WHAT WAS WORSE? THE TURKEY LOSS IN 2008 OR NOT QUALIFYING FOR THE 2010 WORLD CUP.
Croatians around the globe already know that our Vatreni will not be in South Africa this upcoming summer to take part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It’s been a month now since the European qualifying campaign locked its doors on Croatia preventing them a birth in what would have been their fourth consecutive World Cup.
But has Croatia and other non-qualified teams caught a blessing in disguise?
Obviously I would rather take a Croatian berth in the World Cup than talk about security issues, but let’s have a look here. With the continent of Africa hosting it’s first ever World Cup in South Africa, who knows what could happen in the streets with thousands of fans sporting their country’s colors.
There are fours countries in particular that we should pay extra close attention to should their fans meet in South Africa. Serbia has already qualified for the World Cup while Bosnia faces Portugal twice in the next week for a spot. Serbs and Bosnians got into it at the 2009 Australian Open, fighting and throwing chairs at each other in Melbourne streets. Imagine the mess they could make in South Africa. Who’s going to break up that fight should Bosnia qualify?
The other fan matchup that should keep us on lookout is North and South Korea. Both nations have already qualified for the World Cup, but will North Korea’s communist leader, Kim Jong-il, let citizens travel to South Africa? North Koreans are prohibited from leaving the country by the government. Surely they would make an exception for the World Cup, right? The thing to look for in South Africa regarding the North Koreans is defecting fans (should they be allowed to travel) and even players. It’s happened with Cubans before where they travel to America for a game and then escape the supervision of their armed guards to live a free life.
The reason to why African security is being brought up is because of Algeria’s run in with Egyptians this past week. The two nations play a crucial World Cup qualifier this Saturday that will determine the winner of the group and ultimately a World Cup spot. The Algerian team bus was mauled by rock throwing Egyptians in Cairo as they drove from the airport to their hotel. We can only hope that this doesn’t happen in South Africa come eight months time to ruin the world’s greatest sporting event.
funny clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGhmQzdAcXQ
Il keep that in mind next time I post
@ Dan,
I have been extremely busy with work and personal life and haven't had as much time to roam the internet. I was not aware of Edurado to Liverpool rumors and anything that goes on in the HNL, I trust that dinamofan would bring it up if it's really that important.
Just like Denis said to you earlier. Give us solutions, not just problems. And this is easily fixed by you sending us a link through a comment. If the stories are worth posting, we'll put it up and give you credit. Simple as that. How does that sound?
LOL those are some pretty wild tennis fans…i wonder if balkan golf fans are the same??
I don't even think benitez will even be there next year if he doesn't produce results. You would have watched or read how the under 21s played last night how did kalinic go?
Just read that Stimac and Mamic article. Its usual rubbish. Eduardo wanted by Liverpool is interesting, but i doubt Wenger will give up the player so easy. Also it came out of British toiletpaper newspaper. If Benitez wants a Arsenal player why not go for Carlos Vela. He's younger and cheaper than Eduardo. And is also a class act.
Unfortunatly what happens on the pitch revolves around individuals such as stimac and mamic so we can really escape it.
At the end of the day Dan, why don't you tell us about this Stimac/ Mamic. I'm not even aware of this. I'm sure its all crap though.
If this is to do with Cale, Lovren, Vukojevic, Modric, Corluka and Eduardo not deserving a call up then i don't wanna know. I actually think Slaven Bilic should drop Mandzo so i'm not actually pro this whole selecting Dinamo and Hajduk players so they can transfer. That killed us during the last campaign. We can see from yesterday there is better players in foreign clubs then at Dinamo and Hajduk.
Aren't gonna happen. Sorry but didn't attacks get through in U.S, London, India, Bali, Spain – no guarentee whatsoever that attacks won't happen. It will be interesting to see how South Africa copes with the various tensions. Its the first time they had to deal with it. If it goes well then it could open up the World Cup to a variety of new hosts, but if its anything like the Cricket World Cup in West Indies then it could be a disaster.
However that's besides the point when it comes to Croatia. We didn't qualify so that's end of story. Croatia has moved onto the restructuring the side. But it is still interesting to see how South Africa copes. Ante is right to bring up possible tensions although it looks like Serb V Bosnia is a bit premature. I do the HNL stuff though and i would never write an article on Mamic/ Stimac cos its all absolute crap and one big circus. They are both leechs of Croatian football. I'd much rather talk about what goes on on the pitch in HNL1.
