Croatia Starting XI vs. Turkey: Subašić; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Pivarić – Modrić, Badelj; Brozović, Kovačić, Perišić – Nikola Kalinić.
We can blame the missed penalty call for Croatia in the first half or Subašić for not punching that ball away, but that Croatia team that has way too much potential but forgets how to play ball is back. Perišić is blasting balls from 30 yards out with players in the box and the team as a whole is making way too many passes in the attacking third. There’s too much talent on this team to not score a goal or two against the Iceland’s and Turkey’s of the world. Yet here we are.
We can go back to locker room chemistry if that is the case which means manager Ante Čačić could soon be on the chopping block.
Subašić gaffe costs Croatia the a goal
The good news?
After a disaster 2-day game against Kosovo in Zagreb and the loss to Turkey, Croatia are still in 1st place. Barely. Only by goal differential.
Croatia are now tied with Iceland , who defeated Ukraine 2-0 Tuesday night, atop the group with both Ukraine and Turkey breathing down their necks only two points behind.
All in all a disappointing result for Croatia from an even more disappointing display of attack, but it seems this side does this every qualifying campaign. They leave it till the end. And my God, the cardiac Croatians have done it once again.
Who do you blame for the loss to Croatia?
And we could be France and draw 0-0 against Luxembourg.
Again I didn’t watch the game but u all said vida played well
He consistently shows up and puts in effort
That’s all we need these guys to put in effort and get on same page then the talent we have is enough to win most games
Anyways guys we are still in it
We have hard games but indeed very winnable
We aren’t going into Germany in a must win in Germany
Ukraine is good but they ain’t some power house
And for real if we can’t beat Finland at home then we don’t deserve it
We have the talent to put away teams easily. We just have not been able to experiment enough to find the proper lineup. That is the biggest issue with these losses. Cacic has no room to experiment, so we get a safe but anemic style of play (which has lost recently, & will continue to lose if we go to the WC.)
Joke all you want about Rakitic, but we won with him, and lost without him.
@DannyJ-U might be right, but it would be more likely if we were in 3rd place. He could comeback & be a national hero after all the haters ripped on him undeservedly.
Srna so good at going right, but also you can send him a lazer & he will drop the ball softly EVERYTIME. The guy is solid. Vrsaljko on left would be fine (Pivaric doesn’t seem to use his left foot anyway.)
winning away to teams like turkey and ukraine is not expected for anyone, even for teams like germany and spain that’s a terrific result and not wholly expected
away games are fucking hard, that’s how europe is and always has been, it’s hard for everyone and winning away against solid teams is a fantastic achievement
^ ^
Ha! U mean his usual invisible self.
We’ll be fine boys. We’ve got a very good team. Maybe not elite but very good. Seems like most here want to call them elite one minute and/or shit the next. We’re neither of the two.
I don’t understand where some of u get off setting the bar so high? Crushing Turkey or Ukraine on the road, seriously?! What decent team have we ever crushed on the road? England 10 years ago is all that comes to mind and even that was a very overrated performance.
Scott Carson had an abysmal day. They roared back from 2 down to draw us until Petric fired in the winner in the last 15 minutes.
Rakitić wasn’t playing?
Weird. I assumed he was out there and playing just as much of a role as he usually does for the repka.
Who was calling them vatreni on here?
You EEDIOTS talking about things like lineup and strategy have it all wrong
someone above hit the nail on the head, the issue is Cacic for some reason decided to grow a dicky beard and betray his Mucho Cacic status.. he’s like Samson where he needs his hair to be kept as is!
If i see him before the next games and he has shaved face but his usual moustache then i know we’ll win
but if he walks out with a beard or some weird shit like now, we’re in deep shit !
This team should need to be blessed with a God presence:
The God of Halilovic multi-talented
The Goodfooter Simunovic with his righteousness tackle,
why Stupid Cacic even waste the talents. He just picks up from third dimension local league that barely reach champions cup.
Can everyone stop calling these poofs Vatreni. They are nowhere near vatreni 98!!!
We played our best vs spain with the B team and recently team z beat mexico A. Conclusion beyond any doubt that the team is better without the A team lazy poofs. Cacic hasnt learned this. He or other needs to look elsewhere for players that want to play and not pretend.
I liked seeing Kova out there to start but he couldn’t fit in that role which Rakitic plays for us in helping be an outlet for the mid/def to help start plays. Hate to use excuses but they seemed a bit flat offensively early on which could be a fatigue issue after only one day rest.
Shitty loss but clearly no need to panic or make any drastic changes. Hopefully, Rakitic and Corluka are back for the final two games because we missed their passing range.
I’m telling u guys
Srna coming back to play in Ukraine!
I’d rather have an out of place vrsajlko on the left side then pivaric and age aside srna gonna run his heart out for us
Haha! So true.
I was right again everybody! I predicted it could be a win, loss, or draw, and it turned out that way!
Truth Troll the amazing Oracle.
@truth youre a very very creepy dude lol
How does claiming any outcome is possible equate to “I was right”? Of course you were right,; if you predict anything might happen, then you will never be wrong.
I will stay tuned for you to leave this message board permanently, moron.
