Photo: Cropix
Slaven Bilić promised a win for Croatia against a (weak) Irish side on Sunday. His promise came through in a 3-1 victory.
There was something different about this Croatia squad on a rainy night in Poznan and it showed immediately after their national anthem, Lijepa Naša. Players didn’t just unzip their warmup jackets and trot to their positions as they did throughout an unimpressive qualifying campaign, but they emphatically showed some positive emotion and energy just before the kickoff.
Wolfsburg striker Mario Mandžukić got the Vatreni on the board three minutes into the match with a header from 13 yards out after slipping in the box on a wet pitch. Captain Darijo Srna chipped the ball from the endline and the following header caught Irish keeper Shay Given leaning the wrong way to give Croatia an early 1-0 lead, imitating their start against Turkey in Euro 2012 playoff round. However, the Irish would not be denied as Sean St. Ledger equalized in the 19th minute, heading home a free kick from the left side. Vedran Ćorluka could not stay with his man and Croatian goalie Stipe Pletikosa did not come out in time to deny the threat.
Ireland briefly took back the momentum but Nikica Jelavić found himself alone in front of the net in the 43rd minute after the ball was whiffed by an Irish defender. Even though Jelavić was in an offside position, the gift pass directly to him was put struck on net, giving Croatia a 2-1 lead heading into halftime. The second half started just as the first one did for Croatia: with Mandžukić heading home. But this time the ball hits off the inside off the post and off the head off Irish goalkeeper Shay Given. 3-1 Croatia and they would never look back.
The most impressive part of Croatia’s game today was their outside shooting. Dortmund’s Ivan Perišić blasted two rockets towards net in the match with Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić adding one each of their own. If this continues and Mandžukić keeps receiving service in the air, there’s no telling how far this Croatia squad can go in 2012. The Ireland win was the right way to start the tournament, but upcoming games with Italy and Spain will be the true tests.
A win over Italy on Thursday sees Croatia clinch a quarterfinal berth.
Croatia-Ireland Highlights
@ mali HRVAT
I’ll be hoping for the best from the Irish 😉
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2157872/Paris-Saint-Germain-weigh-Luka-Modric.html
@Nepoznat:
I haven’t been to the Croatian Lands for a long time. Do they still have an annual picnic?
Does anyone else smell Ireland getting a draw with Italy or Spain with their current tactics.
I think this group will get a little messy.
Vlad don’t forget the Italians are midgets, I don’t see them winning as many balls in the air
good game good result, regard to the vote i gave them an A but i can see how some people would give the B, their defending on set pieces was awful they easily could have had a penalty shot against them also. But i think that was Croatia’s best performance in a long time, biggest surprise was how well they ran and supported each other haven’t seen that in a long time was surprised how well mandzo played, if simunic is healthy ,maybe play him, we will lose to italy if they win that many headers like the irish did. I thought we defende well in open play just those corners and set pieces were not good have to correct that.
great match, was in vancouver for it…. Madness and Ožujsko
The Ukraine-Sweden game was fantastic. Bravo Shevchenko!
I was very pleased with the way we played.
They did what they were supposed to do (and I dont just mean ‘win’)….I mean they pushed the positives …which is our offence, and attempted to camoflauge the negatives …which is our defence.
We have the firepower to score on any of these teams in this tournament. Lets keep this momentum going against Italy and get our win….then when we play Spain, we’re doing it with no pressure.
That was a rout. And every bit as decisive as Russia’s victory.
@ ziva – dude the guy is a grown man. If he can have the mind to come out to scorps, how bout not driving!? Or having a friend come and drive. He’s not some child he’s a multi million dollar player so stop with the nonsense that the people are to blame. Tons of people recommended to him not to drive, but obviously being drunk, he didnt listen! No pity here just thankfully no one was hurt. Live and learn he’s fine we’re fine and hrvatska won!!!! Ajmooooo!!!
They looked super! Jelavic and Mandzukic were excellent. The back line needs some credit also. I hope that Bilic takes note that when Jelavic was pulled, the attack did stall. The game was already over and Bilic was in the mindset to close out the game. I think against Italy & Spain we will need all the offense we can get. Spain did NOT look impressive, but I think Itlay is worrisome. The main point: regardless of what the guys at ESPN say the NT can make the quaterfinals!
