Croatia Starting XI: Pletikosa – Srna, Ćorluka, Šimunić, Pranjić – Rakitić, Modrić – Iličević, Eduardo, Perišić – Mandžukić.
Iceland went down a man in the 50th. Croatia still couldn’t find a goal as the match would end 0-0. It will be all to play for in Zagreb Tuesday night as one match will determine who goes to Brazil.
More to come from the match in the next hour….
@King Bronk,
I agree. The refs were definitely on our side yesterday.
If we can’t score the ref will help us with a PK. You heard it hear first. Unless Iceland pulls a miracle and beats the fix but I can’t see that happening because when the fix is in you are going to win.
I agree with the previous post. Its obvious the Fix is in for us. We got the easiest draw. We didn’t get 1 yellow card that whole game and we had so many players sitting on one. Iceland got the straight red that was highly questionable. These guys will go down in Zagreb watch and see. Stop stressing.
@denis
The draw is still easy. The tie has 2 games. As far as I am concerned this is still easy. we didnt get scored on, had the ball. next one is at home for the easy win.
@ T-Bone
Thanks Brother.
Kovac needed to keep a clean sheet. We all wanted that goal but it failed to actualize.
Iceland will miss their #9 and Eidur will be tired.
@ Faux Cro
I agree with you that Srna needs to play right wing for a half. Let Vrsaljko at RB over lap when he cuts
Mandzukic
Kovacic
Rebic-Modric-Srna
Rakitic
Pranjic-Simunic-Corluka-Vrsaljko
Subs-Kranjcar, Olic, Benko.
Need maximum intensity to start the match.
@Vatrena Cast,
““this will be easy. you heard it here first.”
Nope. Not easy. I did have 2-1 Croatia today.
@Ziva Istina,
“Submitted on 2013/10/29 at 12:46 pm
There is zero chance Kovac is going to experiment against Iceland.”
I think Kovac experimented today.
1)Rebic and Benko get time over Jelavic.
2) Ilicevic/Pranjic start
3) Lovren/Kovacic both just about guaranteed to start, dont even come off the bench.
@Mr Black,
Mr Black says:
“Pranjic shouldn’t be in the team. Okay, he’s probably better than Perisic but what kind of message would you give to your players? Pranjic refused to play the little games for us in the qualifications and now there’s a serious chance that we’ll go to Rio, he’d return? If he wants to return, the answer has to be NO.
Maybe for the next tournament, if he decides to play the qualifiacation games too.
October 31, 2013 at 3:18 pm (Edit)”
“Denis Svirčić says:
I see some changes already!
I would like to hear what Kovac has to say about Pranjic.
October 31, 2013 at 3:02 pm (Edit)”
“Rebic, Benko, and Males haven’t played in qualification and have a great chance of making the squad. Why not have Pranjic in the mix?
October 31, 2013 at 3:31 pm”
Pranjic might have been our best player on the pitch today.
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@Mishko,
I heard good hings about that book. No joke.
“Current situation of Croatian nogomet.”
hahahahaha
“The good ol’ cement ball prank!”
hahahaha
@T-bone,
“Denis Svircevapcic”
You referring to me?
Well written. I agree with your analysis.
@Sude Mi,
Thanks for the interview. Niko knows whats up. It sounded genuine.
Relax guys.. we’re in the box seat still
Even if We win the next game – who cares ! No LOVE for this Team ! Give me Money who cares ! Crap ! Our COACH Is np Good ! Yea my Ass ! The team is no good . FACE IT !!
Even if we qualify for Brazil. I BET YOU WE WILL BE IN ONE OF THE TUFFEST GROUPS.
king bronk aren’t you the guy who claims the rigging of draws?
i swear i saw rakitic pat the ref in the back/ass and i swear it just looked fishy in a non homophobic way
it was really set for us to win today… for sure it would make sense that fifa would want mandzukic, modric, rakitic at world cup instead of the icelanders…. sure its a small feel good story but im pretty sure they can fill that role with a little african or south american country
@ Vatrena Cast
Yeah i did say that, i own what i say and i stand by it, qualify or not i’d have livaja in my plans for the future. Basic facts are there have been a whole lotta nut jobs that have made for fine sports people, the kid can play. A coach can work out mental deficiencies by working with the player, whereas at this age players cant be taught new tricks they play how they play, just get more experienced and learn utilize their abilities in the best way they can and limit any kinks they have. He deserves a chance i will stick by that people can call me what they want, boli me. Case in point about players not being able to change playing style is everyone’s beloved Pranja, a good team would exploit him again and again.
Modric either tries too much for the NT or he is relied upon too heavily either or he hasnt turned up to the last few matches, the only thing is his shit is still better than other players playing ok. At real you can tell that sometimes he has to beg for the ball and here he gets the ball whether he wants it or not and we have no structure so we have no flow to the game.
You guys panic far to easily. Croatia played great, they were just unlucky not to score. Iceland didn’t have a shot on target the entire game. In Zagreb they will take care of business watch and see.
surprising that other than the straight red card, no yellows were dished out, meaning both teams have full squads available tuesday barring any injuries. (minus the one Icelandic defender)
@nk Susan
It was irritating how people were saying Artic this Artic that, Snow, wind blah blah. We have guys who play in worse in Russia and Ukraine. Like you say that field and the playing conditions were excellent. Shame we could not get one in.
It will be comical if we get worse weather in Hrvatska on Tuesday.
Good post vatrena cast. Excellent analysis.
I laughed my head off at that post from Dalmo Ante calling up Livija considering what Kovac said about him earlier this year.
As dissapointing as today was, we control our own destiny on our home turf. By the way, everyone was predicting the weather to be doom and gloom and the field to be unplayable. I can assure you one thing, that field was in better shape than any playing surface in our mighty Hrvatska. Man of the match should go to whoever was in charge of taking care of that playing surface. Youll see the garbage pitch we’ll be playing on come tuesday.
whoever called kranjcar “krunchie” funny shit!!
wait, did someone really say to call Livaja up? oh mannnnnnnn that has to be the post of the year.
Hvala Boze for Simunic.
Saves us again. It would of been 1-0 for Iceland if he did not stop that ball.
Where is Laknat? He is silent these days.
Most of you talk like Kovac was supposed to fix Stimac’s mess in one week. It doesnt work that way, and if you have any knowledge about the game you should know that! Kovac said himself “dont expect big differences” its too soon to turn a team around. people saying bring bilic back already, what? really? what are we chelsea?
Iceland’s defense was very organized. you gotta give it up to them their defense played the game of their lives which was expected with their first sell out crowd in years. Mandzukic does one thing for bayern that he doesnt do for the repka. For bayern he will check back get the ball at his feet and play one touch back. If he isnt getting the service he is used to he needs to find a different way to get the ball. There was a big gap going forward between rakitic/modric and the the front 4.
I dont know who said it earlier but yes if modric plays we play. He is our best player and he needs to show up.
It was pretty evident that illicevic isnt quite where he used to be. He needs more minutes at his club. Perisic is Perisic, looks as if hes lost a step. pranjic played well.
Srna didnt look like he was up to it today..
They seemed content to play slow, almost as if they were playing for the tie today.
All in all things cant change over night, our game will slowly get better and better. Look for a better showing in Zagreb, hopefully Maksimir is full.
@Mishko I could give 2 rats asses if you read my post or not. Im not saying I’m Ziva or trying to be Ziva but you guys dont realize what he does on this site. He calls people out on their bullshit and idiotic comments.
Who actually takes time to post stupid comments on line during a football match? And multiple times? EVERYONE ON THIS SITE!!!!
They say no, princesses ride them to the castle…I’m gonna tell them unicorns don’t exist, they’re too old (almost 5) to believe in those things!
lol @ thor ragnarok
Slavonac, it depends. Do these unicorns play football?
Mishko- my twin girls love unicorns…should I tell them they don’t exist?
@ MM
I like your optimism. We get that first half goal and our team goes supercharged scores another and you can book that motherfuckin ticket to Brazil.
Man today that goal felt like it was coming and then Modric blindly passes to Thor Ragnarok and wastes about 300 meters in running distance for 3/4’s of our team.
@Slavonac so what you’re saying is that nogomet is more than just unicorns and rainbows?
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#zabreb lol
imagine pk’s in zabreb ayyyyyyye
T-Bone
I already said it wasn’t Modric’s best game, my thinking is we seem to expect him to be perfect but if some of our other players were better, there would be less attention on his errors. I’m sick or Perisic and Rakitic…both lack in consistency, making great plays and HEART! Part of why we fail is because they do little to create. When I confronted your comment about Eduardo it’s because I felt he was active and working…I believe if he was the target man we would have seen better.