@ krajlica tomislava
It seems I’ve been right more often than the crowd. I’ve long been predicting the challenge Croatia will face in winning the group. As well as highlighting the overhyped youth. Stay tune for my hoops preview
Da truth (sorta kinda),
I’m not interested in your reply at all, bozo. 33.3% either way could be anyone’s calculation, it’s a safe bet. Sooner or later anyone’s prediction will come through. Let the dice roll, read tea leaves, tarot cards, whatever soothes your strange itch. Better stick to your ball scratching and video games. This is a forum where adults discuss sports and such.
@ krajalica tomislava
Well the real the model spits out odds that are close to 1/3 for each outcome is because Croatia and Ukraine are very evenly matched. I’m confused what you’d expect it to produce.
For example though, if i replace Croatia with Germany, odds look at follows 70 percent win, 20 percent tie, 10 percent loss
The model is simply mostly using past performance (measured largely in quality chances created vs given up, not w/ld) with a recency bias and a home field variable.
Did some calculation bih and Wales just a bit behind us
Huston we have a problem.
When calculating the best second placed teams the points and. Goals against the worst placed teams get thrown out (Kosovo)
Strong case for us being the worst 2nd place team and not even going to playoff
I think the environment in Ukraine will be just as hostile
Must-wins in October and November we can usually handle.
It’s those must-wins in June that we suck at.
I didn’t think we played that badly either. We should’ve won that game. And it was in a hostile environment against a team more desperate than ours and better rested.
Sure the result opened the group right up but Cacic is right not to get everyone in panic mode.
Iggy, i feel in my heart we will win top spot in our group.
If Finland can get a fluke goal and bunker…we are in tough! People on this site that say we will smash Ukraine are delusional…we are a better side but they are a formidable opponent.
I just dont like our chances due to the fact we must win….we always joke in these circumstances.
Predictions made by the Truth (aka Ziva) after he looks into his crystal ball(s): It’s a three-way possible outcome. Win 33.3%, draw 33.3% and loss 33.3%. He’s smoking ganja and scratching his half-turkish balls, they are the size of marbles, no more. Chance of making his girlfirend/wife pregnant is 0%, he doesn’t have one. That’s the only 100% sure prediction you could ever get from that sorry excuse for a human being.
Now, back to adult talk. Did anyone read the sad comment from Cacic after the game? Basically he’s content with the performance against Turkey. He’s happy with the way the team played and it gives him reason to be optimistic. Man, he must be smoking some heavy shit, too. Maybe Ziva aka the Truth is an old friend of his?
https://www.vecernji.hr/sport/cacic-veseli-me-nasa-igra-ona-mi-daje-razloga-za-optimizam-1192722
They play with little motivation and it appears they dont mind losing. But i think the biggest issue is there are no leaders in the squad, therefore not much intensity.
Iggy stop engaging the troll as if his opinions are based on anything. He’s just making up numbers and calling them odds based on his modeling… He’s a child playing Xbox and claiming “according to my simulations”. Heck, his predictions and odds are pretty much that anything could happen… no duh
We only have a winning record Aganist 1 team that matters
We are 3/6 with Iceland
And 1/6 with turkey
3/3 with Ukraine TBD
Wow just read australia v thailand. 2 downers in 1 night.
Bring back the croatian based players like 10-14 yrs ago at least they played for there country . If either team dont quality i give up on following football. Arghhhhh.
Wow just looked at result and dont know what to say
Born croatia but a shame with talent we have playing for
World class teams we could not get a result against turkey. Wtf lost for words. Would be playing my heart
Out for my country if chosen but really someone
Please explain why as a team of professional’s we cannot get results. Sorry this is just F up. With players in top grade spanish league and German leagues and other major leagues what the hell is going on. As a born hrvat its giving me the shits. Is it coach not not drilling it right into the players or players not giving a shit about there country . ( as its all about the money honey. )and just to there team commitments. My apologies for my waffle but if i get chosen to represent my country i go all out.
I was born in croatia and F me and moved to Australia but still bleed for our own players to pull there fingers out of our
A HOLES and go hard for ur country if given the chance. . FUCK ME. GO HARD OR F Off.
Good night and zivila Hrvatska
Until the domestic league is cleaned up of all scamming and corruption ,I’m afraid we’ll continue to be a good soccer country but never in the top tier of the soccer world. What separates us from the beginning [I’d say 98] is that our boys play around the world obviously money is so much better and the homegrown teams can’t offer that- we’ve lost what the whole thing was about- nationalism and the power of the checkers.
Today, the boys play because it’s a chance to be seen by another club team and if they play well -more money. If they
don’t play well, so what.