@poglavnik you can watch all euro teams games in cro commentary, click hrt2
http://darquo.site90.net/domaci_hr.html
@jm
yeah I liked that article so I made sure to share it. as for work… it’s going to be a slow month at my work, at least in the dept I run, as long as Croatia keeps rolling lol
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jonathan_wilson/06/10/croatia.ireland.euro.2012/index.html
http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Euro-2012/tabid/342/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/177426/Default.aspx
It’s a slow Monday at work, hence my frequent posting today. Interesting article above with an interview olic. Apparently olic says he’s fully healthy, playing soccer and training. he’d be available for the next game vs italy if they hadn’t dropped him
@nepoznat
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/10/croatia-3-1-ireland-tactics/
your link is a really good read. i wonder how much the coaches look at statistical breakdowns like this. the most interesting takeaways from reading it was that 1) The srna at right back and rakitic at right mid seemed to work very well. as mentioned in the piece, they completed more passes with each other than any other combo. Rakitic’s inability to keep himself from drifting toward the middle of the field actually seemed to help here cause it gave srna the space to make runs up the flank. perhaps rakitic actually works better on the right, cause strinic is probably much less likely to as aggressive up the wing from the defensive slot as srna is from right back 2) modric. completed by far the most passes out of anyone. once again, no goal, no assists, but dictated the rhythm of the game none-the-less
@ mkez . i agree. the game wasn’t perfect. the first goal was a mess up on corluka parts who’s supposed to be our best defender. and there were still shaky/suspect moments for the defense with the schifo no-call foul being the main example. given that, no game is ever perfect, so I thought as a whole, croatia’s overall performance was top notch. tough to ask for more. that being said, i am fully taking part in the euphoria, but the road definitely gets tougher. i’m a little disappointed spain didn’t win yesterday. i thought that was a better outcome for us by giving us a shot to likely play the spanish B team in our last game.
@jim
I think many of the B voters (me included) grew up watching Croatia as a sound defensive team. Defense in soccer wins championships. They looked very suspect on crosses and they had a bit of luck with some of the chances Ireland had and the non call on Schifo against Keane. It’s a bit of a pessimistic outlook I agree, but with the teams ahead only getting better offensively, even with a satisfying start I am still nervous about the defense in the upcoming fixtures. Pletikosa looked great in goal. Glad he got more aggressive coming off his line on crosses by the second half.
my thinking goes like this….if you invite him to show up, watch out for him. Typical jock-sniffers……buy the man drinks, take some photos so you can show them to whoever…..
for the record most of Queens and LI would be Jets fans and not Giants fans so it’s in their best interest to let the poor guy get arrested. lol
also it maybe partly the NFLPA’s fault for having the NFL cancel their free rides for players rule (NFLPA position was that NFL was using the service to spy on their players)
What the hell is wrong with you hrvati in NYC????
You get a local celebrity to show up and watch the game, plus he is a hrvat, and you allow him to get that drunk and drive his car. I wasn’t there, but I bet this is what took place……..There were plenty of jock-sniffers at the bar coming up to him for photos, buying him drinks and not looking out for his best interest when he left.
A NY football player in a bar in the middle of the day……you don’t think he will have a target on his back as hie walks out.
Well, way to screw up his life for the next 48 hours. Obviously, he has some blame as well for getting into the situation, but how do you guys allow one of your own HRVATI (an NFL star in NYC) to leave a bar without a driver. Shame on the jock-sniffers. I’m sure that is the last time you will ever see him.
@jm
Many folks are glad that Bilic will be gone after the Euros and you are shocked that the same people voted for ‘B’??? Don’t waste your time with logic.
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/10/croatia-3-1-ireland-tactics/
@ allenoutrage . what did you do to diehl!? arrested for dwi in astoria
http://newyork.sbnation.com/new-york-giants/2012/6/10/3077363/david-diehl-arrest-dwi-drunk-driving
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1647246.html?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_interview
First here’s a link above on fifa with an interview with prosinecki talking about what i was like playing football during the war, world cup etc etc.
Secondly
Nearly 60% of the responders on this site gave croatia a B vs ireland today? ! Come on people, let’s get some sense over here. Ireland may not be spain, but they hadn’t had a defeat in their last 14 matches tying russia once, croatia once, beating italy. And the loss before that win streak was a 3-2 loss to number 2 ranked uruguay. In that 14 game unbeaten streak, Ireland never gave up more than 1 goal. Croatia gives Ireland their first loss in 14 matches on the biggest stage and they score 3 goals against a ridiculously stingy Irish defense that hadn’t allowed more than 1 goal in the last 14 matches, and you guys want to grade them a B?!!!!! I would be curious what you think constitutes an A
Btw as for the non penalty for Ireland, I didn’t see this posted but figured I should bring it p. the Irish team themselves feel they may be partially to blame for not getting the PK from Schifo because they, unsportsmanlike, played on while Mario was injured (smacked square in the face by a long ball while trying to head it and went straight down) and for like 20 seconds our players complained to them and the ref to stop play. But again they continued on against our ten men, definitely not appropriate
The penalty controversy in the 62nd minute came after Ireland had played on as Mandzukic lay injured at the other end of the field. It was put to Keane that the penalty might have been given under different circumstances. “Yes, I think so,” he replied. “It was definitely a penalty, no question [but] because all of their players and fans were calling for us to kick the ball out … You’d have to ask the referee if he had that in the back of his mind.”