All in all, this team needs an identity…and a leader! We seem to be playing with a “patch on a hole”! A quick fix, an experiment, looking for something to happen. Nobody is leading and wanting the ball…I haven’t seen a hungry player on the team in a long time and to be honest, I kinda saw that in Rebic! He looks hungry, willing and as if he wants the ball. Who else can we say that about? I watched a little of Ukraine v France and some Ukraine players demand the ball…Prosinecki, boban, Stanic…all wanted the ball, who do we have other than Luka that seems hungry?
Modric plays on a team (Real Madrid) where he does his part and he does it very well! I’ve often talked about a player playing their role, this is what I mean…he can’t be expected to play his part and much more on the NT. How often does he score or assist in Madrid? Do they ever complain? The answer is NO! He has a surrounding cast, just as he does on the NT in Perisic, Olic, Rakitic, Pranjic and so on.
@ Mishko
Amen brother. The ordinary Joe Brazilian doesn’t even want the World Cup in their dystopian society of mega inequality.
20 % unemployment in a population of 4.1/2 mil is ugly. But you know that will be the standard from now on the western world over. It looks like economically there will be diminishing returns for the whole world unless fusion reactors work their magic and we all progress into the next stage of human evolution and become a superior species which is highly unlikely.
@Vetrene cast said.
“Look for my assessment later. Some of these comments on here are a perfect example of idiots in their element.”
1 – Who the fuck are you?
2 – You call people idiots and then expect them to give a shit about what you have to say?
3 – Based on your statement about element, what credentials do you have?
I’m in sales, my element, so here’s some advice. Please buy this book, and stop being a cunt.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514laI6nP1L.jpg
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1 game vs Iceland with their stud striker out, starting defender out, exhausted from running a hard 40 minutes with 10 men, TO GO TO THE WORLD CUP!
Win we are in.
As disappointing as not scoring in the second half was we actually played better.
At least Kovac attempted to have some presence on the wings. Perisic was lively if not technical. Ilicevic disappointed me, he seemed nervous.
Pranjic was solid at left back and I would even try him at LM when Strinic comes back.
We need to energize the final third of the pitch. Mandzukic will always occupy the CB’s.
Can we put Modric out on the left wing?
Mandzukic
Rebic
Modric-Kovacic-Srna
Rakitic
Pranjic-Simunic-Corluka-Vrsaljko
Pleti
We need to start quick in Zagreb to get the Stadion rocking.
Look for my assessment later. Some of these comments on here are a perfect example of idiots in their element.
@ Slavonac I already wrote freakin essay and didn’t want to make it a 10 pager by including every player. Yes Modric works all game I will not deny that. What I am saying is if you watch the game again many times when we were sustaining pressure during a nice spell of possession Modric was turning the ball over very cheaply. He is the engine of this team and simply can’t afford to do that as oft3n as he did againsta team like iceland. I didnt really give IP a pass, just said he was OK which means to me he did the bare minimum. Well I think its fair to say that a 50 million or whatever euro man becomes your egg basket. Who disagrees with that? Never said anything about carrying a nation or cover for other mids, just said without his turnovers we keep the ball longer and at critical moments and maybe create more chances. I might be wrong but I didntvreally see Modric doing that much defending… I saw perisic throw some slide tackles and even raki, all in all m8st guysvdefended when they had to.
Eduardo: never said he should have been subbed. Just tried to speculate as to why he started… the who ticket to brazil past cro talisman status when he played w niko. I dont think he should ever start to be honest.
I target Modric because its obvious hes the guy that more should be expected and delivered from. I wouldnt recommend it but if u watch a replay of the game tell me modric did not turn the ball over more than anyone else on croatia.
I was not happy with Eduardo…
thats right i’ll take a headcase that can play, that can dribble and control the ball take long range shots and could serve us well for the next 10 years. Silly me for thinking about how a player plays and not some off field bullshit and a few tats and a hair do.
Current situation of Croatian nogomet.
http://gifs.gifbin.com/1234438887_backflip_fail.gif
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So now we have some fool on this site saying Kovac should bring Livija in. A head case like Livija! In that case why not bring Sammir back. LOL
We will get the job done in Zagreb but early exit in Brazil.
T-Bone
It wasn’t Modrics best game but even with that said he at least works end to end all game long. You give Perisic a pass on another shit no show performance and hardly mention Rakitic…you do realize midfield does not only consist of one player, Modric…did you throw all your eggs in his basket? Are you insinuating he is Croatia and we go as he goes? That’s the problem and is why we suffer…we have players in positions that are for offense and they do shit! and you point only at a player that starts the play at his own 18 yard line…runs his freaking balls off and you expect him to carry a Nation, create the goals, defend Rakitic and Perisic’s shitty defending and “flip” a pass to Mandzukic that isn’t open?
You mentioned Eduardo and didn’t mention he actually worked…you said he should have come in as a sub, what did or didn’t he do that causes you to point him out?
Remember ladies. No Kranjcar or Lovren.
And at the end of the day, who gives a fuck. Unemployment in Croatia is about about 20+%, in the scheme of life the world cup means two things, jack and shit.
And to be honest I’d rather see Iceland go. Iceland kicked out their fucking bankers that fucked them. I’ve got a massive amount of more respect for them than I do for our sell out politicians and the faggots that voted for them.
So ya, ZA DOM.
@ T-Bone
I agree with much of what you said. Our wing play is not good enough..we need to rely on an advanced role for Modric as he can create through the middle and open up the wings a bit.
Rebic for me can be that guy on the wing that can help…given we really have nothing else there.
The Ilicevic experiment was worth a shot…..but he was lousy. Kovacic needs to play as he also can be creative and is quick.
Hopefully we get the support…I’m confident we will advance though.
Well said T-Bone.
And where is Denis Svircevapcic?
Im puttn that perf down to bein away.
If we play like that at home and not score then fuck every one of them.
I still think deep down with our crowd behind us we will steam roll them in zg.
I only caught the first half…..bottom line though, we can’t score goals. We’ve conceded 9 goals in this qualifying campaign, which isn’t that bad….unless you can’t score to compensate. I’m not sure why, I know we don’t have a starting 11 of superstars, but we have good players and scoring only 12 goals in 11 matches…..damn. I hope we get one and Zagreb, and hope nobody screws up and lets Iceland get one in. We will see….
Here is my HD analysis:
First off where’s this Ziva Istina guy? I thought he was at the game? Dude doesn’t even exist. He’s just a pseudonym for Denis Svircevapcic.
OK my thoughts on the 0-0 draw: Neutral. Yes we did not score and not every player played their best (which is why we did not score) but if Joe Simunic doesn’t get his foot on that delicious dropping cross we are 1-0 LOSERS.
For me the stand out lame performance was the big money man everyone likes to shit on: Mr. Modric. Dude he fuckin blew Icelandic goat dick. For a REAL GALACTICO he sure as fuck gave the ball away about 13 times too many. Honestly for a guy of his skill and caliber he can have two mulligans, one in the first half and one for the second thats it. But buddy made at least 15 misplays/passes. Fuck he sucks most of the time for Cro especially lately.
Illicevic proved why he was left out of past teams, he sucked. I don’t think he put in a decent cross; just garbage collection for the Iceland keeper.
Eduardo shouldn’t have got the start but I can see Kovac having the utmost respect for him and seeing ‘a fire in his eyes’ prior to the game meriting inclusion in the starting 11. Eduardo is just too slow to light up the goal posts.
Perisic was just OK. He had a few decent looks and that rifled shot late but just lacks that creative instinct to make a goal happen.
Mandzukic: lack of service.
Pranjic: stud. Surprised me. Was quick, efficient with his passing and went full bore into challenges.
I wanted to see Kranjcar get subbed in but Kovac opted not for whatever reason.
I’ve said it before regarding this tie: Modric has to play as an attacking mid in games where we are playing against the bunker. He can chip, dip, flip the ball through, over and between defenders for Mandzu to finish. I was the guy that said something about trying out Lovren (with Srna) at the back of the mid and I will say that that pairing shows some promise in a game against Iceland. It allows Modric and Rakitic to play more advanced and makes us able to attack through the middle. This wing bulshit did not work because our wingers are not world class at the moment. We had virtually nothing through the middle atatcking third of the pitch today.
Icelandic gophers played a role in the game as I saw supposed Vikings go down to invisible challenges like they were running on glass legs.
Of course we should win, but if Iceland gets an early goal in ZG we are not going to Brazil, mozes slikate Rio. This missed chance at an away goal might cost us Brazil.
We are playing at home next and hopefully Maksimir is packed. If it’s a half-assed stadium crowd like we saw against Belgium cue another disappointing loss. Another good thing is Kovac now knows what works and what doesn’t and can implement a plan ‘B’ on Tuesday. Like I said I hope he moves Modric more advanced and possibly Rakitic too. Plays Kranjcar and Olic to start leaves Eduardo on the bench (this I expect) and figures out a place to put Lovren in. Benko and Rebic could factor in but honestly I don’t know enough about these guys to say if they should start or not.
