal, especially after being 1st after the short ?
Either that, or another Nancy Guthrie situation (which seems dodgy to say the least especially with the crocodile tears)
Sad, very sad
Good reminder that not all sports are pure and a lot of corruption and the like involved behind the scenes so none of us should go all in terms of investing our emotions
How are the Croats doing at the Olympics so far ?
Ante – your WET DREAM came thru – now we have a CROATIAN manager managing Tttenham – RELEASE THE MODERATION !!!! 😉 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
Slovenes have a gold and silver, but those skiing jumping suits looked suspiciously overly baggy, so I hope they won legitimately, and were not caught up in the latest gate conspiracy.
You’d be surprised how many Croats still out there that would sell out Hrvatska in a split second
How many?
And name them. With addresses and their daily routine. I’ll go have a word with them. In a respectful manner, as I’m known to do.
Watched AC Milan beat struggling Pisa 2 -1 with Modric scoring the winner in the 85th minute. Nice finish after playing a one two inside the box.
Modric is carrying that time single-handedly.
Team
Looks like Luka – the original that is – got the winning goal for AC Milan today.
This Modric is promising young talent. Let’s keep an eye on him, I overheard the Grand Canyon to Plitvice falls,,,,,lol.
Luka Vuskovic has been named Bundesliga Rookie of the month.
Again.
Third time now.
Ouch!, that is so great it hurts!
Terrible
The more awards he wins, the less likely Dalic is to play him
Don’t fully understand the logic but @kromiza cites “The Idiot” in his explanation and Anonymous trusts him POV
I respect the way Coach Dalic is handling the 18 year old. Let him earn a little more respect to keep him humble. The Croatian team for the last decade has shown a great passion for country and a little humility doesn’t hurt. I hope Vuskovic keeps it up as I would love to see him star at this World Cup.
Tudor to the cursed throne that is Spurs head coach.
Some of the articles online are suggesting that this could be Zlatko Dalic’s last dance with Croatia. As much as he has had his ups and downs it’s hard to conceive a a Croatian team without him at the helm.
Are you suggesting he be izbornik for life lol
From what I have read, if Dalic decides to quit after the WC ? HNS is keen on having Slaven Bilic back in charge.
This would explain why Bilic has declined a couple of coaching offers in recent months.
In 1996 we had 3 men named Igor, (Warrior) on the team.
Zero named Luka, (Light,…hope).
We may have a Warrior to balance our attack, to create our own hope, if Tudor is successful, once the “Golden” reign is gone.
Yea, Slaven seems to have been angling for this return for a while.
His club coaching career hit a wall after his time at West Ham ended. Everything after that were just cash gigs and caretaker jobs.
He’s got his podcast, he has a good relationship with the HNS guys…I can see him being the frontrunner for sure.
Bilic is a boring but safe pick. He’s not much different than Dalic, so I wouldn’t expect major differences.
He’s maybe a better tactician than Dalic, but he also pusses out a lot too (like when he tried playing for the draw in Greece).
Someone like Terzic would be a dream. Kek would be better than Bilic too (but the HNS probably hate him). Petkovic is also someone with zero ties to the HNS.
Other coaches are not really proven yet (Tudor, Juric, etc.).
But if Dalic does leave, we could do much worse than Bilic (i.e. Olic, Corluka, etc.)
Dalic brings a lot to the table that doesn’t show up on the scorecard.
His behavior is antithetical to the exhibitionist self-promoting Bad Bunnies that now have re-populated this world.
He Passe sincere humble demeanor, traditional: beliefs and values, are really going to be missed amongst the remaining multitude of the few.
Bilic is the forever the popular young hip cool electric guitar rocker, always keeping up with the latest trends, jumping in the arms of his buddy players. How can one compete. I am about 3 earrings and 5 tattoos behind, in a game I have no desire to play, outside looking in.
He also dumped his wife for a much younger woman. Votes SDP. Doesn’t go to church.
We’re going to miss Dalic praying the rosary on the sidelines.
😉
He’s all class
I liked Bilic as our coach, but Mr Dalic has taken Croatia to another level. He will be missed……and his Krunice. Viva Zlatko!
Slaven is a MUCH better tactician than Zlatko (no offense to him, but it’s true).
Bilić’s interviews with Modrić ans Djoković were informative and has turned into a good host, so he can turn this into a lifelong gig.
If Zlatko decides to leave after WC 2026, I believe HNS has probably already told Slaven they want him back, otherwise he would have already signed with someone.
Igor Tudor to Spursy.
Crottenham is back!
Friday 2:45pm ET
Pandur vs. Chelsea
Hull rested 5 keys players including Pandur for this Cup game
The back-up keeper let in 4 goals – so Hull fans saying they should stop nit-picking with Pandur and are happy he comes back for the next league game
Separate, Franjo unused sub again for Benfica today 🙁
Shambolic defending by Barca CBs y’day letting in 4 goals
Luka Vuskovic to Barca would be perfect
***.youtube.com/watch?v=niB_djBwflw
Igor Tudor named next Tottenham manager. Vušković going to go back after his loan or elsewhere?
4 games in 11 days September/October lol
Even more reason to go all-in youth at the 2026 WC
We’ll be lucky if Kova lasts until Euro 2028, he’s already at 31 y/o missed more games due to injury (104 and counting) than Modric has at 40 (101 games)
No fans first two games Czech away and England home due to France Split/Paris fans mis-behaviour
The nations league feels like NFL exhibition games. I just can’t get invested like the euros or the WC.