@poglavnik……well aware of what Jarni did for us. It’s been so long since we had anyone on the left side since he left.
Well guys I have to give credit where credit is due, and I have been particularly hard on Mario and Slaven, and to their credit both stepped it up and did wonderful jobs. Granted Mario did it against an average at best Ireland squad, but Slaven out coached and out thought a true master of the game today. brilliant formation, great tactics and could’ve easily been 5-0 if Rakitic and Perisic had been .25 and .5 meters closer on those two attemps respectively. I would also like to mention Strinic who has not received much praise around here recently nor today. Mi thought he played very well and he and Srna at the back really made the team even more impressive going forward.
As for Italy, i was not impressed once Spain played a more normal formation with a striker up top, Spain could’ve easily win that game had Torres been the Liverpool version and not the Chelaea version. Or had he scooted a pass right to the wide open MFer attract the goal instead of going for the lob.
If we play as good as we did today (albeit against inferior competitiion), and Italy and Spain play as good as they did then I actually believe we can get the full 9 points again, which would be preferred as it would mean less travel and staying in Poland vs England, Sweden or Ukraine (I see France winning D) all of which are beatable by our squad. Then it’s onto the semis boys!!!
U Boj! U Boj! Za Narod Svoj!
@Booze
That hi-light package is awesome.
If someone finds us a live link to HRT for the next game i would be forever greatful!
TSN was so f***in bad today. I don’t even care that they are pro-Irish but at least get someone who knows the game! These guys are so unbelievably out of touch with modern football. Some of the terms they were saying made me wonder how often they even watch the game.
I think the only pre-requisit is an English accent.
Schifo totally looks and plays like Simunic.
Circa 2008ish.
I really like Srna at right back. He adds that extra attacking option when we hold it up thats hard for other teams to defend. When he’s able to touch it around quickly with Rakitic, and Modric then they can really break teams down.
We passed the ball today better than i can just about ever remember (’98 vs Romania comes to mind too). I know it’s just Ireland but I was in awe a few times. Lots of “one touch” on that wet and fast surface. All of our attacking players played great (Jela, Mandzo, Luka, Ivan & Ivan). The build-up on Mandzukic’s 2nd goal is just beautiful!
I feel like Irelands only real chances came off of dead-balls (their goal, and that header in 2nd half injury time).
We’ve gotta toughen up a bit when we defend those.
We got pushed around in the box way too much today.
That ref was totally throwing Corluka off of his game.
We’ve got to be super disciplined with the ref’s in this tourney or its gonna bite us in he ass.
Can the Savez get screwed for what the fans have done in Poznan? Cuz in Euro 08 we got fined something like 25,000 euros for some shit against the Turks. Hopefully they don’t rip up Poznan too much more…
@Ziva
We have had a left sided player that used to burn by guys and whip in great crosses. He had a pretty awesome shot when he decided to us it too.
Ring a bell?
celebration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P4KrdJooxk&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLcQQ8byz-LIwO14FoTNfn4w
@ ziva hrt commentary on goals
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrga18_sayetak-10-6_news
@dannyj
Absolutely! We have some real gems that might shine this summer. Bilic has been building an army this whole time and now they begin their march.
I worry because we haven’t won a major tournement in our nations short history. Besides that factor we can compete with anyone in this competition. Spain looked about as terrible as Sergio Ramos’s haircut. Italy didn’t impress me and the more they use Balotelli, they weaker they become. I actually think after his performance today, Italy might as well play with ten men.
Let’s pray for a ’98 repeat, and then go further.
Our defense is shaky and may get exposed against Italy, but if our midfield plays the way they played today…Italy will be in serious trouble.
Yea, it may have been a game that we were supposed to win, but that’s easier said than done. When that rain started falling, I was like, “Damn”. Ireland is very physical and couple with that rain and a nice unbeaten run, I would not have been surprised if the Irish pulled out a draw.