Hopefully Sigthorsson is out of the tie which is a massive boost for us. If they can’t get a goal against Iceland on Tuesday to win then Iceland should score an away goal or win on PK’s! If it comes down to PK’s we fuckin deserve to lose!
ok, is it now ok to bet against croatia win for a win-win situation for the fans?
“Ulog je veliki, svi znaju da je ovo utakmica za odlazak na SP, normalno je da se ne može očekivati neka opuštena utakmica. Nije mi se svidjelo to što smo previše igrali duge lopte. Nismo to planirali, trebali smo igrati više po tlu, napraviti višak na sredini terena”, dodao je izbornik.
Već nakon prvog poluvremena iz igre je izašao Ivo Iličević. “Ivo nije ušao u utakmicu kako smo očekivali, ali to se događa. Da je Olić rekao da je spreman od početka, sigurno bismo ga prije stavili u igru. Iličević je pokušao i nije išlo, ali to je nogomet, bit će još prigoda za njega”, ohrabrio je Iličevića izbornik.
Niti crveni karton nije pomogao Hrvatskoj, osim dvije-tri vrlo dobre prilike koje je “poskidao” vratar Islanda, pritisak je u završnici splasnuo, a Kovač je još jednom naglasio kako nije ostvareno ono što je planirano.
“Previše smo centrirali s boka i vratar je to lako skupljao. Tražio sam da nakon probijanja boka igramo povratnu loptu na 16 metara, jer smo znali da se u takvim slučajevima zbijaju u kazneni prostor. Imali smo samo jednu takvu priliku, kada je promašio Perišić, a to smo trebali raditi više.”
Kovač je na kraju u igru ubacio i Leona Benka, ali je pritom iz igre izvukao Marija Mandžukića i nije pokušao napasti s dvije špice. “Razmišljao sam o tome hoćemo li igrati s dva napadača, ali još bismo više zgusnuli prostor. Mandžukić nije bio toliko u utakmici i ne bih htio da sada uđemo u neke priče, naravno da je on naš prvi izbor i za uzvratnu utakmicu”, pojasnio je Kovač.
Kakve su prognoze za uzvrat u Maksimiru? “Nadam se da su se oni danas dosta potrošili jer branili su se više od 40 minuta s igračem manje. Isto tako se nadam da ćemo mi uz našu publiku imati zamah i uvjeren sam da ćemo proći u Brazil”, rekao je na kraju izbornik za HTV.
We played so poorly, man where is Sammir when you need him.
Lol, just kidding.
If Iceland somehow score in Croatia…we are fucked!
If we can’t beat fucking iceland! We are a joke!!!
Armanda why the fuck would you say that!
we got this boys!!!
has stimac said anything about this match??
Wtf just happened lol
Uggggggh
I still think we will get the job done on Tuesday.
@IvicA, not only that but the ball turns into a fricken rock when it’s that cold, yes if affects both teams but it affects the flight of the ball, the pass everything.
It’s something like this. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4eb86jli4w
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Is there any replays of the game available?
Anybody bet against Croatia winning, I’m sure they must be happy!
I wonder how big Štimac’s grin is right now.
🙂
@Misko
Yea, I’m hoping it was the field that was causing our poor passes. It may have also been the cause of Sigthorsson’s injury too.
Yes..as CvsA said, our overall position is not bad..
we are still favourites to go thru so keep that in mind
it will be nerve-wracking i know and we all wanted to win this game to stop our hearts pounding but looks like it’s the Cardiac Croats yet again.. i believe we will make it though
Have a lovely day all~
Man, I just want us to qualify.
We can worry about confidence building in the next 6 months before the tournament.
In Zagreb I see Kranjcar starting. I don’t think he was played because of his yellow. Also expect to see Lovren. I believe the plan was to play for a draw and hope for a goal.
Expect a different team and format on Tuesday. Plus we won’t have to play on a frozen field.
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@Tomo
Eduardo almost put in goal #1 in the 1st minute. I think both forwards were off because they were getting some awful service from the midfield. We had two pieces of bread, but no meat to make the sandvić today.
Sismis- Well put. When you’re so afraid to lose, you forget how to win.
Sigthorsson’s injury looked serious.
He’s their best player too. He’ll be out for the next game for sure.
Everything is bouncing our way. It would be nuts if we didn’t progress.
Here is a predicition for Tuesday:
-The repka is gonna go into Tuesday with full confidence.
-Someone is gonna make a boneheaded mistake on defense in the first 20 minutes and Iceland is gonna get a fluky goal
-Iceland will proceed to park the bus
-We’ll be tourtured for the remainder of the game, since you know we won’t score two goals against a bunker and especially vs. a physical team like Iceland
I’m still optimistic but also worried how we will get our confidence back, we are better than we show I think we need some consistency and build on that!
@Tomo
Why are you hating on Mandžo?
He can’t do anything if our midfielders and wingers can’t seem to make a decent pass or cross.
Mandžo had that nice set up to Perišić with his head, but Perišić hit it wide.
All our wingers were bad today.
On the positive side, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be in Romania’s, France’s or Sweden’s shoes.
Let’s put it this way, we were the only away team to get a draw today. All the others lost.
Yeah, we could have played better, but we are not in a bad spot overall.
@TheGoldenChild
“We play safe. That needs to stop, but that’s easier said than done.”
We play not to lose rather than playing to win.
We used to say it’s too much of a risk to change things around
but at this point the bigger risk is NOT changing things
it’s like rebic, he needs to start, it’s not a risk to play him anymore, it’s more of a risk to NOT play him
just getting back to the hotel in reykjavik. game was a serious buzz kill. was super hyped up. croat crowd very hyped up. and then slowly died as the realization increased minute after minute into the end of the game that we weren’t going to score
Whoops forgot mandzo – oh no I didn’t. Was he on the pitch Im not sure, i think he was oh no he wasn’t ………..
i told u cunts the ukraine france game was the one to watch rather tha portugal sweden
that was awesome at the end when it blew up lol
AHAHAHAHA. France lost. I love it, I love it, I love it.
Here’s what is deemed French? GTFO of here. It’s a gorilla with fucked up hair.
http://kubadle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Paul-Pogba.jpg
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@ Adame
You promised me that Dudu would score when I said that he would likely be invisible in this second striker role!
You promised me!!! How could you?!?
Match summary
Pletikosa – spectator
Corluka – any slower could mutate to a sloth.
Srna – invisible. No captain no charisma on the pitch.
Siminic – saved our buns again.
Pranjic – ok. some creativity at LB.
Modric – awfull. No presence whatsoever.
Rakitic – did most creating in MF and thats not saying much. way too deep. Should’ve played in front of modric.
Peresic – why is he still on the team?
Illecivic – expected more from him. awfull.
oLIC – Hustled more than anyone. made some good passes but not read by his teamates.
Eduardo – should’nt start. Contributed nothing really.
Rebic – Should’ve come on earlier. Had some nice runs.
Benko – too late. Better sub would’ve been kranjcar.
Ref – our best player!!!!
Here is my take…
We can’t create. Modric couldn’t do anything today, Mandzukic wasn’t himself and Perisic put in yet another poor performance.
As I’ve said before our attacking mid play is slow and they are predictable. I’d say the formation is the right
4-2-3-1 but we need to move up Modric or Kovacic to play forward a little more, pull Eduardo out and add Kovacic to play alongside Rakitic….having Srna play D isn’t bad…he wasn’t horrible by any stretch.
Perisic on the other hand offers nothing for us. Ilicevic experiment didn’t work..he has the speed but offered nothing.
I’ve called for Rebic and he created and provided speed on the flank…
Mandzukic
Rebic-Modric-Eduardo
Rakitic-Kovavic
Pranjic-SImunic-Corluka-Srna
We have to try something to create chances as todays lineup couldn’t get it going.
Now a red on Ukraine. This is fucking awesome.
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Uff. Painful to watch.
Our passing was terrible. We couldn’t string three consecutive passes without the ball bouncing or it coming up well short of the intended target (and it wasn’t due to Iceland ‘s “good” defence). Yet, when we finally get into their box, we overpass and nobody wants to take the shot.
Our wings didn’t do their job and Iceland was very weak defending their flanks too. Kovač’s entire game plan relied on our wings too.
We’d better win this game in ZG.
The black frogs are down to 10.