Well it was always assumed luka would retire post wc. This seals it
Post wc retirement just
Definite
Luka
Perisic
Probable
Kramaric
Budimir
What seals it exactly? This draw?
As if that mattered in his decision. If anything, something like this would sway him to stay.
First two matches are away to Czechia and Spain followed by two home matches against Spain and England. Hectic schedule with these 4 matches being played in space of 10/11 days.
Last match is against Czechia at home. imo it would have been better to start with two home fixtures.
What was the 3rd opposing team in our 2018 NL group? That was also with Spain and England
There were only 3 teams per group in 2018.
WC 2026 world stage was so bad – Fairy Island, Monte Casino, No, just the Check, Czechs. Europe has a handful of good teams and thank God we are one of them. Let’s play good teams and build instead of backdooring it. Bring it on Brits/and Bugs Bunny Rabbits, we have fun breaking hearts. Lika #1
Oof
The start for NL is in early September 2026 and the first 3 matches are played in a time period of 7 days which is brutal. This will definitely test our depth and whoever is the coach they will need to rotate the players around.
It would be nice if we could start first with two matches at home i.e. with Czechia followed by second home match against England or Spain before playing the third match away.
We are going to need a good start if to have any chance of making it out of the group or to come third and have a chance through play offs to stay in NL A.
Actually, looking on UEFA website the first 4 matches are scheduled from 24 September to 6 October 2026. This is just crazy scheduling which favours larger nations who have bigger number of players to choose from.
Yup
100%
England and Spain can basically field two Starting XIs with limited drop-off in quality – Croatia’s drop-off between a Starting XI and a B team is [fill in the blank] considering we have holes in the Starting XI to begin with
How many players can they call up ? Surely, they will increase squad size – you need 22 players (2×11) just for starting roles (each will play two games out of 4) plus 5 subs per match – guessing they increase it to >30 maybe 35
It will be funny Dalic having to announce a 35 squad size plus the standby list – he’ll have to throw some retired vets on their just to make the #s
We are being punished with the hardest possible group, after being gifted the easiest World Cup qualifying group in history.
What does not kill you makes you stronger, no?….. Here is to survival.
I love it! It’s a great prep for the Euros and the next WC.
In the old days, the HNS would schedule exhibitions vs patsies (and pocket part of the proceeds). Now? They actually have to play top 5 teams FOUR times.
I’ve always felt that the Nations League matches prepared our much weaker team for their 3rd place 2022 WC medal. We wouldn’t have done it by preparing against 60th ranked teams in exhibitions and winning 4-0, like we did in the past.
This will be a great maturing experience and opportunity for this next generation to see who we really are going to be. Great stuff. No lose situation. We already know we can play toe to toe with Czechia.
Getting out of this group won’t leave us guessing regarding our new developed quality, post Modric era.
Meh jebiga
This is good
Keeps us playing with intensity
Keeps the young hungry
They want a Chance to also play against and beat the best and it’s also in a less pressure then a big tourney
But why the heck do we non stop draw England lol
If our backline stays intact for the next few years
We can build greatly off that
With kova, sucic( maybe plural) and baturina
We will get a striker to emerge again
Guys it’s truly amazing to see what we can do with what we have over and over again
Sure sometimes it’s been ugly but there were many matches we played we should have won and didn’t and this is the game
We will be just fine going forward
Imagine we can really witness a gvardi and vuskovic back line at a team like Madrid
And potentially throw butter tart into the mix
This is not homer glasses talking
If we could get Stanisic a move with them one day too
Stanisic is not Madrid level but also maybe he is
It’s mostly only been injuries that has impeded him
He’s got the goods
Remember when he locked down mbappe
That wasn’t a fluke
He can do that and go forward
I really hope Stanisic can stay healthy. Let us see.
Hopefully Luka Vuskovic brother keeps training on the side, and he turns out to be as good as his brother in 2030, once the suspension is over in 3 years.
Maybe it is a blessing in disguise. Maybe Mario’s his body is even better in his mid to late 20’s without the wear and tear, than Luka body will go thru.
Suspension over in three years?
Mario has been suspended since late 2022.
He was suspended for four years, and it ends on November 2026.
This is why Luka wants to stay at HSV another season, so he can play alongside his brother.
……Nice! The Brothers Vuskovic. Sounds like a new Epic Dostoevsky novel, Volume II continuation to the original The Kovac Brothers
Wow
10/10 for the Dostoevsky reference
Two BIG thumbs up
Yeah
I really admire how Mario really stuck to his guns
Claimed his innocence and didn’t try to say otherwise
And maybe luka stays there
It would show amazing character and this my friends is what we need
I can see the heart on my little phone screen according to the old Ziva istina days
The vuskovic bros may be the new better kovac bros
Vuskovic , Vuskovic, Gvardiol, and Stanisic will be the ultimate Defense Attorney Firm, and it will lay down the law. Can’t wait to see them all play together.
lol – another Banger
Someone ate their wheaties this morning
And didn’t point the blame at the HSV doctors, which landed him a new contract and the clubs support 😉
My assumption is the Vuskovic brothers are Croatian tough, and will be as durable as Modric, but I would have thought the same for Gvardiol but the jury is still out. Hopefully this is a health low point for him.
This deep valley might bring out the best in Mario’s character and mature him.