We need to build the Prva Liga with legit teams and build the
Croatian junior program-easier said than done but otherwise
it’s a cycle of barely making world cup and then losing to crap teams like Turkey- interesting to hear what people think the checkers mean to the players in the modern age vs what they meant post war – ????
wow yeah that’s an even split, 30/35/35
well, if im right and we only need a draw, we have, what, a 65% chance then?
not bad ! : )
Hns pederi nogomet ste sjebali nije kriv cacic nego vrh hnsa nitk9ga u hrvatskoj ne prati repku unistili su sve neka ih sram hns gotovo je gotovo
@ iggy
I’m pulling odds for the Ukraine game as follows. Win 30 percent, loss 35 percent, tie 35 percent. A real coin toss of an event
While chatting, i shouldn’t mentioned the vrsaljkoholic. (Addicted to riding benches, terrible crosses, and creepy mustaches)
This is the guy so many were excited for?! Overhyped as always. The guy couldn’t put in a decent cross and even more worrying he couldn’t even get them off half the time. Srna in his prime appeared much better. Maybe even at the end
Say what you want about srna. Even though everyone knew he couldn’t go left AT ALL, he still kept figuring out ways to get those right footed crosses off
^^^^ I agree @iggy
I mean as an aussie i find it funny how some of u fuckers are saying we’re gonna lose both games and we’re out
australia couldnt beat thailand in this campaign, had four draws to begin and finished 3rd behind saudis and japan and now has to play off against SYRIA (lol) to advance to another playoff from CONCACAF (fuck i hope it’s USA!) just to get in
i mean, from HRV perspective, keep in mind, WE ARE STILL IN FIRST SPOT.. no need to sack everyone and renounce citizenship just yet d00ds, lol
we’ll make it 😉
Subasic sucks big balls, for sure!!.
Like it or not . I don’t give a fuck , really !!
=U=
ROB
NIKADA
AP
Srill shocking how far behind soccer is to other sports
For petes sake even baseball has video replay
Coach is really mattered you fool.
Players can make an opportunity with their skill (effective), but Coach should ease them with a better strategy (efficient).
I said what I needed to say before the game.
1) Perisic below avg scorer for a World Class winger, he can play back and still use his world class dribbling/speed/passes to our advantage.
2) Not going to be elite w Pivaric starting
3) Brozovic overachieved early on (kudos to him), but he is nothing more than a late game sub when we need a desperation goal.
4) Badelj/Pasalic roles are too conservative with 4 backs.
Rusty Vrsaljko had an off game. Scary cause same crap might happen to Pjaca in October. He might play 1 game for Juve & then deliver a stinker in an important game for us. Not sure I want a rusty Pjaca to play unless he gets significant minutes soon.
Hand ball was clear as day. Refs just making up for screwing Turkey on the 2 bs goals Ukraine scored vs them. No way you miss that at field level. Ref knew if it wasn’t a hand ball, then all of Turkey might revolt. The defender would’ve had to literally catch the ball for the ref to make the call.
Bilic gonna get sacked at west ham and lead us to Russia!!
It’s not like the first time to squeak into a tourney
We still have a better then decent chance
I bet though there is lots of crap behind scenes going on
Need someone to grab the bull by horns and take us to promise land
Hey Truth what are the odds in the game vs Ukraine? Odds of a draw there?
Yeah it’s a below par qualy campaign, already lost 2 games which is prolly one more than i would like to see.
The issue with the Ukraine game is it’s gonna be a high pressure winner takes all affair, and u know what that means guys
MENTAL MIDGET TIME
LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Perisic missed a wide open goal. No wonder Man U snubbed him. Cacic could have scored that fucking goal. The vatreni is extinguished. It has been for a long time. Soft.
We had our chances and didn’t take em. Easy to get bit in the ass when you’re in an environment like that and they’ve got way more to lose.
I’m not embarrassed of this result.
Barring we make it of course, I wouldn’t want these guys coasting into the WC with a couple of games in hand. These guys need to learn to battle and struggle. Build some character for those knockout games.
Sad that we need srna to come out of retirement to help us
But I for one would be ok seeing this
Just for his leadership
And what better then to play in Ukraine!
This team is pure garbage. The worst in our history. Have a look at their qualifying so far. Pathetic.
Cacic doesnt know what to do. So many stars to play and yet they cant beat your local sunday park side.
Whatever the root cause is these players have no desire – zero motivation to play for their country.
They feel no shame or embarassment losing to the weakest teams. That in itself should be some motivation. They dont care about losing.
Last 2 matches are a forgone conclusion. Losses. Anyone who expects them now to win the last 2 matches is deluded.
The whole team are a pack of limp dick poofters.
I only saw parts of the game so my comments aren’t based on this alone.
Perisic has slipped in his performances. He hardly ever makes that last 3rd of the field type of play he used to.
Brozovic is not an attacker in my opinion, he provides terrible service and when he was effective, it was because he was defensively strong and ran miles.
All you Kalinic jock sniffers should be embarrassed. He’s always been a mediocre player at best…did well when he was in top form and had a streak going but otherwise he’s unbearable to watch! I’m tired of listening to people rant about him, he sucks balls! I’d rather see Kramaric get his minutes!
This team lacks the same thing as always…leadership is zero!
Truth Troll’s models. A might happen, B could happen, or C could happen. Win, lose, draw… all might happen.
Brilliant predictions Nostradamus.
Well the reason to be freaked out is that the odds of Croatia not making it are rather high. Probably about 65 percent more according to my model. A loss to Ukraine makes it very daunting
Beating Ukraine in a 2 game playoff also got us into WC ’98.
No it was England not trying for the win that got Ukraine in. English payback on us for boucing them in Euro 2008 qualifying.
Thinking about this…..I don’t think we have ever been this freaked out by being in 1st place. It’s evident we don’t think we can win in Ukraine. Scary.