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here’s my two cents:
I don’t think that was a terrible performance. If you look at our last 4 games, we probably created more scoring chances in this game then those 4 combined. I didn’t feel we lacked heart in this game like we did under Stimac. Kovac had very little time to prepare this team, yet I saw eons of change. We played much better when they went down a man. I’m not sure how many of you have played sports, but there’s always that odd game where you create chances but just can’t score. This was one of those games as opposed to the previous games where we didn’t score, or create chances. Still confident we will advance to Brasil, and if we do Kovac will have the time to fine tune us so we can convert on these chances.
OH SHIT, great RED on Koscielny. I fucking hate that guy.
Tomo,
True. Kovac isn’t an offensive specialist though, and even if he was, this team wouldn’t be able to pull that off. Like you said, everything was pretty atrocious when it came to passing.
Wing play was not good as usual, and the shared role in the middle between Raki and Modric still hasn’t shown success. One of them needs to be granted a place to play much more offensively and not have to worry about defense responsibilities as much.
We play safe. That needs to stop, but that’s easier said than done.
Everybody needs to go grab a beer and just relax. Game Tuesday…save your energy.
@Joe
Tell that to Guardiola on Bayern Munich! LOL
As long as we make it to Brazil, I think we will do well.
Sure, we have some issues creating good scoring chances, but it’s not easy to score against a team that parks a bus in front of the net.
Although the result was disappointing, I think this performance was better than most games in the group stage, including the ones we won.
Mandzukic is awful.
we played shit but at least we didnt loose 2-0 and still have a very good chance to go thru
this is great.. france are gonna miss the world cup.. suck on that frenchies
Ukraine is beating France? I love it, I hate those black frogs.
Good analysis on Mandzo. He thought he was playing for Bayern and didn’t need to work for service.
Mandzo and Dudo don’t seem to have any chemistry together, and Mandzo, Olic and Dudu at the same time never works.
Perisic was a huge momentum killer with his poor decision making.
I’m surprised he didn’t insert Krunchie – he seems to do well when the other team parks the bus (the late Belguim goal for example).
ukraine 2 -0 france
portugal score..
imn watching ukraine france it’s more interesting than portugal sweden.. there’s something nearly happening all the time in this game
Re: Modric
How about moving him foward, SS? AM? I mean he has the quality to dribble, pick good passes, and unlock . He should play more forward like Iniesta does.
Greece beating Romania 3-1
Ukraine beating France 1-0
Portugal and Sweden 0-0
…all on 80 minutes!
Dalmo,
I agree. Modric needs to ride the pine because he hasn’t given any good looks to our forwards. Rakitic looks like he’s going to cry every time he has the ball. IGRAJTE PICKE!
Every coach of a hack squad knows this – pushing shoving hacking at ankles channelling agression will disrupt a better team and then usually wait for a mistake for a goal. If you look at how Germany plays these teams they move them around side to side to create gaps. The passing from us was atrocious especially modric. This teams just sucks – period!
@ slavonac from Canada
True, we do poorly against cagey physical sides. But to Iceland’s credit they had a lot of heart.
They were so fired up, because this is the farthest they may ever go. To them this was like a World Cup final.
Wtf was that ? We Can’t even Beat a 10 man Iceland team ? How are We going to beat Anybody that is Good if we make it to the Cup ! No chance !! I Bet Hajduk or Rijeka would have played Better than these guys today ! Might as well send one of them at least they would have played with more Heart !! Sramota ! Weak ! Very Weak !! I can not Belive it ! Peace Out !! Bog , Hrvati , USA , Hajduk , i HNS !!!
For me I liked the fact we were solid defensively, seemingly calmer and without potential for that big calamity we saw a couple times at least in qualifying.
Personally, I don’t Luka so deep. Maybe in RM he can play that role given their wealth of attacking talent but not for us. I’d drop Kovacic into that role and move Luka up replacing Dudu.
Olic showed flashes today but agree with previous comments he needs to be on the left. He was trying to cut back against the flow like Robben but doesn’t have Robben’s delivery. Not to mention, he had space to drive to the near post and then either try a shot or cross it back diagonally along the ground, but never did. Defenders of course didn’t make it easy for him….
Finally, for me Srna needs to be replaced. Svaka mu cast for everything he has done for the repka but the lack of pace is glaring….I liked Rebic when he came on. To me Rebic on the right blasting up the wing would be a welcome alternative to whatever Srna does these days.
Nemojte te se bunit decki, sve ce biti u redu u Utorak…..Niko is on the right track, Rome was not built in a day.
Now we just need the stadion to be full and fucking LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ajme meni majko moja. Terrible all round but I think we need Srna at right wing to get some decent crosses in. Corluka can go to right back and Lovren centre back.
Ya that’s fine Iggy….but when you’re observing a steady DECLINE in performance….you don’t usually have much hope for a star studded performance beginning to appear.
shit wow ukraine 1 – 0 france atm
@slavonac from canada
Great post. It’s true. You can see how much the dirty play gets into our heads. Our guys get scared that they’re going to get a leg taken off….everybody except Olic.
@slavonac from canada
We have never been any good against physical teams. I still cannot believe what I witnessed today but against physical teams we struggle.
Toronto: Long time till the world cup a lot can change between now and then
look at what has changed since euro 2012 and now – only one year.. we have the same squad and look at the change in our play
Jp ” iceland shook , clear by halftime sub” uhmmm ne brate halftime sub was for the injured forward gudjohansen
rebic to start in zagreb
pranjic played well
0-0 vs 10 men
if we cant beat iceland we deserve to stay home and watch bosna
There are other part of the game that have an impact and many of us don’t really comment on them. I think we’d be better against a Romania, Greece or even Ukraine because they play better soccer. I know it sounds strange but playing Iceland…big, strong and tough…not so much tactic but a load of heart is not an easy task for anyone.
I’ll say this…….if we do happen to make it to the world cup (which I still want to see happen)…
I will be surprised if we win one game in the group stage.
maybe modric should play more forward for the repka?? something needs to change anyway that’s for sure
I hope the Iceland player that twisted his ankle wasn’t injured too bad because that looked nasty.
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Modric – waste of space today. Fuckin painful to watch – again!
Easiest draw, a red card and a helpfull ref – still cant score a fuckin goal to win. Icelanders are fuckin rough but that is typical of these teams who actually cant play football. Every coach knows that they would play like this – we still cant figure it out. PAINFULL………
Croatia might have to start practicing penalty kicks. That’ll be our insurance policy in case we can only muster a 0-0 draw in ZG.
Mandzo, Dudu and Olic on the field at the same time, the last coach tried that shit. Lets get the win at home and the future is Rebic and Livaja, as a tandem or as support to Mandzo. Simunic obviously will have to step down and Srna can follow.
To open up in Zagreb id have Modric riding the pine, he has been shambolic for us lately, a lot of close attention from the opposition and a lack of flow to our game. Perisic doesn’t know where he is half the time, in fact all these players are strangers to each other its like they never played together.
All or nothing lets kick some ass in Zagreb and then work on ironing things out for Brazil.
What a horrible game. Even against 10 they were only able to create one chance. Kovac shouldn’t consider Perisic anymore, he’s just too less. But what about Modric? It looks like he doesn’t want to qualify for Brazil. Rakitic was better than him today.
All in all, this was a disgrace.
If we can’t beat a 10 man Iceland, we can’t beat anyone. We’ve lost our scoring ability.
If they pip us for a goal in Zagreb, we are done, ’cause I don’t see us scoring 2 goals.
Fuck this repka, fucking team of imbeciles. We can’t blame the coach again, these idiots play for top teams across europe and they cant fucking put their shit together for 90 minutes for their own country. Watching the Sweden vs Portugal team you can see the difference in skill and confidence real international football teams have. Mandzukic and Modric, arguably our “best” players hit their career ceilings when they played tottenham and wolfsburg. Thats when they were best for their league teams and their countries. Now they are a duo of tools who have given up caring because they are now among the best in the world with bayern and real respectively. Its a downward spiral from here on in guys. Enjoy the spectacle of Croatian football bursting into flames due to our own players laziness.
Don’t get too down everyone
we’re in a playoff tie and we drew 0-0 away from home.
When you consider in that light it’s not THE WORST FUCKING THING EVER..
we could have lost – and that would have been a disaster..
we just have to beat these fuckers in a few days at home, that is all.. once we are qualified then we can start fucking around with diff players/formations.. we still have a very good chance to qualify
Based on the way Iceland defends and our current inability to score, wouldn’t be surprised if this tie goes to pk in Zagreb….what a way to have one nation advance to the WC in Brazil!
Highlights:
Eduardo had a good showing.
Perisic and Illicevic couldn’t get good crosses in
Modric had a bad first half, better second half
I like the Rebic sub. We needed a player to attack the goal directly
Aside from the crossovers, Olic was pretty effective on the right side. If he had a right foot, we might have scored.