The guys really stepped up. The good thing about Croats is our size. Ireland tried to use their “muscle” to throw us off our game, but it didn’t work. I don’t think the pixie-sized Italians will be able to play their game against the Irish as well as we did ours. I would not be surprised if Ireland pulls off a tie against them. Right now, I’m looking forward to this Cro-Italy game. Here’s hoping the Spainards get a couple of knocks and cards against them from a clumsy and aggressive Irish.
On another note: How bad was Kranjcar today? Geez. He was unwatchable.
Croatia played very well. Need to tighten up at the back but great overall play today.
Fortunately, ireland did not play well, so it makes us look like we have played well.The NT defence is quite worrying…corluka is not that effective as CB…he has problems anticipating passes from ireland, which i feel simunic is good at….He did not mark the ireland goalscorer well..in this sense, corluka tend to lose concentration and laze at times…i feel he should be placed in RB……SImunic should play at CB against italy…He can read games and defence well, although he does not have pace….maybe dujmovic or vuko can help him…Italy can punish us with a couple of goals easily…especially given their performance last night…
I am concerned about modric needless yellow card….after his yellow card, he does not seem to be in the game anymore…I hope he can play aggressively against italy with some useful tackles again….However, another yellow card and he is out of spain game……
Excellent performance from the team. Perisic really stepped up today, what a future this guy has. Respect to Mandzu, what a performance he put in.However, not only does Schildenfeld look like Simunic, he also plays like him.He was more dangerous to us in our box than the Irish.I am actually scared whenever the ball is anywhere near him and we’re on defense.I would consider Simunic for the next game against Italy, just a bit more experience is needed.But they’re both risky.Corluka gave a some silly free kicks away too.
@ mali HRVAT
🙂
@mali Hrvat……good points about Lalas. He has been very good so far. I think he is doing his homework on all of these teams in the Euros.
@Mihovil:
LOL. Reminds me of this.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/snl-digital-short-andy-sambergs-cokehead-tour-de-force/
Lalas was also right about Denmark beating the Netherlands.
He pretty emphatically said Denmark had a strong chance of winning even though Robo-German Ballack scoffed at the idea.
Perhaps I am softening in my old age, but I no longer want to stab Lalas in the grundle.
If the Irish didn’t protest every midfield tackle to the ref maybe he would have awarded the penalty…it definitely was a penalty.
I gave a B rating on the front page poll simply because of the backline. They still worry me. And with the competition only getting better the next two games I fear the worst.
Anyone have any idea if they’re going to overturn Mandzu’s second and call it an OG. Would be bull if they did that. If you look at the angle the ball came off the post it would have went in anyway.
@Mishko:
I generally don’t care for Lexi Lalas, but he didn’t offend me today. He told the Irish pundit that “Croatia was going to spank Ireland”.
He also argued with the same pundit that the penalty appeal was nonsense. Honestly, I thought it was a penalty, but on the whole the Irish got away with murder. They played like a bunch of UK style hammer throwers. I think the Irish should have received a couple more yellow cards.
All of the Bilic haters are suddenly quite. We’ll all be missing him after the Euros are done. The decision to play Mandzukic and Jelavic upfront (with Eduardo coming off the bench) is working so far.
Most concerning is the number of headers Ireland got to in our penalty area (ex: Ireland’s goal past Corluka). We’ve got tall guys on the team and Ireland is beating us in the air. Teams like Italy and Spain will convert if given the same chances.
I could not ask for more from our team.
After watching the game a second time in Spanish (much better than biased Irish announcers) I thought Rakitic actually played better than Perisic…deadly combo when they’re on.
Portuguese link on the first Manduzkic goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3uvwvAR1MI&feature=relmfu
Two fights yesterday
One before the match- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TmkT-r9LlA
and one after- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoeV7eHmGOU
Shay Given and his addictive behavior.
http://tinyurl.com/6p3245y
I wonder if Italy will use the same formation today (3-5-2) as they did today against Spain. Screw it, we have a few days to discuss that.
Watching the game again. Our boys worked their asses off.
Very hungry.
Enzo approves.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4923/enzorepresenting26912.jpg
kruno i agree… jelavic with a second alone with buffon he is scoring…but that greek ops italy park the bus will not leave him much room
i do think with jelavic and mario running hard like they did today will cause problems especially since they are strong physically as well
if anyone comes across video of the HRT calls on the goals, can you list the link here. I have not found any link yet to our announcers.