@ernest @ernest
I thought Ukraine beat England in the last game of that campaign something like 3-2 what knocked us out …..not sure
Clearly, we need a better coaching and better strategy plus magnificent lines up that convey potential of players.
……………Mandzukic………..Kalinic………………..
……Perisic………….Kramaric…………Vrsaljko…..
……………..Kovacic…………..Modric………………..
………….D Vida…….Lovren…….Mitrovic………….
……………………….Subasic………………………….
bear in mind for Perisic that he just give low cross after successfully pass the defense (He just suck in finishing)
He just threw away a great chance by his lack shoot on goal.
Yeah that handball was bullshit. Where’s VAR? Not being used for qualifying I guess?
I will be counting on Russian meddling to get in the way of Ukraine qualifying.
Yep, Ukraine beat us 1 nil to claim 2nd spot for 2010 WC with England finishing top of the group. We will smash the Find maybe 3 nil and then it all comes down to Kiev.
Not sure if anyone confirm but i am pretty sure the last time we missed the world cup it was at the hands of Ukraine too.
@Idemo
what quality do we have???
I agree t bone….kovacic was very poor as well, few times they had to tell him to stay high and he looked useless as a 10….constantly losing the ball in advanced positions while dribbling
YOu guys are fucking high, Cacic has some of the best players in the world at his disposal he clearly cant motivate the team, we play slow, non attacking kickball…we need an outspoken motivating coach, the talent is already there…maybe we need Ciro Blazevic….if not Ciro Id take Cico again…we played solid socer with cico…watch the games
Shit game. My crystal ball is faulty (2-1 prediction). A couple early chances missed, the handball (I didn’t see it), and the glaring second half miss by Perisic (he had more than enough time to walk in and make a better shot) tell me the game could have been at best 1-0 Croatia or 1-1. Overall though the team did look slow, defenders were solid, Luka played well, but some of the ‘stars’ failed to impress, i.e. Perisic, Mandzu, Broz. Kalinic and Brozovic looked fairly bad tbh.
I can see Cro not qualifying but they should have enough in the tank to come up with the needed points in a months time.
Yes Finland beat both Iceland and Kosovo but if Cro can’t beat Finland at home they shouldn’t be in Russia anyway. The match in Ukraine is tough yes but Ukraine had two non legit goals count against Turkey (1 clear offside, 1 assist ball from a clear out of bounds position). Right now Cro far from a lock to get 6 points from the last two matches but with the WC on the line you’d think they should.
T-Bone out.
Of course I won’t be saying it before the Finland game because they have nothing to play for? I don’t understand what you’re getting at pal.
Finland has aboalutely no motivation they are out……this was a must win for turkey hence motivation…..are you missing a few screws?
First things first, Cacic needs to get rid of that stubble and go back to the flavour saver.
Trying to ascertain if you believe Croatia has quality.
Surely you wont be saying before the Finland game “let’s see if quality can beat out an unmotivated Finland”? If quality can not beat out an unmotivated Finland, then there’s no quality in this team.
So I ask you, what quality do we have???
i was very impressed with how ukraine played in zagreb when we won 1-0 and i remember thinking at the time it’s gonna be hard over there so that one’s a worry
Iggy, i agree 100% with your post brother! Ukraine will be a tough go.
Motivated for what? And what quality do we have???
Don’t understand why you quoted me?
“I’m not penciling in 3 points vs Finland. At all”
Finland will be motivated for sure, hopefully “quality” can beat out motivation?
I’m not penciling in 3 points vs Finland. At all.
Well said iggy
Look i waa ringing alarm bells not to be fooled by Croatias position in the table. And sure enough 270 scoreless minutes follow
I an interesting note, it seems to be a common practice by Croatian teams to start qualification great and then choke away at the end. Maybe it’s just mean reversion
Not being able to score on this disaster of a Turkish team though is a major disappointment. This team has been in unorganized shambles
It’s going to be really tough for cro. If they lose to Ukraine, there’s a good chance they are eliminated. Cause Ukraine will emerge with six points and Iceland at least 3 (both play kosovo) with a tie for Iceland vs Turkey giving it the edge. Don’t forget we have to beat Finland which is far from a given!. My model puts it at 55 percent, 30 precent tie, 15 percent loss.
Yeah exactly, im assuming we beat finland which would mean that Iceland would need at least 6 goals – no wait, 7 cos head to head we are also ahead of them
so im not really concerned about that, like i said 4 points from last 2 games should be enough
the difficult thing is trying to get a draw in ukraine
no idea why some of u ppl are saying “we should smash ukraine in kyiv”.. i mean, on what evidence? a draw would be a major accomplishment just as it would’ve been away to turkey
Whatever, this is all Mamic’s fault anyways
Assuming Iceland and Turkey tie, then Croatia would have a goal difference advantage of 5 plus whatever difference they beat Finland. Say Croatia beat Finland 2-0, then a Croatia tie vs. Ukraine would ensure first place, unless Iceland beat Kosovo 7-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig8vXq_edto
Scroll to 33 seconds. Disgusting! Fifa and Uefa will always seek to fine us and police our fans but we never get the fair call on the field. BRUTAL.
I’d be seriously surprised if Iceland could put 5 past anyone!
And if they could then kudos to them. They would deserve to be there.