Pranjic – wow that he actually played, but happy to see him back
Perisic needs to learn discipline, and he’ll be a lot more dangerous
Mandzukic needs to drop the fucking attitude and play. He’s got to understand he’s not going to get the same service. He’s acting like he is above everybody and you could see Kovac giving him a little talk when he came off the field.
Biggest plus:
Defense didn’t look like swiss cheese
Not happy with the tie, but happy that we didn’t go down any points. Onto Hrvatska, where we won’t be freezing our balls off. Iceland saw a big loss with Sigursson, so that’s a plus.
I think Kovac is good, but the game in Zagreb can go either way. 90 more minutes of torture, damn!
Perisic is useless. What these coaches see in this guy is beyond me. My dead Nona crosses the ball better than he does.
So it’s been at least five years now since we can beat a bunker… Doesn’t look like we will be able to soon either
@Franjo:
Don’t exaggerate.. we were gift-wrapped the weakest group?????
fuck off, did you look at the groups? that is an idiot statement
Many things to take away from this game, some criticized Luka, Eduardo or Olic…the bottom line here is those 3 always work for their chances and try to play the best attacking position…we have other players that have possession and almost never create and then are a liability defensively. Perisic couldn’t shine Kranjcar boots and Rakitic has no heart whatsoever! I say we look for 2 new options with those players…it’s mandatory!
If Srna was fast like when he was younger we would have created more room on the right. Olic alone didn’t cut it.
What a fucking joke!!! Never putting money on those losers again!
Just shows how far down this team has gone with Stimac at the healm. Kovac will need to get this team going before the next game.
Fuck me iggy . What just happened ?
Sramota.
We were gift-wrapped the weakest group and couldn’t win it. Got the weakest team in the pot AND Iceland a man down and it still doesn’t matter.
We need a guy like Bilic back.
Looks like this might come down to penalty kicks in ZG.
the repka is bloody torturing us fans
Horrible!
MOM is the Iceland keeper.
Now for Portugal v Sweden.
.
Lame
If we make it to Brazil, I’ll be happy.
But we sure as hell don’t deserve it….
Srna was the Invisible Man …
That was an absolutely FUCKING GARBAGE game.
We had everything on our side.
We have more talent….we had the Ref on our side…they had a red card……..and we STILL couldn’t even get a decent attacking chance.
That was an absolutely fucking horrible performance.
one final kick at the can….
There it is. 0-0
fuckkkkkk
fuck we may as well play the washington generals… fml
Only 2 minutes of stopage time.
Wow, what a horrible shot by Luka.
how bad did we look in 98 qualifying? lol, surely not this bad
not with shots like that FFS
STOP starting with Eduardo!
WTF Olic, send in the fucking cross, stop trying to do everything yourself.
.
Leon benkoooooooooo
late away goal… let’s go!!!
Impressed with Iceland defending….committed, attack like rabid dogs, fighting for their lives.
Nice to see Benko geting a chance!
a gift draw
a gift game
and now we have to deal with another 90 minutes of torture…
mama moja mila….
Benko on for Mandzo.
O my it’s getting late
New manager same result
so basically one game, we must win… thats it
Rebic is at least trying to create!
Mandzukic has to bury that one. In Germany, he would have.
Can we stop crossing the ball to the goalkeeper???
Periic pure venom in that shot!!!! But missed.
FUCK ME. Get in ball.
fuckkkkkkkkkkk so close
Ref is giving us calls in midfield and them on their back line.
This ref looks like John Stockton….and right now, he’s our best player.
What idiot said Joe Simu is done? Buddy saved a 100 percent goal.
the red card u mean
man simunic saved the day there
yes rakitic made the pass but where is his free kick, corner kick… fuck
Rebic looks excellent so far.
.
I mentioned he made a great pass earlier…1 pass from a super skillful player in far below average!
@slavonac from Canada
Raketa made the killer pass that resulted in the yellow card to Iceland, otherwise we’re in all alone….
We don’t have a lot of depth, has been repeated on here ad finitum.
Nice move by Perisic to the net just now….
@slavonac from Canada
Raketa made the killer pass that resulted in the yellow card to Iceland, otherwise we’re in all alone….
We don’t have a lot of depth, has been repeated on here ad finitum.
hopefully he’s as tough as chuck too
oh rebic on.. nice i like that
Every time I see Rebic he reminds me a Chuck Liddell.
.
No fuckin plan of attack.
Absolutely horrible
yup rakitic is a bum
all right boys cmon smash one in… enough dicking around
im back and it’s still 0-0 ???? fuck my juicy tits god DAYUM
Rebic on for Eduardo.
Modric again with the giveaway…WTF!!??
I’ve been talking about the same two players for over a year…Perisic and Rakitic! they are supposed to be playmaker, creative and somewhat of a goalscoring threat at times as well! I hope people see that they are nothing…and I mean zero! Rakitic has far more potential but I think his attitude sucks. These two are why we hardly see much…as midfielders it is their job to make shit happen…not only Luka! Mandzukic and Eduardo can only look good with service…watch any team that has success…midfield has to create!
rebic in… may as well at this point
rebic in? interesting
just waiting for one of you guys to write goallllllllllllllllllll!!!!! (sorry if this excited anyone)
Rakitic with a bomba! No goal though.
@Iggy you should tea bag your coffee. LMAO.
.
im gonna go get a coffee and if it isn’t 3-0 by the time i get back my balls will be less than impressed
Yo complainers, are you noticing that iceland are fouling our guys like motherfuckers?
fuck just by accident we have to score one
Zrce*
Yea man Iceland is playing solid defense and goalie is keeping them alive and they probably want to go to the world cup more than any other team that still needs to qualify/has already qualified
we’ll get one in soon… don’t get your panties in a bunch
Modric has no purpose on this team. Make him a striker.
Hey! Word on the street in ZG is that everyone’s favourite reprezentativac Sammir has 2 clubs interested in his services.
…one is Papaya on Srce and the other is Aquarius in Zagreb.
🙂
What the hell did you guys expect? A night and day difference? It’s kovac’s first game in charge. Chill the fuck out. Croatia have a little hop in their step, it’ll get better so quit your bitching. You’re sounding like a bunch of Serbs complaining.
I’m confident we can still get a goal…..
But lets be honest here….its Iceland on a …red card? …AND we’re getting most of the ref’s calls.
This is really poor performance in my opinion.
i think we’ve done “okay” since the red.. few chances.. the first half was really underwhelming tho
but i think we’ll score
Man Modric is pissing me off. Pussyfart passing.
Torotno Canada I agree. Fuckign Iceland? Against Coratia? not a chance. Lets put this game away already
if they hold us to a draw, every player deserves a swift kick to the jaje after the game….
Used to be is the key my fine feathered friend…..you hold us in too high a regard based on current form AND you don’t give enough respect to the opposition.
Patience.
Have another shot of sliva and all wil lbe good.
Iceland’s D and their goalie are keeping them in the tie.
Icelands a good team my ass. We’re talking about Croatia who used to be known for beating teams like Germany…Italy…
Now we’re saying Iceland is a good team? And they have a red card?
They’re playing like shit.
Back passing to Corluka/Simunic/Pletikosa
Long balls
Tons of possesion with no real attack
ahh… Croatian football at it’s finest!
we’ve had plenty of attacks since the red card.. plenty of close shaves.. looks like a goal is coming
iceland solid… maybe not most skilled but they are strong and athletic… remember these dudes are vikings
@Sude Mi, well said.
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I’m so unimpressed with our “stars” right now, its not funny.
Iceland are a good squad, making it to the playoff is not easy….show a little respect. Not to mention we are playing away….
Come on man …FUCK….we’re playing Iceland who has a Red card and Croatia STILL seems to have no plans for attack!
WTF…if we win it looks like it’ll be fluky shit.
I told you that Pranjic is excellent.
fuck their goalie is playing sick
espn3 is internet only. you need your internet service provider login information.
FUCKING GO IN THE GOAL YOU FUCKING STUPID BALL
flop?
What channel is espn3 on direct tv ? All the other links keep showing games and porn . Help me please
ahhhh fuck my cunt nearly
Please don’t waste the free kick. Bring on Kranjcar just for this.
oh boy, if we can’t score at least one here then for sure we have no business in brazil
OH SHIT RED against Iceland.
That was the right call.
red! bravo!
Lakše se diše…
Finally a great pass by Rakitic!
great pass! total red card
had to be a red..
Pussy foot Rakitic…remember what I’ve been saying…no fucking heart!
Olic is in, I think for Ivo. OMG Peresic is fucking horrible.
JP comments are bang on!
or not, am i tripping
You can see that Lagerback is already adjusting with a half time sub. He’s rightfully worried.
olic on, i knew it… had a feeling
The poor crossing is due to lack of familiarity with each other. Mandzo goes deep on them, but the balls are coming in shallow.