Dinamofan I think that's much better news than 'oh we didn't make the world cup but at least our players will be safe from attacks that arnt even gonna happen'
What stance in the HNS?? Is that even newsworthy. The Mamic circus is a weekly event. Its pointless wasting time on the man. If Dinamo releases players in winter then Mamic should go. I think Slepicka and Papa are tradable. Just transfer list them and someone from their homeland will buy them.
Q. Who is there to replace Modric?
A. I believe we have to find someone. We have so much time to search. We should start by calling Sertic to see what he does. Then we should also try Perisic in the position. Ilicevic and Badelj are also there, but we should start by calling up Sertic and once we've learned if he is with us or not then we also try Perisic. There is no point in not trying anything cos Modric will get injured again. In some ways the leg break is just as bad as Eduardo's. He'd have been better off breaking it completely so the whole bone can grow properly. I wouldn't be surprised if Modric is out till January.
Well why don't you talk about more important news like how Liverpool are looking at Eduardo or stimac's attack towards mamic's stance in the savez. There is plenty of news around don't jump on me because of my critism. Harden up mate if u can't cop the flack.
Regards Vida i think he should be considered if people like Strinic get considered, but i think he's behind Lovren, Knezevic, Simunic and Krizanac at present. He also can't be called up on the basis of his goalscoring. He's not the only talented guy at Osijek though – Knezevic, Jugovic and Milicevic are all fine players. I hope they transfer straight to a foreign club and do not pass through Dinamo or Hajduk. Hajduk particularly seem to just destroy players. If Vida goes straight a foriegn club from Osijek they'll make him a much better player. At Dinamo i think Barbaric and Vida are same standard so there is little point in us wasting money on Vida. I personally would like to see us buy Bostjan Cesar at the end of the season.
Everyone was hating on Schildenfeld, but i don't buy that cos he won titles. Schildenfeld should keep on doing what he's doing at Sturm and i think he will evolve as a defender. He should not be in Croatia's squad when Euro starts and i also put him behind Mijatovic and Vucko at present, but he's a player who deserves to monitoring.
The thing about Dujmovic is his physical presence. I don't particularly care much about his play against Leichenstien cos i've seen him play stronger opposition in Russia week in week out and play great anyway. However having a guy who is 6ft plus in midfield will give confidence to Modric that the midfield can actually defend. When Modric looks asides and saw Juric a guy who is even smaller than himself alongside that can hardly give confidence. Dujmovic in central mid will be like an additional centre back cos he will be expected to clear crosses into our box and also score in opposition box. Also Vuko being on bench is no big deal as he can play a utility role. He is not a straight defensive mid. At Dinamo he used to score quite a lot and can cover other areas. I've not given up on Vuko. As for Ruki sorry but i don't see how this guy is placed over Cesarec at present. They play in same league and Cesarec scored more. Also look at Bosko firing them in in Greece. Doesn't this show that Greek league is actually not so great. No wander Papa scored so much over there. He'd prob continue scoring if he went back. If think Ruki is nowhere near Croatia's squad. There is about 10 people i can name off the top of my head who are ahead of him.
@ Dan,
I make it my job to find news and apply it to Croatian soccer. Croatians will be hurting the next 8 months. FACT! But should we all just roll over and die?
Should we shut down CSR and reopen in August?
There's more than you know going on right now. We have many new prospects and faces joining the national team and our U-21 squad looks to be making a formidable run.
I originally wanted to post just the Algerian bus attack but then I decided to link it to Croatian soccer and our current situation. Crazy idea right?! Why would I ever want to apply something to Croatian soccer on a website that is called CroatianSoccerReport.com? Boggles my mind at the moment. (Sarcasm alert)
And yes the site will be hungry for news in the upcoming weeks with the winter break coming up. All we can do is talk about the current headlines whether they revolve around Croatian soccer or not.
Croatia missing the World Cup is a big deal by the way. It is my thought that we are still in the proper timeframe to get it out of our system and talk about it.
Congrats New Zealand!!!
Egypt and Algeria to play a one game playoff Wednesday in Sudan. Heads will roll!