Goal difference eh? Iceland have Kosovo on the last day eh
Iggy, Iceland play Kosovo in the last game and if they beat them say 5 nil then we lose top spot. Need goals against Finland to make sure of it
I knew this was going to be tough after only a day rest. That plus 5 goal diff is crucial and we need a couple more against the Fins to ensure a buffer. It’ll come down to Ukraine who we should smash!
Just saw the results, not too bad
i expected a loss here so no biggy, the results all round are not bad cos Iceland won 2-0 against Ukraine.
Everyone saying we must win the next two games is completely wrong, we just need 4 points if Turkey doesn’t lose (at home) to Iceland in the next match.
So basically we beat finland and just match whatever iceland does v turkey and we’re good, we can’t be overtaken cos our goal diff is twice as good as everyone else’s so we’re definitely in the box seat
everyone whinging “we have to play ukraine away wah wah wah”, iceland is the only team that can overtake us if we get 4 points – which should be our aim – and they have to win in turkey, do u really think that’s likely?
Tough loss against Turkey for sure. But, next two games are a must win. It wouldn’t hurt to have Srna back and play him as a sub. He was inspirational for the team!
Gentleman-
Relaxxxxx:
Blatant hand ball in the 1st half not called. Disgusting non call. If we were Germany, England or Brazil the referee makes that call.
Perisic missed a nice sitter in the 2nd half.
We always need to play with our backs against the wall. We are NEVER capable of setting the pace in qualification and blowing through a group qualification with ease. It is simply never a reality for us. We have two must win games and we will win them.Did we make our lives a hell of a lot tougher? Sure however this is all normal.
Cacic isn’t to blame. ZA DOM SPREMNI!
Sad
Truth Troll as a weather man:
-theres a chance, a chance it MIGHT not be sunny today. My prediction models say so.
After a couple weeks, it inevitably rains. And there’s Truth Troll saying, “see! I told you! I was right”
Same thing he used to do as Troll Ziva. Vague generalities about possible less than optimal outcomes with bets hedged, then when the negative eventually happens, he claims he was right.
Maybe pjaca will be fit for next month. Miss him dearly.
Idemo, I don’t trust Pivaric with the ball. Why would his teammates?
1 less day of rest might have something to do with the tiredness.
Luka Modric at times was our fastest player…..going forward with urgency. I feel for that man coming from real for this Sunday league shit
Agreed with the tiredness comment as well. It looked like, as it did with Iceland, Cro came out ok with a tie and Turkey was not showing signs of winning until a Subasic error. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
Have the last 3 results been a series of unfortunate events (weather, not enough rest etc) or is there a deeper underlying issue beyond our comprehension? Coach? Desire?
Turkey played much better, did you see how calmly they passed the ball out from their defense even when we attempted to apply pressure. They always had at least two guys on Perisic when he tried to dribble. Aside from the nutmeg and beautiful low cross to mandzukic, modric just kept passing it right to turkish players.
Lovren and Vida played good. Although i hate pivaric he played decent.
Overall the team is horrendously slow and there is almost no chance of a fast break. Our midfielders just keep slowly passing and passing until we get in their final third, then we give a shit cross and lose the ball.
Nice !
This game was going to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest in qualification, and old tv repairman Cacic didn’t find it smart to put on more fresh legs, younger players who are eager to play for Hrvatska?! Wtf, seeing Mandzukic and Brozovic fumbling about in half-sleep as usual, it makes me cringe. Modric, Lovren, Kovacic were good, Perisic also. Seeing that retard Mandzukic like a zombie on the field…God, if I had the opportunity I would smack him right in the face. He cost us the victory tonight, together with Brozovic and whatshisname that thrid retard. I’m too angry right now to even remember his name, just his face stuck to my retina.
Fuck it, we might not even go to Russia now. Fuckkkk itttttt. Fuck fuck fuck.
Brozovic to Mandzukic: Oy, mate, how was your flight down here?
Mandzukic: Ah, it was relaxing, had a nap or two. Slept 10 hours last night at the hotel, thought I might take a nap now as well.
Brozovic: Man, remember we’re playing an important match.
Mandzukic: Against who? Where are we? On the pitch? I’m sleepy, Marcelo. So sleeeeepyyyy. Wake me up when the match is over.
Brozovic: A nap actually sounds tempting. Think I’ll have one as well. We’ll ask the third retard to wake us up when the match is over.
Third retard: I’m zzzzzleeeping too, boyos.
Brozovic: Zzzzzzz
Mandzukic: Zzzzzzzzzz
Wake the fuck up, guys.
Am I the only one who feels Cro has been so predictable for a while ? We do the Simpsons “passes it, holds it, passes it” with horizontal passes in midfield and then we cross for a striker to head it and either he connects or we try and pounce on the rebound. When Mandza starts that is almost always the game plan but I feel we did it today as well without him starting. Opposing teams we should be better than (at least on paper) clog the middle and you’re only as good with headers as the crosses are. If service is not good, which it wasn’t, you have a shitty end product. Also as much as Srna was on his last legs I feel like he brought some passion and initiative that the team lacks.
I’m not bashing Cacic but I feel like (just an observation) he shows up picks a starting 11 and the players will figure it out kind of coach. Zero change of tactic or game plan on the fly. That Turkey coach was Shaktars coach forever. I’d like to think he’s learned a thing or two playing in Champions league the last while.