JP, I hate to say it but I’m not seeing any of that from the first half. Aside from the first 2 minutes of play, we have played just as we have all throughout this campaign. We look like a nation of 4.5 million.
i was talking bout the scotland game
2nd half… lets go boys!!!!!!
slavonac his tale is grossly similar to Marko Babic. High hopes/expectations, turns out to be a one trick pony that frustrates.
Kralj Kranjcar for persic
hopefully now going into the wind our crosses might actually pan out, we had no clue how to play it with the wind. Ilicevic gets a cap for being Cro diaspora from Germany?
Rakitic needs to stand up because Modric cant get anything going, seems lately for the NT he cant hit a pass, put some of that down to being closely guarded so someone else needs to step the fuck up and take some fucking responsibility
I’ve seen enough of Perisic…forever, I hope nobody ever tells me he’s a player…he’s average at best. does nothing for that position!
according to espn it looks like were dominating possesion 63%-37%. After a talk from Kovac in the locker room and and some tactical changes we will be scoring the second half. Just fucking wish i could watch this game.
i agree with mr black
sorry, i cant see any improvement whatsoever in our play
are we playing better than vs belgium for example????
no way..
Pranjic looked very good. Perisic had an open look and shot straight at the keeper. Looks like another lame performance from Perisic.
I just don’t like modric and rakitic playing so withdrawn.
Eduardo needs to be subbed out.
Mandzukic needs just one good cross.
I like where the game is but we need the away goal. They can easily score a 89th minute winner and leave us scratching our heads.
Everything that we have going is coming up the left… Perisic is destroying his marking but the final cross hasn’t met Mario yet. If Perisic or Pranjic can get a nice ball in to SMM it could finally happen. Looks like zero chance of anything developing on the right as Ilicevic has brought nothing and Srna been barely visible
Ps. Lagerback is visibly worried… if he adjusts to stifle our wing play, that will leave more space in the middle, and everyone knows he doesnt want to do that. This is tactics. And I’m sure Niko knows this. Whether we execute properly/proficiently is another matter. I believe we soon will.
I predict that we go full court pressing in the second half. My gut tells me that we played keep away to make the iceland players tired, but we’ll see.
Time for a bloody mary.
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ok to those that really know the game, are we choosing to go to persic’s side so much or is it just the way the game is being played out??
Nothing changed since our last game. It looks like they don’t have any idea how to create a chance: just throwing the ball in front of their keepers and hope it turns out well.
I didn’t see Ilicevic and Modric just played his worst 45 minutes for Croatia.
My only hope is that the players of Iceland get tired of all their work and that we succeed to use the space. It would be a disgrace if we don’t win today.
have to say JP is right… just look at our last few games… this is an improvment for sure
olic would have been all over that loose ball in the first minute… just saying;)
get Ilicevic outta there, he’s done nothing and thankfully he didn’t get hurt already
I love the energy and effort. You can clearly see what Kovac is instilling and I must say that I love it. It hasn’t quite clicked yet, though we’ve clearly been the most dangerous team, in a really tough environment, against a solid, physical, athletic and underrated squad. Modric hasn’t yet adapted to the frenetic pace, he will, and our strategy to play wide into the middle is smart, and will very soon pay dividends. In the long term (whatever the result of this game) we are a much more dangerous team with this style. Bravo Niko!
yeah i just saw that on the replay
i actually missed that, i think i was looking for HRT link or something
@Iggy, we had an excellent chance in the first minute.
whoops that anonymous was me
of course it could be worse.. but what’s crap is
clear-cut scoring chances created = 0
hey 0-0 away at half isnt a bad result at all. like i said modric and rakitic need to push up a little. perhaps kranjcar for perisic. push srna to rm with lovren taking over for corluka and pushing corluka to rb. rakitic behind madza perhaps. minor changes.
lets hope that striker is ok after the playoff… till then, i hope he fucking hurts
well that was an underwhelming half
but i have to say with our lack of scoring… its so important we get one there…
Adame, I think it was their best striker. But it looked bad. He stepped wrong and rolled his ankle.
that was frustrating…brutal crossing, no creativity, nervous defending
Good non-call when the Iceland player went down. I think he injured his achiles on his own.
Iceland’s team tactic is to hack Modric every time he has the ball.
Sigaarson out with bad ankle, looked like it buckled from divet in turf as Modric was tracking him….fucking sweet! He looks to be done, in alot of pain….
yup i agree… the big mac attack should be put on in the 2nd half… early on
who got hurt?! i cant watch the game at work
This isn’t as bad as we think…a few minor changes and we can do better…Mandzukic isn’t utilized and Perisic and Rakitic aren’t creating. I say bring in Kranjcar!
I think he’ll take off illicevic for lovren push corluka right and put srna as rm. modric and raketa need to push up a little forward
OH shit. That looked really bad.
That looks like it hurt-
nice to see one of them rolling around on the ground for a change
Heavyweight champion of Hrvatska Kranjcar should see some of the pitch today. I don’t know how he’s done it his entire career, but he finds ways to be effective. Take off Ilicevic or Perisic
haha i figured u meant kranjcar, denis
damn iPad. Kranjcar for perisic
Perisic and his long range efforts…
Perisic is a robot…absolutely no creativity!
wow.. a shot on target.. is that like our first in 4 matches or something?? lol
perisic struggling. Granular for perisic at half
Does anyone else hate our style of play? We look like we’re going half speed and can’t hold any kind of possession in the middle and attacking thirds of the pitch. I would like to see more of those early crosses like what Pranjic just sent in, I could see Iceland making some kind of mistake handling them and us getting fortunate in the box. Not impressed in the least right now..
We look like shit so far…and we were happy we drew Iceland 🙁
where are all those people saying there won’t be major changes? Pranjic and ilicevic in starting lineup.
I Dont have a single popup from firstrow, but i am using adblock of course
These Norseman Ogers are playing the let foul the Vatreni game. The ref needs to card these Oafs!
Pp: at the very top of the page there are a bunch of links posted by CSR
their goalie keeps coming out and making challenges… we have to somehow take advantage of this and sneak it behind him
Thanks iggy , but porn and games keep popping up
I like the way we’re playing but would like to see Luka a little higher up the pitch….
We are making Iceland look good, we should destroy this team!
Is it just me or does Perisic seem to do a whole Lotta nothing?
at least we’ve stopped them having chances on the counter.. the first 10 mins we’re shaky as fuck at the back for us
well, their captain is a wankfest
Some of those Iceland players are fucking assholes. Did you see the push on Pranjic when we was going to get the ball?
http://firstrownow.eu/watch/221459/6/watch-iceland-vs-croatia—fifa-wcq-2014-.html
Help . Where can I watch the game ?
it looks like our game is starting to improve now tho
Iceland looking like the lost some wind in their sails.
we getting alot of these runs down to perisic and then nothing…. grrr
Right now were doing fine. Need to attack through the middle though.
we are not playing great tbh
is modric just getting used to the speed of the icelanders, or having probelms with their size? for sure we need him to get going soon
dannyj, I hope so.
Modric already made too many bad passes for my liking.
elcroato… one of these crosses got to work eventually
i thought i just saw ziva in the croatian corner checking his wifi connection
good tactic for Mandzukic, but we aren’t crossing well.
why the fuck arent we winning yet
shit we needed that quick goal to go in at the first minute there
maybe bostoncro, but the icelanders are athletes for sure
they are a for sure a dangerous team
fuck i wish i could watch this.
our defence looks shaky…
IDEMO!
oooohhhhh
we need to get on their nerves
loud atmosphere… but don’t think its intimidating say like going to serbia
lol poglavnik… i keep saying it god bless canada… we have so many of our games on tv… its crazy
but its to be expected. i believe canada has much more following soccer then other non european countries beside south american ones
lets go boys!!!!
Espn 3 had kovacic starting over dudu lol
im watching channel 6 at firstrow, in english, seems okay.. can’t find any HRT
Channel 54 in Canada!
Almost every cable package has that channel.
You’d have to be a real chooch not to have it.
Do you guys all have this Arabic announcer? What the hell!?
Dudu is singing our anthem….Rakitic with a new hairdo!!!
dudu sings the anthem… rakitic has perfect comb over going
Get to a tv boys!
Some of you guys are really gonna watch a game like THIS on a shitty little computer with advertising popping up every where!?!
I understand if it’s your only option, but if not, come on guys…
standard link with 8 channels:
http://firstrownow.eu/watch/221459/1/watch-iceland-vs-croatia—fifa-wcq-2014-.html
i can’t find one for HRT, if anyone has one chuck it in here plz
@tone
what link did you use?
has anyones espn3 started yet?
but the picture is good!!!!
crappy links… dang.. only one I get working has Arabic commentary WTF???
quality on espn 3 just went from full to 1 lol
hrt2 link????