It’s jelavic’s time to shine
mandzukic played like a champ today…both him and jela had to deal with a very aggressive defense…borderline cheap with all the elbows, kicks, shirt grabbing…I thought our two forwards battled a very hard game…but mandzo was clearly a warrior and deserved man of the match in my books. modric was fabulous, perisic was good but not excellent as a few here have said…rakitic is a great attacker but honestly, he sometimes looks like a picajzla when fighting for the ball…I;d like to see moren fight outta him!
for our first game i thought we played well against an average team but a tough team…they play dirty and hard which i’m not sure many had noticed…its not easy to play in a game where there are soo many stoppages…if anything it hurts us…we thrive on flow and touches…ireland doesnt have our talent but man do they make up for it with heart! i was really proud of our team…i actually shit my pants when i saw vukojevic starting but he did well and played simple which is how he is best utilized.
italy have surprises…cassano has flashes or brilliance and italy defends incredibly well as a team…that said i think we are more creative. if we can defend as a team and play with our strengths…i honestly believe we can win…but we need to be patient.
good first game and hopefully we build on this!
only player who was shakey today was Schildenfeld…good performance but the hard work is still ahead.
Mandzukic is my man 😉
I gave the performance a “B”, there was some panic moments at the back which is why I didn’t give it an A
I totally agree Ziva. I know I’m too excited right now but its been a while since Croatia looked that great. Its just great to be back in a major tournament so I’m really over the top right now.
I missed first half of Italy Spain definitely will re watch it. I want to learn more about the team because they look very fast and dangerous. They could give Croatia serious problems but I think Croatia can do the same with their smooth passing.
@ANTE B
here’a a nice picture for u!
http://my.news.yahoo.com/photos/croatia-ireland-croatia-set-uefa-dock-fan-flares-photo-201128427.html
who the heck rated the game today as a “C”? ya it wasn’t flawless but a C, comeon man what else could they have done, besides a bit of sloppy play on the back end.. they owned most of that game
sorry it should say when the irish defender played the ball it played back to jelavic who at that point is put “onside”
on tsn in canada they explained the no call offside how it was the correct call. essentially when modric shot the ball in it was blocked, both jelavic and i think it was mario were offside, however it took a couple of bounces, if it were to bounce off someone and go to jelavic it would have been called offside, however the irish defender clearly tried to play the ball and played it horribly, went to jelavic who was then viewed as offside and the goal was legally scored. maybe a stupid rule but it is a rule…
but ya what a finish… put jelavic’s feet with mario’s head and you have a super striker
Enjoy it.. Worry about Italy starting tomorrow.
Obviously, when you score twice at the Euros you are man of the match, but what impressed me much more with Mandz was his play in the air and winning 50/50 balls. Outstanding.
Perisic brings something we have never had before on the left side, plus he is very comfortable moving into the middle.
Beofre we get to overboard, remember this was Ireland. Tougher games await, but a damn fine start.
I’m REALLY wondering how Drago Cosic reacted to these goals, if he was commentating…
Once again screw analysis. Total joy. Live in the moment . Great effort from hrvatska!
Yea Real cool to see the flares go off at smoked filled Poznan stadium -U-
@Allen,
Again, don’t get to excited, we did what we were suppose to do. Italy and Spain will beat Ireland!
Awesome game today everyone. I got to watch a bit with David Diehl which was sweet. Modric man of the match without a doubt, he was just terrific. Srna finally looked like a true captain out there which was great to see. Manzo comes up in the clutch again with two great goals. He really showed some fire out there today. Jelavic has such a great touch, he really made some nice passes back to Perisic. That goal might have been offside but flawless finish.
Perisic is incredible to watch with his speed and flare. I wouldn’t touch this lineup regardless if its too offensive. I think we go straight at Italy! Then again I’m pretty drunk right now so will see.
Also I know I made some pretty crazy comments last night. Whatever I should have watched my mouth but still can’t stand Dukic and Andrej. But lets keep positive vibes regardless of what I think.
TOP OF GROUP C BABY! YOUR DAMN RIGHT I’LL BE BRAGGING ABOUT TO ALL THOSE ARROGANT ITALIANS. YES!!
@Bobby V.,
I agree with most of ur post, but u got some problems with the following, Schindenfeld did not play well, he was our weakest link. His lack of speen and lack of positioning may hurt us against the italians, he couldn’t win a ball if his life depended on it. I have no problem with croatia bunkering if they are up by 2 in the second half. I do have a problem with them bunkering down by one in the first half!!!!! Like i stated previously, we are a better quality team than Ireland, this win was no surprise. Now the real tests come with Italy and Spain, if we play italy tough like we have in the past we will win this group. We gotta do a better job on set pieces, need to make sure to mark our men and guard the posts.
When your two strikers score it does wonders for their confidence and sets them up for the rest of tourney. Italian and Spanish strikers don’t look too confidant at the moment. Interesting
where is everyone? We need pictures and videos. Dont be shy.