If Cro does not qualify this may be the best Cro team on paper to never play in a World Cup.
This could be like 2010. Serbia in the WC and we’re sitting at home. Serbia pretty much clinched their group today.
I don’t blame Cacic for this.
Turkey is not a shit team, not too many team go win in Turkey. I think we did pretty well. We were the best team, created 5 or 6 good chances but didn’t manage to score.
Turkey created only a few chances but our goalkeeper failed (I think for the first time for Hrvatska).
We didn’t like Bilic, we hated Stimac, we didn’t like Kovac, we don’t like Cacic. I think Ivic was the only coach of our national team who was widely respected.
I’m pretty sure that if the Savez would hire someone like Kek or Katanec, people here would start to complain after one loss.
CACIC OUT?!
can you explain why? was it the subs this time? or was it his service in the box…oh wait the manager doesn’t play
Eat a dick Truth.
Let’s see how many blowies you could give on 2 days rest after working in the rain.
I say this every year – we’re just not as good as we think we are. Lose to Iceland and Turkey? Seriously? I think Croatia will end up tied for third. Croatia will beat Finland, Ukraine will beat Kosovo, Turkey beats Iceland. Then Ukraine beats Croatia, Turkey beats Finland and Iceland beats Kosovo. Ukraine and Turkey would have 20 points, Croatia and Ukraine 19.
beyond disappointed
There he is. Truth troll and his x-box “models” and simulations and claiming he has been proven right.. like that’s ever happened
Simple question, is Cacic getting the most out of this group?
No issue with the subs, but I think a manager has immense impact on the system and mentality that a team employs… something is seriously wrong here.
We should assume we have to win out to win the group which is very possible, but I don’t think we should expect much if we do quality.
Cacic out…imo
I think it’s far from over. Most probably it will come to this;
iLet’s say we beat Finland at home. Then the last game in Ukraine will decide it all:
If we win, we qualify
If we draw, maybe we qualify (I don’t see Iceland winning in Turkey) or we’ll play playoffs
If we lose in Kiev, we don’t even reach the playoffs.
So I’ll be honest and say besides Lovren and Modric we played god awful! The passing and crossing were dreadful at times and quite frankly deserve this L. We looked really lost tonight, damn shame.
One goal in three games, and it was from a set piece. That says it all.
well although some call me a troll (the children), i have sadly been proven right yet again
this team is just not that good
my models had been picking this up that croatia was barely winning when they were doing well, which meant they were very likely to revert to the mean
i highlighted the other day the lack of impressiveness of their goals and the poor results it would predict
and sure enough. you have more of the same. it has now been 270 minutes of play with only 1 goal and that came on a lucky hit by a defender against the 180th ranked team in the world
if you really want to know some of the flaws. here they are
first: SPEED
this team is incredibly slow, and unable to create the goals i’ve spoken of
even mateo crotch-does-itch gets the ball with defenders at his back and field in front of them but can’t push forward
say you want about the bust halilo-shit, but his appeal was at least he had that step
2) psssss, don’t tell anyone, marcelo bozo-vic is not a winger, shhhhhhhh
how many times do we have to watch this guy be unable to finish passes or effectively deliver crosses. as always terrible all around performance and he should probably stick to instagram
and that’s really about it. team not too good outside of that. not much more to say
model puts world cup odds back now to 35%
yes but Cro is the one who has to go to Ukraine on the last match day in a must win game
we either finish 1st or 3/4th
Cro and Iceland both have 16. We are ahead on goals.
Turkey and Ukraine both have 14 points.
Still don’t get how that handball was missed. Wtf? But we can’t dwell on that. Must move on.
Over. Scenario is Truth Troll and the other trolls and haters are inbound
Is it over?
I’m stuck at work
Someone please work out the scenarios after
Wow. Someone finally made a decent cross.
Wer still first after all of this
Luka and Lovren stud performances
We would be tied for 1st with Iceland. We can thank Finland otherwise we would be probably going the playoff route.
Wtf just checked the score
So where does that leave things
We have to win it out to get 1st?
Is it still possible or we have to try to go the back route via playoff
LOL garbage
Modric stepping up. We need everyone else doing the same now.
Agreed stuff that shot was vicious why try to catch
Wtf? Where is the boxing out Subasic?
Absolutely no cutting edge on this team!
Where was the foul on Mandzukic?
Oh boy
Iceland up 2-0
It’s evident the players don’t trust pivaric with the ball
No slalom runs kovacic can’t keep the ball
Great substitution by the manager
like I said, perisic just threw away the chance!
He should be at winger
see the mighty LAknat lines up
……………Mandzukic………..Kalinic………………..
……Perisic………….Kramaric…………Vrsaljko…..
……………..Kovacic…………..Modric………………..
………….D Vida…….Lovren…….Mitrovic………….
……………………….Subasic………………………….
Terrible service from vrsaljko has skied every ball
mandzo in for perisic krama in for kalinic…i hope.
This ESPN feed is worthless
Very wasteful
Perisic slightly wasteful
Iceland up 1-0
I gotta see the sub use in the second half. That should be comical.