I am happy for Gabric, Bilic and Dujmovic after their bright displays. Many would scoff and say, it is only Lichtenstein. That is true, but, it was their work rate which won me over. I dont want to pick on Petric, but, like I have said time and time again, if he doesn't score, you just dont see him at all really. Mate Bilic was running everything down, never stopped fighting. To be honest, its even more impressive that it was against this weak opponent. Many players would become complacent and not even give it 100 percent. You can see that nothing comes easy for him, or players on teams like Sporting Gijon. He has to work hard and scrape for everything. Gabric and Srna never stopped running down the right. The only thing that really disappointed me was that he (S. Bilic) did not let Pamic feature. LB continues to be a question mark and he did not use the time at his disposal to see the kid play. I think that with Bilic and Olic, we have to very hardworking strikers, add Eduardo and a mix of Klasnic, Petric, Jelavic, Mandzukic, Kalinic and Rukavina. Those are some nice options. Yes, I said it, Rukavina! I am not giving up on the kid. I am hoping that the under 21s make a nice run, Sharbini gets his act together and that players from clubs other than Dinamo and Hajduk get their chances (Domagoj Vida!!)
@Ante BBB
"If you are rooting for BiH and consider yourself Croatian, please give me the name and address of your lithium dealer. "
A little harsh and hilarious at the same time. I feel for the Bosnians, they have suffered for many many years, however, that celebration after Turkish victory is inexcusable.
@razor5556
"I hope Bosnia Qualify & are placed in the same group as Serbia"
I dont get it. Why?
"Pranjic & Simunic wont be around"
Pranjic is young, still has a world cup left in him. Simunic might have a Euro if that. I agree Pranjic has disapointed. Bayern is too big a club for him, especially transferring from Herenveen.
"playing football the way he is its no wonder Croatia did not qualify"
Pranjic was playing left back, out of position. Also, hes not the only reason why we didnt qualify.
@Ante Kvartuč
"I want the Bosnian 'team' to qualify for the WC. I could careless about their fans, religion etc. But this a totally feel good story to see them, the players, get this far"
I agree, however, cant forget Sarajevo after Turkish victory, as if Bosna won the world cup. this 'Bosna team' is tied together with this. Guilty by association. I like some of their players, too bad.
"New Zealand are going to the World Cup!! "
Better them then Bahrain… Go Kiwis… haha
@dre
name sounds Bosnian..haha..
"they would be rooting against you! already have and will again"
need I say more. Nothing left to say. Sorry Ciro!
@Ivica Peroš
"It's the truth, we should have called up Dujmovića earlier"
Our boy Dinamofan caught this one.
@Dan
"please do not sugar coat the fact we didn't get there."
I think you misunderstood this post. If the next world cup is played on Mars, every Croatian soccer fan would want them to qualify and would consider attending, just like next year in South Africa. However, if you, a Croatian soccer fan, did have a choice on which tournament to miss out on, it would definitely be this one for the mentioned above reasons.
Those this make me feel better and forget about our FAILURE for not qualifying? No… ok, maybe just a hair.
"So please ante and Dennis no more articles about not making the wc even on slow news days."
Yes it has been slow the past few weeks, and will continue up until February or so, especially if we keep scheduling friendlies like Lichtenstein.
Once again, a problem, and no solution. What would you like from this site on slow news days? We like feedback, criticism, however, like solutions and suggestions.
good stuff! keep it coming.
@dinamofan:)
"I'm glad Slaven Bilic today showed signs of admitting to a mistake. Clearly Mate Bilic and Tomislav Dujmovic should have been in before."
I agree! Slaven Bilic is starting to come around.
"I still saw no sign today of replacing Modric. "
Sadly, I dont think we have a replacement. Who?
I'm glad Slaven Bilic today showed signs of admitting to a mistake. Clearly Mate Bilic and Tomislav Dujmovic should have been in before. Mate Bilic is a out and out forward at the end of the day. He plays right up top. He links play, he wins headers, he's got good movement and he's a finisher. What's more he has a free kick in his locker. When did Olic last score a freekick or win a header in the box. I like Olic, but i think he and bench go to the bench and Mate gets the call over both of them. He showed every sign of being able to form a partnership with Eduardo. Yes its just a little friendly, but Bilic and Dujmovic are big league player. Spain and Russian league is among the best in the world. Mate Bilic will get more chance to centralise his scoring skills with Croatia than he does with Gijon where he often has to play as a defensive forward closing down defenders etc. With Croatia he can focus on scoring and i think he'll be a great hit. As for Dujmovic again its only a friendly, but how tall is this guy. He's like what 6ft 3 or 6ft 2 or something. He's a strong guy and thats what we need in central midfield. I think Vukojevic, Dujmovic, Pokrivac and Jajalo is more than adequate options for defensive mid. I still saw no sign today of replacing Modric. Thats the next thing Bilic needs to work on. With forward options of Eduardo, M Bilic, Petric, Olic, Klasnic, Jelavic, Perisic and Mandzo i actually believe that's enough. He can even look into Daniel Cesarec if he wanted to if he continues to sit top of the goal charts in Greece. I also reckon out wide Srna, Rakitic, Gabric, Pranjic, Kranjcar and potentially Babic is also more than good enough. Gabric showed today he should never have come out. He's better than Anas at this moment.