Alabama on the board. Jedini hrvat, srce vatreno!
email us at denis@croatiansports.com
Wait till you see the video from LA….
Thanks to everyone for showing up. Party isnt over yet. Everyone to Nije Bitno’s house. Its gonna get “nasty”.
Ahhhh what a game!! Guys looked great. I was watching at a bar and didn’t hear everything too well. I assume Mandzukic is ok after being helped off the field? Ireland played a little better than I expected. A few mistakes by Given, but I think the guys beat a solid team today and that should really give them confidence going into the next one. I’m stoked to death for it.
A few observations: Tommy Smyth starting it off on ESPN by saying the Irish will “pip” the Croats 1-0…with what? Their best player plays in the MLS – that’s all you need to know, what a dumbass. Set pieces continue to kill us. We are the first fans at the Euros to bust out the flares. Perisic was excellent, two great volleys – should have scored on the first one in the 22nd minute…. and that’s the first time I’ve seen Modric play the same way for the national side as he does for Tottenham. Mandzukic is useless outside the box, but, he’s a killer heading the ball. False whistles pissing me off. Ref sucked – perfect tackles being called against us…and when the fuck did the Irish start diving? Trappatoni teaching them shit. Rakitic played better – we need him. Thank God Vida was held out – not ready for prime time. Schindenfeld did well. Srna whipped in some excellent crosses and didn’t dive or bitch once. Overall, it was ok – didn’t like the way they played after the third goal. Need to keep attacking – hopefully not scoring a fourth will not hurt on goal difference. Lastly, I thing we have a better chance of beating Spain than Italy.. Oh, and how many times was Mandzukic’s name mispronounced? Jeez!
True about the Setanta coverage,the commentators really were in tears for the Irish,but they did pay plenty of respect to the Croatians.Now to get up for a 2am kickoff here against the Italians on Friday!!
Mwooooooi! What! What! That’s all I got to say. Screw analysis!
England is playing France tomorrow. I did not know that France is now an African county.
Pressure, focus on set pieces, and good attacking options, and we got this for the Italian game.
BRAVO HRVATSKA!!!
so whats starting lineup for italy?
well played by our boys. if corluka didn’t fall asleep on the irish goal, we would have kept a clean sheet. as usual, the defence looked a little suspect. i hope they can improve on defending set pieces and crosses versus italy. we don’t look very strong in the air at the back end.
mandzukic was impressive…..give the guy credit. and jelavic did it…..took his one chance and buried it. overall, i liked the attacking pressure we put on the irish….it helped keep the irish from developing any real strong momentum.
well played!
Nice to see Mr Bilics plan A for the Irish worked rather nicely,Nice pairing with Jelavic and Mandzukic which produced nicely,too much power there for the Irish.It was great to see nice linking amongst a number of players even on a wet pitch that I was worried might help the Irish a liitle.Schildenfeld in particular did look clumsy at times with over challenging,So not sure what Bilic will have in mind for his lineup against the Italians,but this is one match that we can always look forward to-Go Vatreni
Glad to see the predictions of “3 and out”are out!!
@Mr. Negro it’s going to be Croatia 3 – 1 Italy and Ireland stuffing Spain at a 0 – 0
glad to see rakitic had a few looks at goal
Everybody said Croatia would beat Ireland but you still got to win. They won and how. I’ve seen all the games so far and Modric is together with Iniesta the most impressive player. And it’s not only Modric, it was a great team. Thank you, Slaven Bilic! Now, bring on those italians.
holy that was an incredible game. It was good to see a solid victory from our Vatreni. I’d say this formation worked quite well as it gave us multiple attacking options. Modric had quite a good game and obviously so did Mandzu. Jelavic did a very good job avoiding the off side there. Pletikosa looked very sharp when tested and stood very strong in goal. I felt however that the Irish managed to exploit our defense a few times when we had mental lapses. Corluka wasn’t playing his usual game as he drew multiple fouls and didnt pick up st leger on the first goal as he was totally ball watching.I’m afraid to see what happens when we play spain. If a team such as Ireland can penetrate, Spain may walk all over us. But enough of the negative, i’m very happy with the win, our boys played great, and if we keep it up we can definitely give future teams some major headaches
Svaka cast momci. Great way to kick off the euros. 1..3
Cant ask for more at this stage.
Great result. Wooooo Hooooo
Im proud of boys, they did give it their all, a little shaky at set pieces. But they did our nation proud today. Enjoy the win my brothers.
Bring on the italians!
We WIN 3-1 !!! Beautiful !!! Bog,Hrvati,Hajduk,i HNS !!!
