Here are my thoughts on the game; and remember that I only saw various highlights of the game since it wasn’t broadcast in America. Olić and Petrić looked promising up top and had some nice scoring chances, one of which included hitting the post. The chemistry looked OK on the scoring end and our defense solid. If this is things to come for Niko Kovač I can’t wait to see more. The header off the corner was perfect.
Hungary got in a couple tricky crosses which didn’t amount to much and their only goal came on a fluky play. Pletikosa didn’t get a good punch on the ball like he should have resulting on the ball going off of Niko Kovać’s leg and rolling back in the goal. There’s nothing Pletikosa could have done after the lackluster clearing because his space was invaded by too many players. It’s really not a big deal if you ask me.
I like this result. It will make us play hard in our opening match versus Austria and hopefully teach them not to underestimate any opponent. Remember that when we beat England in November; the vibe around the team was that of winning the World Cup when we had only prevented England from qualifying. Don’t get me wrong, it was an incredible game and result for Croatia but not to that much hype. We are 1-1-2 since that game at Wembley.
I think it will fire up the squad for Sunday’s game in Vienna. I’d like to see a 2-0 or 3-0 result for Croatia. That way if Germany does run the table and get the full 9 points in group play, we might only need a tie versus Poland and go onto the knockout round on goal differential. But it’s too early to be talking about that.
Just a few sidenotes. Danijel Pranjić was wearing Eduardo’s #22 in the Hungary game. Dario Šimić is still 2 caps away from being the first ever Croatian to reach 100 career caps. Ivan Ljubičić will be facing the unranked Gael Monfils in the 4th round of the French Open. The match can be seen after the Federer-Benneteau match on DirectTV channel 217,701 in America.
heres the link…itd be nice if you can make a name so we know who you are anonymous…Croatia-Hungary Match Stats
euro2008.com has that sort of stuff
Nice blog! Do any of you know where I can find official match information for the friendlies? Like line-ups and how many mins each player played?
Soon, very soon now! ;o)
as i read more and more on croatian press i lose more respect…they are horrible!…we beat england and were the kings of the world…2 little warmup friendlies and everything is lost…bilic has said only good things and team morale is fine….i would rather they play great in a friendly and lose than play horrible,win and not be prepared….but now its results time….talk to u soon joze
I saw some of the first half and it wasnt too bad.
Heaps of people say that croatia will be nothing without eduardo and that these friendly results are really poor.
These friendly results are not amazing but in my oppinion after all this hype I think the players just want to get out there and play in the euro!
anyways good luck over in austria guys..cheer on the team for me!!
good stuff rob…this is exactly what i want from this site…i want it to be all community and to hear everyones opinions and thoughts….i guess me and denis just are here to start the conversation…while you are in europe id love to here your thoughts on the games…hopefully u can find some internet time over there….
I got to watch the recast of the game last night on setanta sports.
A couple of quick observations:
Save for about 15 mins in the first half, I did not feel we played that bad. The Hungary goal should not have stood (there was a foul on Pletikosa) and it was kind of a fluke play. Also, in the second half, there were TWO blatant missed calls that should have resulted in Croatian penalty shots. The first was the defender clipping Klasnic’s heel on a shot, and the second was an obvious handball by a Hungary player on a cross from Pranjic.
So we could/should have had more goals, hopefully with a little more luck at the tournament, we will.
I have to admit that I am disappointed in Kranjcar and Modric. Kranjcar is my favorite player, however they both need to pick up their game A LOT for us to have a chance at the Euros, especially with Eduardo not participating.
Anyways, I just wanted to give my thoughts on the game before I depart for Austria as well.
Idemo Hrvatska!