Modric's position though needs covering. I only see Sertic, Ilicevic covering that area at present plus Badelj. Its a pity we didn't see Ilicevic. Hopefully next time. I was quite impressed by Bartulovic. I thought he played well. He looks like a good player. I wander if he'd come to Dinamo despite being from Hajduk??? He's got to get out of Krivbass though cos that is no kind of club.
Domagoj Vida!!
Friendly highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0T2g6_wK-k&feature=player_embedded
@ ante
ciro did coach cro but he was born in bosna and he his very proud to be one.
@ everyone
please do not sugar coat the fact we didn't get there. For fuks sake even new Zealand got there. I bet that even if we made it we wouldn't even be talking about this topic. So please ante and Dennis no more articles about not making the wc even on slow news days.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=696889&sec=worldcup2010&cc=5901
Article about Bosnian coach and how he will be drawing his inspiration from his past squad Croatia.
Slaven Bilic today after the win:
Istina je, Dujmovića smo trebali ranije zvati
Translation:
It's the truth, we should have called up Dujmovića earlier (to the Croatian NT)
Isn't Pranjic like 27 or something. How is that too old. Pranjic is also prob the second quickest player in the national team so he does not have a speed problem. At Bayern half his problem is that they don't particularly know what to do with him. He's not a left back. No way should we be turning our back on Pranjic, he is useful when put in the correct position. I think we should stop accomodating him though. I think the days of Pranjic at left back in a serious match should be over now. At Bayern they need something a little bit more than a guy with a good left foot that can cross. A club as big as Bayern needs a Modric or a Sneijder or Robben. Pranjic falls below the level of player Bayern require which is top class world class players. I think as a bench player Pranjic is fine or even as competition for Kranjcar, Pranjic is fine.
Of course we need to look at youngsters but they are not there at present. Lovren was taken to task by Luis Suarez and doesn't seem a great deal better than Pranjic. The first option we should try is Knezevic at left back. If that don't work then Hjorve Cale. There is no outstanding young left back for us to consider Simunic and Pranjic for.
i ment its like me going for germany if they would play bosnia or serbia
im a hercegovac born and raised there till i moved to america and i am disgusted with every single one of you who says they will go for bosnia. why? they would be rooting against you! already have and will again….dont you forget that they went for turkey over us in euros they went out of there way to go for them! its like me going for germany in bosnia vs serbia and bosnia because of ww2 but not only that going on the streets and celebrating like it was my team! f bosnia and f u if you are supporting them
anyone rooting for BiH is an idiot. must be under the age of 21 and has no clue about the war.
we have nothing in common with those fuckers, nothing……please travel to sarajevo and zenica and then go to a croat city in that country. you can feel the differance. the mujo cities are 25 years behind the times.
as fort he serbs….they have talent, dont overlook that. not enough talent to do anything in the WC, but they are an OK squad.
anyone know where to watch the u-21's?
OMG!!! Never thought I'd hear myself say this but…..New Zealand are going to the World Cup!! Maybe the Mayans got this down to the second.
1. South Africa isn't the sexiest place to hold the World Cup. If I were to choose a World Cup for Croatia to miss, it'd be this one hands down. I already have FIFA sending me tickets to a quarterfinal match but never realistically thought I would attend.
2. You guys really like talking about religion on CSR. Should we create a spinoff website called "CatholicsvsMuslims.com"?
3. Tell me if I'm on to something here guys. Some of you might feel the same way as I do about this. I want the Bosnian 'team' to qualify for the WC. I could careless about their fans, religion etc. But this a totally feel good story to see them, the players, get this far. And if they do well, look who finally got them there- a Croatian coach.
I remember that brawl at the Tennis in Melbourne,Im from Melbourne,there was a similar incident between us Croat's & Serbs a few years earlier,the photo taken was actually used on 1 of the Real Football Factories DVD's even tho it was at the tennis-
The guy pictured throwing a kick is a friend of my cousin,but anywayz on other matters, its ridiculous to say at least there wont be any trouble or fights between our people, id rather us be in the WC 2010 & fight with rival fans, then to miss out & be quiet & not get recognized by the world, I hope Bosnia Qualify & are placed in the same group as Serbia, It does not suprise me that Serbia are doing so well, there success is based on 1 thing, a Tremendous Coach who has spent the last 20 years coaching top flight teams in spain, so its no wonder Serbia are a dangerous team right now..