If we play like this, we’ll grab another 3 point from Italy.
Irish are dirty pricks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This ref is horrible !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just fucking wide. Our boys looks great
Fuck me, Modric just got yellowed
Croatia needs to keep pushing forward with this lead . Don’t fall back and protect the lead ! Naprid, naprid , naprid !!! Goal just now for us . 3-1 Hrvati !!!
ZUKIC HATERS EAT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL
YES !!!!!!!!!!!!
first time i seen perisic play i knew he was going to be a star
this kid is turning into a star. Has it written all over him.
not offside when the ball comes off an Irish player ajde momci keep up the good work Za Dom -U-
definately look threating out there.. jelavic putting some good pressure on their defence. i swear olic would put the fear into the wops if he was healthy
i like what i see on that side
hows the defence looking for us guys? im definatley not a soccer expert, but we looked lost on that goal, though it was a nice play for the irish. they scare me a bit back there. corluka is a giant compared to some of those irish and im worried he will get carded…
all in all, pretty entertaining not just cause we are playing but definately not a boring firsthalf
i think we can give that italian defence some headaches…
Horrible ref. Some two fouls by Corluka were good (for the first goal, the foul done by Corluka was an exaggeration fall to me).
Croatia needs to continue pressing on the Irish, retaining the ball and thus creating a great offense. Slipshod goals are my favorite type of goals. 🙂
Just one more half, Hrvatska!
We need to keep the momentum going!!!!!
Let’s Go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hrvatska !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woooooo! That’s as much insight as I can give right now
What with the phantom whistle? Its happened a few times at the set pieces.
@Ivan, agreed we need to press press press.
Cant complain on the first half. Lets hope the dont go into their shells now their ahead. They need to continue to press, and i would like a little more variety in attack.
Listening to that POS Lexi Lalas I’d like to stab him in the taint. So far we look better than anyone in our group. Momentum ladies, it’s all about momentum
dva jedan plavi plavi na zaleno travi -U-
GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL
Jelavic!!!!!!!!!!!
YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well cant be as bad as setanta sports.
@ mishko
i believe it !!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s Go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mihovil you should hear the announcers on ESPN. You’d think that they’re Irish employees
Do you still smell 2 more? or has ireland nullified that?
Agree ref is a shocker
The ref is horrible !!!!!!!!!!!!
GOAL Ireland.
I smell 2 more Croatian goals.
GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL
U Boj U Boj Za Narod Svoj!!!!!!!
Let’s Go Hrvatska !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daj Boze!!!! Bog i Hrvati!!!! LET’S TEAR IT UP……
Can’t wait . Just counting the minutes till game time. Let’s show them how great the Croatians are ! Bog,Hrvati,Hajduk, i HNS !!!
Interesting that Edin Dzeko is rooting for croatia.
Edin Džeko @EdDzeko
Great assist from David Silva.. The draw was fair, very interesting game.. Now let’s go Croatia!
http://www.goal.com/en/news/2898/euro-2012/2012/06/10/3163483/team-news-jelavic-mandzukic-start-in-attack-for-croatia
Corluka playing CB…oh dear…where is simunic?
@Rob, I wasn’t impressed by Spain at all. Let’s see how today goes before we start making assumptions. If we do well today we can get the train rolling.
Anyone that’s played sports knows about momentum.
where are they showing at norval?
Sucks, as this was the ONE result (at least most likely anyways) that can put us out with four pts.
Italy goes tie, tie, win
spain goes tie, win, win
we go win, tie, loss, we are out…we NEED to win vs italy and ireland for certain now, we won’t get shit off of spain when they need to get something from the game.
Ajmo hrvatska!!!!!!!!!!!!
My dobie Enzo representing.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4923/enzorepresenting26912.jpg
http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/3576/enzorepresenting6912.jpg
If we don’t beat them, lets eat them is what he says.
Has our lineup Ben announced? Slaves said 1 hour prior to the game, and we’re at 1.25 hrs from e match
Fabregas GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL
1-1
Di Natale GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL
so much for a balotelli red card….damn, i sensed a second yellow before too long. wise move by the italians taking him off
Balotelli given a GIFT, and he flubs it, what a sack of poop he is.
Balotelli has a yellow, I’ll bet that if they keep him on the pitch he gets another yellow which means red and no Balotelli against us.
I really hate that moron.