I know we were all crying for him to leave, but we are 1 Srna cross from being up a goal or 2
Sportsnet on Rogers Toronto is showing a different game. Whats going on?
Ukraine Iceland 0-0 at half
Started out strong …..High pace….both teams slowed down a bit
Why do we continually play this style of pass, pass, pass and pass, 0 shots? Just terrible! It’s like that Mexico game all over again. How the hell can we change this mind set once and for all?
Vrsaljko is coming off a long injury. He’s just rusty. Vida would have had his third goal if not for the handball. In fairness to the ref, I didn’t see it at full speed, but it was an obvious pen on the replay.
Turkey has had a couple of chances against the run of play, but much better play from us. The decent pitch is making a big difference for our guys.
Sepp with the amount of Turks living in Germany, advertising would suffer. Plus they might burn Berlin down
@chopper https://www.reddit.com/r/soccerstreams/
@chopper
http://videostream.dn.ua/videopage/videoPage.php?g=OTcxOTY№f&c=en&i=eWl2bW9iZGlzaA№f№f
There’s an ad right when u get there then u susul have to click the game twice
And here
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccerstreams/
That handball was obvious even on my 19″ computer screen. Jeesh, how did the ref miss that one.
WOW, when see the hand ball, we got super fucked.
I’ve always thought Vrsaljko’s service sucks. Other than his motor I don’t see much in his game.
Must be our lack of LB’s that has us rating him so highly.
Idemo, I’m glad someone else said it. I dunno if it’s the pressure of filling Srna’s shoes but it’s pretty poor the last two games.
Anyone got a decent stream?
We should have as well….they had a clear handball on the goal line
Terrible service from vrsaljko against Kosovo and so far here
Turks should have scored
Completely open game
10 minutes in killing it we controll everythjng
WE ARE PLAYING AMAZINNG
Muther bitch
Our boys looks solid, should already have a goal
this espn3 stream is shit
Absolute atmosphere….
Vlaovic mishko
Drago cosic also put perisic on the spot asking what happen last two games
I really really wish you guys could hear the HRT1 pre-game. The guy talking is really calling like it is. We’ve got excellent players but they’re playing in a system that puts them out of their position.
YES! cacic chose the exact lineup i had in mind
I’m now going to go my local Turkish restaurant see if they watching the game…
AJMO!
subasic, vrsaljko, lovren, vida, pivaric, badelj, modric, kovacic, brozovic, kalinic, perisic
Anonymous was right with the lineup it looks like. Just sub one of those Lovren’s for a Vida and that what we’re working with.
anyone know the actual llineup yet?
nice lineup LAknat
If we beat Turkey, then an Iceland win sets up (almost) as nicely for Cro as a tie does in that game.
Even in that situation, a win in the next game at home against Finland pretty much assures a WC spot, cuz Iceland wld need to make up a 8 goal difference.
Lots of “ifs” though. Just gotta go out and play well.
^ ^
2 Lovren’s huh?
His bro’s come a long way in 2 days.. 😉
Badelj
Modric
Kalanic
Brozovic
Kovacic
Perisic
Lovren
Vrsaljko
Lovren
Pivaric
Subasic
listed at sportsnet world in canada FYI
Actually, looks like it’s on espn3..
Anyone have a good link to the game?
Badelj and kova
Last time Kova played 10 against Iceland it was bad
Let’s see what he does tonight
You got what you wanted soul!
Maybe rakitic being gone and maybe more full time will open up for rog and pasalic. It’s not like rakitic play is so monumental for us really
One of these hungry kids may make a diff given the chance
U guys think radosevic ever has a chance of doing something for us again??
Basketball did great. Played well. We were supposed to lose that game by double digits and it came to the end. Spain lost its temper allowing us to get back in foul plus 2 techs
We were missing a clear play maker
His line up is fine other than mitrovic and kramaric at 10?
@Soul-you know I respect Perisic. He is World Class imo. What makes him World Class is his crossing/passing–he can do that from anywhere on the pitch. His goal scoring is slightly below average for a World Class winger. That said, he is our best goal scorer at the moment, which is why I think we need reinforcements up top. I know Perisic is too good to play anywhere other than winger, but just daydreaming.
Prediction: 1-0 for the good guys with a typical Cacic lineup.
3-0 with a god of Laknat lineup.
Mandzukic would be awesome CB down the road
Anyone know of any examples of guys that actually went striker to CB in years past?
Ya playing modric further up would increase our chances of nice free kicks but I just have more faith in him controlling ball deeper. We need two modric and World Cup is ours
Kovacic behind striker or would that negate his legs too much?
My vote is kramaric behind striker cause of his long range shots Kalinic up front. Perisic delivering his crosses
Any word on pjaca return? he’s been gone long time now
Perisic will just waste many chances as He tries to shoot without looking for his position. better if he operates in a flank and delivers the ball with quick passes to the forward
Throw Krama in there for the full 90 minutes.
He’ll make sure we win.
Play Kovačić deeper for this one and let his 23 year old legs run.
Modrić right behind striker.
Free kicks and penalties!
Rakitic excused himself with “slightly” sore quadriceps.
So he is an easy one.
Mandžukić would be a great Super Mario Sub.
Start Kalinic.
Badelj is pedestrian in the best of circumstances.