@ Croatia vs. Antwerp
We all know how that turned out against England.
There isn’t a pro soccer player on this planet who hasn’t made crucial mistakes in games…shit happens and you move on. If you follow your train of thought, Raketa shouldn’t be in because he missed that glorious header vs. Spain, Perisic should be out given his give-away against Belgium in Zagreb and so on, and so on, and so on.
Good line-up, let’s hgo rock the Icelandic world!
U boj U boj
Lovren > pranjic any day of the week
anyone know if any firstrow link is HRT?
espn3 usually replays the game for a week after it finishes
that youtube link to the game is not available in australia actually so firstrow for me it looks like
IDEMO AJDE AJDE IDEMO MOMCI BRAZIL NAS CEKA
“Stigao je službeni sastav Hrvatske. Niko Kovač se odlučio za sljedeću 11-oricu : Pletikosa – Srna, Ćorluka, Šimunić, Pranjić – Rakitić, Modrić – Iličević, Eduardo, Perišić – Mandžukić”
-Jutrinji List
IvicA, my fellow Gaffer on this site, I’m having reservations about starting Pranjic (LB), Eduardo (AM/SS), and Ilcevic (R-AM).
I’m concerned that Eduadro and Illicevic are not sharp, because they don’t play often. Isn’t Illicevic left-footed? Also Pranjic shouldn’t be playing left-back. We all know how that turned out against England.
4-2-3-1: Pletikosa–Vrsajko, Lovren, Simunic, Corluka–Modric, Kovacic–Srna, Rakitic, Perisic–Mandzukic
This would be more appropriate.
Hey everyone,
Anyone know if there is a play online where I can see the game after it happens? I cant see the game now…but would like to check it out later. Any way to record it from that youtube link?
Nearly time to bring the fuckn pain !!!
@ Anonymous
Doubt it. But I’m sure they’ll have sushi.
Sure, it may not be that fancy Japanese sushi (rather, some Icelandic shark and seal carcass) but it’s close enough.
Something tells me that Kovač is expecting to be scored on, but doesn’t care as much as he wants to ensure we have a lineup capable of putting in some away goals.
You think they’ll just play the counter?
official lineup according to Lynx who always brings the goods:
[ Pletikosa ]
Srna…..Corluka…..Simunic…..Pranjic
Rakitic……..Modric
Ilicevic…..Eduardo…..Perisic
Mandzukic
I hope there’s wifi at the stadium… I don’t wanna hear Ziva bitching about how shitty of a stadium it is because of no wifi
@ Boston
We’re trying out a new formation with a lot of rusty players. What if it doesn’t work?!?
😉
I’m just messing around with you.
AJMO MOMCI!!!
We are 180 minutes away from Brasil boys!!! I can almost smell/taste the churrasco!!!
AJMO VATRENI
any links?
i never have to log into espn3 i think i just lied once and it saved it
anyone have a hrt2 stream that wold be the best
You have to like our chances. No injuries, solid lineup/formation, and the new upbeat atmosphere. What is there not to like.
Eduardo, although short, was always good with headers.
Hopefully our wings are clicking today, and we send in some deadly crosses to Mandžo and Dudu today.
Almost game time boys! I’m nervous but also a believer….we will win today…no two ways about it!
@ Adame
I hope you’re right
@Horvat
True. I’d figure that Vrsaljko would get the start in this type of formation over Iličević… But maybe Kovač saw something during the practice sessions?
I also like that Rakitić is playing in a central role and is paired with someone. He plays like this at Sevilla, and there is no excuse for him having a poor game today (however I do think his focus should be on defending).
I guarantee that Eduardo nets one today.
SportLemon.me
@SišmiššĆovjek
The lineup is interesting. I can see what Kovač is trying to do, which is comforting since it lets us know that we actually have a coach who is not just randomly throwing players together without justification.
It’s a shame that we couldn’t test this out in a friendly as we have guys starting who have not played for us in a long, long time. He’s taking a risk, but unlike us, he gets to see how they click in practice together.
Not too keen on Eduardo being that second striker. He might be invisible for us today. I really hope he proves me wrong. I don’t want to miss this World Cup.
When was the last time Ilicevec has been in form?
I would rather see Vrsaljko in his place.
I like Rakitic playing next to Modric.
Sport Lemon? more info?
you can definitely use ESPN3.com or Sportska here in the States: http://sportska-tv.net/kiwi-28/
anonymous
yes
Just watch the game on Sport Lemon. There’s probably going to be like 5 available feeds.
This line-up shows our desperation for speed and quickness against this athletic Iceland side. Hopefully Ivo and Danijel bring it!
Is YouTube saying that “The uploader has not made this video available in your country.” for you Americans also???
@BostonCro
You’re right about Olic.
Apparently he should be ready to go in Zagreb on Tuesday though.
Judging by the lineup that the media outlets are posting, Eduardo is probably playing as a second striker role and Kovač is going to be playing heavily on the wings.
Hopefully Rakitić can play some solid defense alongside Modrić, and both Perišić & Iličević have solid games, because Mandžo is automatic.
From Index
http://is.gd/uAqZen
@IvicA
What do you think of the lineup?
SASTAV ZA ISLAND:
Pletikosa – Srna, Ćorluka, Lovren, Šimunić – Rakitić, Modrić – Iličević, Eduardo, Perišić – Mandžukić
If the reported starting line-up is true, some interesting picks. No Lovren at CB or LB. Pranjic at LB. Sticking with Perisic. Starting Dudu (which must mean that Olic must not be 100%). And the biggest surprise – inserting Iličević (who must be healthy for the first time in 3 years). Hopefully he plays to his potential and brings some energy.
I like this lineup. Ballsy, but not stupid either. I would have both Illicevic and Perisic on short leashes, with Niko and Kovacic subbing in. Is this the first time Pranjic and Persic have played together?
ILICEVIC i PRANJIC !
Attacking width and quickness.
KOVAC!
AJMO Hrvatska !
@NK Drava lmao!!!
@Nk Drava
haha was considering making myself vomit to get out of here but my boss knows a big game is on today. wont work. might have to take a 2 hour shit or something.
@adame-
You look ill-
@Adame
ESPN3 is the stream I will be using. Usually a great feed.
As mentioned before you will need cable provider username and password….
thanks nepoznat,
only thing is im at work and everything is blocked on these fucking computers. Fuck i was relying on youtube or i would’ve taken off.
no I don’t think so Adame
use ESPN3.com or if you have no ESPN login/access: http://sportska-tv.net/kiwi-28/
sorry fellas but just to reiterate, the youtube streaming wont work in the states?
Ziva Istina just called me. Said its a good atmosphere, no rain, a lot of jock sniffers and not too many self hating Hrvati. So far, so good. Going into th stadium now.
3-0 Hrvatska!
Just like in Turkey.
We’re gonna come out aggressive with something to prove I think.
Hopefully we get one in the first 15 minutes.
Good call- Pictures would be great.
Curious to see what Iceland looks like on game day.. on the ground perspective.
thanks for the local update JM! take some pics if you get a chance
lol excuses? I was just pointing out something else to look out for with the stupid Ref being so card happy
Island u ‘kockicama’: Hrvatski navijači čekaju susret godine
http://is.gd/ZHZlEU
In reykjavik right now. Very hyped up. Seeing checkers all over town. So far weather is manageable without rain
Everything pointing to a big win-
New Coach
New found enthusiasm
New chance
Potential headline tomorrow:
Niko Kovac has team playing together and they are very dangerous. Welcome back to the top tier of world football, we thought you were gone after Scotland…
Croatia 3-0
Match prediction: 2-1 for Cro.
I watched a few clips of Iceland’s qualifiers. Some observations: They are a pretty quick team, they like to run at the defense and use the wings. They pass the ball well and keep it on the ground; no long ball airing it forward tactics. Sigthorsson (sic?) is the danger man. I watched his hat trick against the Swiss and it reminded me of Eduardo in his prime for Croatia. Quick shooting, great accuracy, knows where to be. I think they will have the ball more than we expect and all of our players have to contrubute on D.