Croatia has to rebuild right now,in 4 years time players like Pranjic & Simunic wont be around, so get rid of them now & let the youngsters get some experience, Pranjic's form of late has been horrible,it hurts me to watch this guy play at Bayern Munchen, playing football the way he is its no wonder Croatia did not qualify, O.K so Bilic is staying we know that,even tho i disagree,but i jus hope he brings in more youngsters & makes us successfull once again..start now Bilic..
I hope the Serbs get beat by the Bosnians during the tournament, but in the end I hope Germany or Russia take the prize. (Da, Rusija) There is no way in holy hell I will root for a bunch of mongoloid Morocon offspring with 7 names, against a team that at least has a slavic last name that sounds similar to mine. I also hope the yanks bomb big time. I can get more into politics on another forum type chit-chat site.
Glasajte za Milan Bandic!
it's no surprise that croats in BiH will be cheering for portugal. they haven't forgotten all the sh*t "armija BiH" pulled during the war. after HVO kicked the JNA out of hercegovina and central bosna, armija BiH formed and attacked croat held areas. armija BiH fought no major battles against the JNA or bosnian serb army. instead they preferred to turn their weapons against croats. croats in BiH know this well, and wouldnt be caught dead cheering for a team playing under the made-up blue flag with stupid EU stars on it, designed by BiH's sponsors in the international community.
i'm also cheering for portugal. BiH has virtually no croats on the team (not that they'd play for them anyway). it's practically an all muslim squad. I like Ciro as a coach and as a good Croat from Travnik, but i'm still pulling for portugal.
im disappointed that cro wont be in south africa, but the the team only has itself to blame for their lackluster qualifying campaign.
pfff, haha! saying one is catholic these days is like saying "I'm a Libra", Oh, the badge I'm very familiar with, I see it on bumper stickers, hanging on rearview mirrors, scarves on dashboards, flags on stores, licence plate frames,,,,bla bla ad naseum. Whatever, I've been to portugal and couldnt wait to leave after 2 weeks, very overated. Anyway, As much as I don't care much for Bosnijaks/Muslimani, I hope B-H slaughter them, and that the Croatian guys score all the goals.
Vote Milan Bandic!!!!
@Ante BBB
Decisive and to the point. Well said.
@CROATIASHITSONYOU
First, let me thank you for taking notice of the shirt and tie in my picture. I'm sorry to break your ego, but you are not the first one to accuse me of looking like a Mormon/Jehova witness after viewing the image, and as long as that picture stays up, you will not be the last. Maybe i'll change it down the road. Maybe, but not right now. I digress…
Now, onto your question:
There are an estimated nine million baptized Catholics in Portugal (84% of the population). I apologize. Predominantly Catholic Portugal.
Check out the Portugal NT Badge
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Portugal_FPF_crest.png
That says something, doesn't it?
Now then, France? France is a secular country as freedom of religion is a constitutional right.
Rwanda, just a little over half Roman Catholic with the rest divided betwen those Protestants, Seventh-day Adventists, and Muslims can hardly be considered Catholic Rwanda.
Oh, right, Haiti- about 80% Roman Catholic, so I assume we can call it predominantly Roman Catholic, but don't forget about those Protestants and Haitian Vodou.
Disease? Our guys?! C'mon now, I think our guys would've been just fine?
I hope this response cleared up any confusion you may have had. Great to have you here on CSR to chat with about such highly intellectual subject matter. That goes for everybody here! I really love when the comments start pouring in with educated opinions and questions to keep the debates alive. As long as it is all relevant to soccer, of course.
As pissed off as I was when the "Bosnijaks" were waving the enemy muslim/turkish flag after our loss, I will in no way root for Portugal. 5 Years of living by little portugal has shown me that those fucking mongoloids are shit religiously obsessed people. They root against Croatia every chance they get, in every sport, dum -dums. What the fuck does Jehova/Mormon boy mean by Catholic Portugal? Is that the same as Catholic France, Catholic Haiti, or Catholic Rwanda? Fuck the world cup, some of our players might have caught a disease there, or worse.
http://www.africancrisis.co.za/Article.php?ID=47276&
My father is a Serb and my mother is a Croat and they both get along just fine. Hmmm…CRAZY
TheGoldenChild,
If you are rooting for BiH and consider yourself Croatian, please give me the name and address of your lithium dealer. One can only assume you are on drugs with that statement. There is no way the Hrvati in Hercegovina are rooting for Bih. No chance in hell. None.