Marko “Robo” Rog needs to get in there.
Pasalic is ready for some minutes as well.
Modrić needs support as the Turks will be keen on chomping him down. Keep Modrić farther up the pitch where there incessant fouling will lead to dangerous free kicks.
I pray Čačić makes rotations to start off with and early in the second half.
if we play Thompson songs on the team bus we will win. Only with a Nationlist blood lust can we win. Remember the Turks are our enemy. They killed and enslaved thousands of our people.
Bernie Sanders Croats are yugo scum.
“Čačić needs to infuse the line up with fresh active legs in key hard running positions.”
Who do you consider to be the stale and lazy legs in our side?
@ BZ
That line up is SLOW and predictable in the final third.
I see Perišić as moving to striker like Ronaldo.
He is just too good at scoring to waste him at LB.
@ Svima
Turkey is toast.
Čačić needs to infuse the line up with fresh active legs in key hard running positions.
Istanbul weather :
20c/68f and DRY at kick off
Flat tight grass field.
It will feel like a country club for our boys after the Maksimir mess.
3-1 Hrvatska !
Iceland – Ukraine 2-2.
@Laknat- might be first time anyone has ever told you this, but I love the lineup. We clearly need a change. Anemic wins versus crap teams do not sit well with me. With 1st tier talent like ours, we should be keeping teams back on their heels.
That said, there is no way Cacic doesn’t play 4 back, with Rog or Badelj at CDM.
@Dannyj-I’ll play. Perisic has the skillset to be an icredible wingback (when he is older), Mandzukic’s left foot not good enough nor is his dribbling. Who would be a better CB? Mandzo! Actually have seen him deliver some perfect long balls for Juventus, which surprised the shit out of me (on top of his solid defensive skills.)
Cacic did talk to Srna, but with Vrsaljko back, Srna did not think his services were required. I would love to see Vrsaljko back at LB, & Srna at RB one last time.
@Cigan-interesting post. Was wondering how Switzerland shot up there.
@iggy-i can see a disappointing result. Turkey has improved since last year’s Euros; whereas we have taken a step backwards.
i just read an interesting article. you know how we always complain about hns choosing crappy opponents for friendlies that do not prepare our national team for tournaments. well suker may be on to something. fifa is thinking about changing the ranking system cuz some countries are abusing the system to be better seeded in tournaments and qualifiers. apparently some countries are strategically arranging fewer and fewer friendlies so that their ranking points are inflated relative to teams that play more friendlies against tougher opponents. As a result they are placed higher in the fifa rankings. Think about it, switzerland is somehow ranked 4th in the world, and poland is ranked 5th. poland lost 4-0 to denmark a few days ago.
Crazy hypothetical talk who do u guys think would make a better LB perisic or mandzukic?
It’s the only day of the week i have to have to work sadly
I’ll be relying on u dečki for updates
Ya it’s a scary game but let’s see what they are made of
Like soul said they are fresh in the year and strong
They have had their mess up. Time to put up or shut up
Someone like kramaric/Kalinin/perisic gonna step up with a couple goals I hope
And for petes sake can someone with talent in Croatia learn to play LB. watch in 5–10 years we will be stacked in that spot cause all the guys who hated on pranjic pushed their kids to play LB
im kinda expecting a loss so i wouldnt mind a draw
i mean of course i hope im wrong and we win but i dont see any reason to be especially confident of that atm
I just don’t get how you guys can all be so confident that we’ll get a win in Turkey with only one days rest. Turkey aren’t great but they’re not Kosovo either so if we get a point that’s actually not that bad a result considering the last 48 hrs of travel and prep.
@danny j
From what I was reading I understood that the 2 federations decided on next day and that UEFA had nothing to do with it
As I think it’s a terrible idea for next day as wll but I don’t see a single other option…..at all.
Scary game this one.. fingers crossed
https://www.google.ca/amp/soccer.nbcsports.com/2017/09/03/luka-modric-slams-fifa-after-rescheduled-game/amp/
I thought someone mentioned something bout srna last week
Is there any truth to this?
Wow Serbia has a chance of making it but their group
Is not exactly the hardest
Just looking at the standings
There are 3-4 second place teams who could be dangerous in a playoff
Wouldn’t we prob be pooled higher for a playoff if need be?
the turks aint got nothing yo
dave chappelovic
should be a good match. lets see if quality can beat out motivation. its must win for them.
I’d say the road game against Ukraine in October will be tougher. Croatia should win tomorrow but a draw is possible. Crystal ball does not foresee a loss. Croatia win 2-0. Perisic Kalinic strike.
ZDS
There is something deep in the heart of each and every Hrvat that walks this earth.
I sense it will come out tomorrow in Istanbul.
Heavy pitch , day less rest, etc …
Nije bitno.
U boj …
Za narod svoj !
Ok compare the market value of Luxembourg and Francd
……………Mandzukic………..Kalinic………………..
……Perisic………….Kramaric…………Vrsaljko…..
……………..Kovacic…………..Modric………………..
………….D Vida…….Lovren…….Mitrovic………….
…………………………Subasic………………………….
The total market value according to transfermarkt:
Croatia~283m
Turkey~150m
Ukraine~83m
Iceland~52m
Kosovo~23m
Finland~19m