I’m with @Armada on this one – if we can’t beat Iceland over two legs, we don’t deserve to go anywhere near a World Cup finals tournament for a long time to come. No excuses.
weather, cards, referees, etc.
all BS excuses – we’re a few notches ahead of Iceland in terms of talent and big game experience
sucks for NK to have his first match be such a crucial one, but I hope he got the boys ready and I hope each player brings their A game today
we were ‘gifted’ with this draw and if we don’t make it through, we don’t have anyone to blame but ourselves… not the refs, weather, bla bla bla…
don’t forget guys this ref is a Spanish ref who gives out a ton of yellows and you know how light fouls are called in Spain! This is bad news with so many of our guys coming in on a yellow (I think Iceland has 1 more player than ours with a yellow however)
@pp
our names are dark because we registered with the site. You can too it’s simple and fast. Sign up in the forums tab in the top menu.
http://www.vecernji.hr/nogomet/ovo-je-sastav-koji-ce-istrcati-protiv-islanda-903124
@Jelavic
it may be, but I would think Google/Youtube has resources to get around that and still block you
espn3.com will have it in very good quality. if you don’t have an account perhaps you have friends/family on the same ISP that has a login you could borrow
ZOVI SAMO ZOVI SVI CEEEEE SOKOLOVI
is it possible to use a proxy to than go to youtube……1080p on youtube plug the mac up to the tv in the living room ooooo
@DinamoDennis is that your prediction or you get that from a media outlet? if so share the link, hvala
Oops that was the you tube link to the 2nd leg… Non Americans can watch here on youtubes mobile site ..
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aaixN4g3Jp0
Pletikosa – Srna, Ćorluka, Šimunić, Pranjić – Rakitić, Modrić – Iličević, Eduardo, Perišić – Mandžukić.
ESPN3.com has it on in the States, here is another stream:
http://sportska-tv.net/kiwi-28/
the youtube one looks great but it’s not available in USA
3 hours to go!!
U BOJ… U BOJ… ZA NAROD SVOJ!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdG9KF-z_ww
AJMO SVI KOLiKO NAS IMA TU SVI KA JEDAN SVI ZA HRVATSKU TISUĆU SRCA JEDNA ŽELJA SPAJA U BOJ, U BOJ IDEMO DO KRAJA..
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2EmCgcOIncM
I say we need to play our best game in recent memory and punch our tickets for Brazil TODAY
3-0
Mandzukic x 2 and Kranjcar
I say we need to play our best game in recent memory and punch our tickets for Brazil TODAY
Whatever else happens, let’s not fall into our old habit (from the days when we actually scored goals…) of going 1-0 up and then sitting back, playing deep and letting Iceland start to dictate the play. Our defence is too slow and too brittle to get away with that any more, even against Iceland.
I’m with Joe on the 2-1 prediction.
If we fail I will see you bitches in Valhalla!
@marko..attaboy! hopefully you will be in a good mood when you see her next, celebrating a victory
if that weather holds out, our technical ability should shine through, we can hold the possession and get the first goal. iceland will be going for a goal and a victory so i don’t think there is a need to press too hard too soon. giving up an early goal could lead to “here we go again” running through the minds of the players. soak up the early pressure and then hit them back. let’s hope kovac makes some decisions in terms of lineup and formation that pay off. time for guys who are kickin ass at club (lovren, rakitic) to be difference makers today for the NT.
prediction: 2-1 for the good guys (mandzukic and eduardo).
I am an an idiot.
u want links already????
fine
http://firstrownow.eu/watch/221459/1/watch-iceland-vs-croatia—fifa-world-cup-2014-qualifying.html
@Pp
“Lets go Cro . Why is Ante Bs , Kruno , MM and others name in black and how do you do that ?”
Again for the benefit of all your n00bs, this simply means someone has linked to a website in their profile, that is all.
Really hoping the match does end up streaming on the youtube Qualifiers2014 channel tonight, as I’ve cancelled an evening with my girlfriend to watch this…
Links anyone?
Who is ready to play an who not? Is Olic ready for the game? Will Kovac play only a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1. Will Lovren score three times and marry Iggy afterwards? Will anyone find out that Ziva is in Iceland today wearing his Sammir-shirt and will Cico threaten to make Split independant from Croatia if we lose tonight. All important questions.
I really think we can make the difference today. It looks like there’s a new and better atmospere with him.
Is the game going to be on sportskatv?
After Vanilla Ice sings their national anthem it’s BALLS IN YOUR FACE TIME!
what are the interviews like? do our boys sound cocky?
i would say that cockiness in the past has got us in trouble playing and losing to teams like scotland the first game at least… now they have no reason to be cocky… they have to play like an underdog… just like against turkey
AJMO!!!!!
Lets go Cro . Why is Ante Bs , Kruno , MM and others name in black and how do you do that ?
Really tired of all this talk about our national team how they’re gonna play or not… Its time for our players to realize what the world thinks of us and how shitty we play and also look at Iceland talking shit on mandzukic and the nt… This should get them angry and pissed that Iceland even thinks they can be on the same pitch with the quality of our players. If I was a player I would go on the pitch tomorrow with the mentality of just fucking going in and killing the home team and celebrate in front of them for all this talk about them beating us… Make them know that they shouldn’t be on the same pitch with our nt.. Our quality of players is better and its time for the players and coaches get their shit together kill this team get to the world cup and restore order. Im tired of the talk of us being scared to play Iceland and making excuses for the weather.. Go out and play were the better team and if you think so go out and prove it.. Lace the cleats up good tomorrow and leave any doubters behind on our way to the world cup..
Just to let you guys know we beat Serbian White Eagles 5:3
we outplayed, outcoached and outrun them.Then they stay playing their usuall soccer. 1 red card and 6 yellow…they didnt watch the ball at all….
It could have been 5:1 but we let 2 soft goals in…more about tommorow on our website
now lets go Vatreni
We are going to pillage the Icelandians tomorrow
For those questioning fifa’s draw, it could easily be explained. They want us in the World Cup so they can start dishing out fines to us for our fan “behavior”. The more fines, the more money for FIFA.
Good comment Ivica, agree totally. The fact we could fuck up so badly towards the end of the campaign and still make it to the playoffs shows how easily we were cruising for the most part. It’s only a few games we fucked up and we had already done enough. Everyone says this has been a “disastrous” qualifying campaign..
Well, hello cunts, Iggy here, WE ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS and will prolly make the WC, how in cunt’s name is that a disaster?
a disaster was qualy for 2010 word cup – THAT was a fuckign disaster !
assume : Scotland = Iceland
how about this will be :
-Away-
Iceland 2 – 0 Croatia
-Home-
Croatia 0 – 1 Scotland
Just Learn from IT and Let’s not do this all over again !!
KADA CUJES HIMNU BORI SE ZA VUKOVAR I HRVATSKU
@Bobby V
Re: Your comment:
“it still remains a possibility that all Croatia had to beat in qualifying was Wales (twice), Macedonia (twice) and Serbia (once) to reach the World Cup”
I keep hearing this statement being regurgitated on this site over and over.
What did you expect?
Is Croatia supposed to knock out some top tier team to make the World Cup?
There are 13 spots for UEFA teams in the World Cup. You would expect that the most difficult side that they would have to knock out would be the 14th ranked squad in UEFA (assuming the 13 best teams make it overall).
Besides, who has any other 2nd placed team in any other group really beaten to make their World Cup so far?
BiH beat Greece ONCE along with a bunch of nothing teams and booked their ticket. Switzerland beat Iceland ONCE and lucked out against Slovenia twice, and not only do they make the World Cup, they are actually going to be a top SEEDED team in the tournament. Greece loses the group to BiH, and only beats Slovakia and potentially Romania to book their ticket. All France had to do was beat Finland and Belarus (and draw against Georgia) to make it this far (and could still make it without even winning a game against Ukraine).
Fact is, beating Wales twice, Macedonia twice, beating Serbia, and drawing in Belgium may not seem that impressive to get to a playoff…but it’s pretty standard. Serbia qualified for the previous World Cup, and we eliminated them. Since the beginning of the draw, that was all it was going to come down to and it happened.
Niko Kovac is no joke, when he says the Vatreni are back and will show it on Friday I believe him!
Comfortable victory, winning margin of at least 2 goals.
we need to pounce early like we did against the turks last playoff… if we can even get a lucky bounce and olic scoring and olic type goal. it will be huge for the confidence… unlike when we came back against italy in euro… im not sure if we get down we can come back so easy
but i guess thats where the coach can come in and inspire
Plus the wind will be negligible .
It is our time boys.
Tu SMO!
Upper 30’s f and dry to start the match!
I say come out solid from the back and aggressively attack their goal. Their defense is weak and we are due for an offensive explosion.
2nd half may get wet and a bit sloppy.
It would be great to get up on them early and often in the first half and put them on lockdown.
When we are tactically sound and sufficiently inspired we are a formidable side. I am not sure Iceland has seen us at our best.
It is now time to claim our rightful place in the greatest sporting event in the world.
Bog I Hrvatska !
lol… pretty sad when you think of it to.
that was in the past… time to qualify and think of the future
No Croatian should ever complain again about FIFA not wanting small nations to advance to a major tournament.
Not only did we draw Iceland, but, it still remains a possiblity that all Croatia had to beat in qualifying was Wales (twice), Macedonia (twice) and Serbia (once) to reach the World Cup.
Jebi ga – pretty amazing if you really think about it.