@TheGoldernChild……if your old man is a hercegovac then he is rooting against BiH. Ask any hercegovac and i am willing to bet 90% are rooting against BiH. Hercegovci, as most hrvati in BiH, dont consider BiH as their country. It boogles my mind that any hrvat in Bosna would be rooting for the BiH natioanl team. You must be under the age of 20 and dont remember the war that took place in BiH.
The BiH team is for the mujos.
@Ziva Istina
"The vast majority of Hrvati in BiH are rooting for Portugal."
Nationality aside, a Catholic Portugal squad or a (predominantly) Muslim BiH in the finals. For a lot of people, this is what it boils down to.
@ ziviistina-I think it's weak not to root for BiH. They are right next door, and yes they can be belligerent retards, but they are next door. I'd rather see BiH than Portugal anyday. Anyways my dad's a hercegovac so i gotta take their side.
at the end of the day Croatia should have qualified. We didn't cos Krizanac, Pranjic and Simunic couldn't defend, plus Srna, Petric, Olic and Rakitic didn't find the goals. Plus Niko, Dudu and Modric missing in key games. Without them Bilic didn't have a clue. I still don't believe Ukraine deserve to qualify. We were definitely not put out by a quality side. They are not poor, but they are not great either. I still take Croatia's squad over Ukraine any day. I also definitely stand by that Ukraine better than Romania. Boy do Romania stink. That friendly we played against them taught us nothing. I think its all past now though. We should look forward with a new bunch of players. If Bilic creates a squad of guys who play each week and can all compete with each other for a jersey then i can't see why Croatia can't make the next Euro with ease.
@Ziva Istina
'Not making it is much worse than the loss to Turkey, even though the loss hurts much more.'
You took the words right out of my mouth. I said this to Ante and HvarSplitcanin about a month ago.
No shame in bowing out in the quarterfinals. However, not qualifying for a tournament, this will sting up until Euro Cup qualifying.
In every world cup preview, Croatia will be mentioned as the best team that FAILED to qualify. We received a F grade. Euro 2008 we received more like a A-. So there is no argument which hurts more.
'We are a small country and making it to a WC or a Euro is a big accomplishment.'
I have been saying this for the last 10 years, right after Croatia FAILED to qualify for Euro 2000. At this point, I realized that Croatia was not invincible.
'Here's hoping BiH does not make it to the WC.'
Im not a Portugal fan, however, after the Bosnians celebrated Turkish victory, I will never root for BiH
@dinamofan:)
I think its natural that the most economically powerful countries are always the best at organising competitions. I do worry about South Africa.
I agree. Before the qualifying tournament started, I was at 20% for attending the world cup if Croatia qualified.
@Ante
If I had to chose a tournament to miss, it would definitely be this one. Since I wasn't planning on attending anyways,'Taking a wealthy bunch of people to place where poverty exists always brings danger,' and SKorea-Nkorea-algeria-Egypt-Srbia-Bosna in the mix, I feel good about sitting this one out.
Not making it is much worse than the loss to Turkey, even though the loss hurts much more.
We are a small country and making it to a WC or a Euro is a big accomplishment. Just being there is 90% of the battle.
Here's hoping BiH does not make it to the WC. The vast majority of hrvati in BiH are rooting for Portugal.
I think its natural that the most economically powerful countries are always the best at organising competitions. I do worry about South Africa. Politically its not a good time for this. As for the fan rivalries, that is something that'll be there no matter where its held, but i'd question South Africa's ability to deal with it rationally. Prob be sort of response – over the top agression. Also i think they'll be crime issues as well. Taking a wealthy bunch of people to place where poverty exists always brings danger. Also i'm not sure how much South Africa will buy into this. South Africa is not exactly like Nigeria, Cameroon, Liberia or places of true football passion. They have a number of sports and are one of the worser footballer teams that lack the flair of other countries around there area. We may find the public aren't actually as enthusiastic about it as FIFA thinks. I'm not all that fussed about Croatia not being there. But had hoped they'd have been more convincing that then were in qualifying. Should really have done a lot better. If we look now look at some of these guys Slaven Bilic selected nearly every squad – JERKO LEKO, DINO DRPIC and NIKOLA KALINIC. all that barely played a game of football all season and we're into mid november now. Mistakes were made, but hopefully that and the world cup is in past now.