BTW – What’s with the Euro 2012 song? I mean they couldn’t find a EUROPEAN song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EVhiBGvVFc
fight photos
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=79128337
@DB
http://www.tsn.ca/euro2012/feature/?id=65488
the website says different. i have also seen this schedule (with the spain game on tsn2) in other publications. maybe you need to send an email to the guys running the tsn website because your story differs from the site. just trying to give my fellow canadian friends a heads-up because not everyone has tsn2 so they will have to try and find a place to watch the game that day.
thanks for the line-up preview. enjoy the game!
@DB
http://www.tsn.ca/euro2012/feature/?id=65488
TSN website says otherwise. i have also seen this schedule (with TSN2 as the channel for the spain game) in other publications. if the website is wrong, so be it. but maybe you need to send an internal email or something to the people who run the website because your story differs from the website’s schedule. hey, we are on the same side here….just pointing it out for my canadian friends on here. not everyone has tsn2 so they will have to make alternate arrangements for that match so they can watch.
thanks for the line-up info…..enjoy the game!
Hrvati and Irish brawled last night in Poznan. 14 arrested.
If anyone finds a link to the footage put it up!
@JM, Italy is collapsing all of the Spanish attack by throwing bodies at it. I like it.
But both of them don’t look that good.
.
italy looking decent, even though balotelli continues to be a head case. spain seems to lack bite
U ime oca i sina i duha svetoga amen…
Here’s the rundown for today’s game on TSN.
Lead feature is Croatia exorcising their demons vs. Turkey..
at approx 25 minutes we’ll run a Modric profile sting, followed
by Bilic’s Rawbau video from 2008.
Enjoy everybody!
Got the gf in the checks.
Go Vatreni!!!
Joe,
no it’s not…i’m producing the broadcast…
if our game vs Spain means nothing then it will be on TSN2..
Otherwise it’s scheduled for TSN!
@Tomislav, I’d guess an English pub unless the Irish get along with the English these days.
Apparently Spain doesn’t have a true striker on the field. This should be interesting.
Not sure if you guys know, but what is the best place in San Francisco to watch this game today.
…that is not packed with Irish though?
On the day of Croatia’s first EURO 2012 game, Croatians are all united. For the next month, we are no longer Purgeri, Dalmatinci, Hercegovci, Licani, Slavonci, plavi, bili, dinamovci, hajdukovci, crni, crveni, lijevi, desni or anything else. Our politics is hrvatski nogomet. This month, we stand under one flag, one banner and unite under one name: HRVATI.
Before the game starts today, stand up for Lijepa Nasa . Don’t worry about the people or person next to you, hell, buy them a round or seven. Put your hand over your heart and sing. Be proud and never, ever feel ashamed. You have no reason to be. There is no reason to be passive.
When the game starts, be loud. Make sure you’re heard. Not for the people around you, but for you. Be proud of the jersey you have on. Raise those scarves high in the air. Those red and white checkers are part of you and our trobojnica will never fade.
This is EURO 2012.
Croatia is playing. Let’s go fucking win this thing!!!
MI HRVATI!!
..i bjezite ljudi bjezite iz grada..
I had a dream that I woke up five minutes into the Croatia-Ireland game. No one called me. Fisto, my driver, came by and said “Spain-Italy was a hell of an entertaining game, 3-2 Spain”. Lets see what happens…
Its time boys, its time!
Neka vide da nas imaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…..
.
ooh Zagoro lijepa li si is just ringing off my Klipsch 12 inch right now cone on boys lets bury these Irish with their potatoes -U-
@DB…you might want to check again. our final group game against spain is on TSN2
It. Is. TIME!!!!!!
Come Hrvatska! This is the time and place.Lets write history.
the game is on TSN, not TSN2…
Every Croatia game is on TSN, i know because i’m producing the broadcasts!
so pumped! wherever you are in the world, wear the checkers proudly, sing in the streets and cheer our boys on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF9QvNEd0zM
here’s a clip with an irish theme to it. not exactly soccer, but the point he gets across is the same!
HRVATSKA!!
Get the checkers on and pull out the zastava its time to rock n roll . Lets go boys kick the shit out of the irish
Man this is awesome. Looking at pics of our fans flood the streets of poznan has been giving me goose bumps all morning. I could barely eat my breakfast. Im flying out to Poznan on Tuesday for the Italy game and will be in gdansk for the spain game. Hope we can get 3 points today so spending thousands of dollars for this next week wont seem so bad,
This is it. Always a great feeling hours before we play out first match at a major tourney. No more talking, just time to play.
Nothing else to say other than SRETNO.
Ajmo Hrvatska!!!
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/eurocup/story/slaven-bilic-croatia-coach-republic-of-ireland-not-a-threat-061012-
I’m soooooooooooo pumped
www,theworldgame,sbs.com.au
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Bring on Ireland!!
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