Here are my ‘Player Ratings’ for the 1-0 Croatia victory over Poland in Osijek Sunday night:
Livaković – 7. A solid display once again as Livaković has truly grown into a reliable starter for Croatia. Made a crucial save to keep the clean sheet as well.
Šutalo – 8. Both DCC and Šutalo are truly proving that this 3-5-2 formation with them anchoring the back is solid (so far) and can be used moving forward should Dalić stick to this formation. Šutalo has returned to form and is playing lights out for club and country at the moment.
Ćaleta-Car – 7.5. The return of Ćaleta-Car has been surprisingly uplifting. He’s the perfect player profile to anchor Gvardiol and Šutalo at the back as he’s comfortable with the ball and has the physically and technique of a talented centre-back. In what he lacks for pace, he has in his two covering partners at his right and left sides.
Gvardiol – 7. Gvardiol once again displayed his class. Complete control of the game and might be our best player right now alongside this in-form Modrić and this newly rejuvenated Kovačić.
Kovačić – 7.5. Kova looks more comfortable in the Croatian midfield without Brozović playing alongside him and has the aid of youthful legs around him in the Croatian youngsters. Yet another solid midfield display and his consistency is nothing to scoff at as of late. Maybe Kova will follow Modrić’s footsteps and peak late internationally, as it certain seems like his game has finally flourished. Perhaps this is the doing of Pep, who has finally refined Matteo’s game to its peak form.
Modrić 10 — Perfection. Incredible free kick over the wall from 19 yards out. That is a perfectly accurate goal from that angle. 39 years young and still WORLD CLASS.
P. Sučić – 5.5. Too nervous and perhaps he isn’t quite ready to be starting yet. Luka Sučić has been the best of the young three midfielders and adds a cutting offensive edge that Petar does not have. Petar is too similar in profile to Modrić and Kovačić (in terms of being a transition 8) and was simply overshadowed by them in this match. He made a few mistakes as well but I’d like to continue seeing him off the bench as he was excellent against Portugal.
Sosa – 6. Did his job but didn’t really take many risks. His crosses were kind of off and he didn’t contribute much to the outcome of this match.
Pjaca – 6.5. Despite absolutely turning a defender inside out, this was a relatively okay performance at the right wing-back. When you consider it isn’t his natural position, he gets an extra 0.5 points. He certainly adds more attacking flare and speed than Jakić, but Jakić is more defensively stable and wins more duels. It’s kind of a toss up between the two to be honest but I think Dalić made the right choice in picking each respective player for the profile of match in which they would be better suited.
Petković – 6. Kind of invisible, it’s hard to rate him as he didn’t really do much. He had that one close chance and caused the free kick that Modrić scored but that’s about all.
Matanović – 7. What a puzzling performance, I don’t know whether to give a 5 or a 9 so I settled for the middle. Matanović creates opportunities for himself like no other. I haven’t seen as involved a striker for the National Team since Mandžukić. Chance after chance, and he certainly gets credit for having the game IQ and awareness to put himself in those positions, but he conclusively proved that he is very raw. Let’s hope after a full season at Frankfurt that the young giant returns to the National Team with a vengeance. Of course he was also quite unlucky not to net his first international goal, but the finishing needs work. Despite that, he is definitely our most exciting striker prospect at the moment, and if that finishing unlocks, boy oh boy will he be scary. Give the kid some time.
SUBS:
L. Sučić 7
Budimir 6.5
Kramarić 7
Mario Pašalić 7
I am just wondering for anyone who is watching the game why is there over 12 minutes of extra time in the Hajduk-Dinamo match??
Are there a lot of fouls going on in this match?
Flares from Torcida delayed the game. You couldn’t see the field.
Almost 10 minutes of delay due to flares. Some of the flares almost reached the halfway of the field and one went close to hitting Petkovic.
Bad security have no idea how they can bring in so many flares into the ground.
Torcida is about to cost Hajduk again with all this stoppage time.
how would it cost them the game. You still have to play 90 min.
I think Petkovic and Matanovic both sync up well. The above rating for Petko, to me, seems a bit unfair. Some of Petko’s clever passes didn’t quite go his way. I think if Matanovic was on the right end of it then we would be looking at Petkovic’s contribution a bit differently.
The system seems to me to be working very well in my view. Dalic just needs to continue choosing the right players. I am impressed overall with his change that was finally overdue. I think that the success of a relatively young Spanish side must have pushed him to change his strategies. He cannot keep relying on the veterans, I think with the exception of Modric really. Somehow Modric keeps playing the way he does, it’s remarkable actually.
Pjaca had spurts/flashes of what looked to be a Perisic style of play, but I think he needs more time.
I still think Petar Sucic gets the nod his game against Portugal was fantastic, these players are young. Baturina as well.
It’s nice to see the team taking shape, I was rather worried after the Euro. As much as I hate to say, I think the recent retirements have actually helped the squad. Vida was overdue, but I think Broz made the right decision.
The changes were good, but let’s be real.
If Broz and Vida didn’t retire, Broz would have started both games and Vida would have been brought on instead of Duje.
His hand was forced, and now we have to hope that Perišić retires so Dalić can start looking at trying some new LW options.
Right now (based on his comments) Dalić is all-in on Perišić, so unless Perišić does some serious roids and HGH… we’re looking at playing a 37 year old winger at the next World Cup (or another panic move new callup right before the tournament).
I think Perišić is not done. He will continue his Jesus Navas style conversion into a defender and resume playing at a high level for a few more years. He will put in the necessary extra work. However, Oršić is more interesting at this point because he is younger and still hasn’t reached his peak.
Media reports suggest that Perisic is going to Lokomotiva in the HNL. At this stage unable to find an overseas club willing to pay the transfer fee of 200 K. Media reports are saying that he has paid the 200 K to Hajduk and is now a free player.
One of our greatest players ever, it will be hard for him to resume playing at a high level again at age 35.
Dalić being stuck on Perišić will likely prevent someone like Oršić from getting his chance again.
It will also definitely slow down any potential U21 winger from being promoted and tested at that spot (like we’ve done in other positions).
We might have to rely too much on a guy like Sosa on that left side (or be forced to try Gvardiol as a flank guy again) when the World Cup comes around.
Dalić is going to waste the entire Nations League trying to get Perišić a new professional contract.
At this point, it’s too late for Perišić to go anywhere before January. It was probably his own requirements that prevented a move. That’s the only explanation I’ve been able to find in the media. He wanted more guarantees than what any of these clubs would give him. Too bad. If he’d gone to Como or Monza, he would be in the Serie A. If he’d gone to Turkey, he would at least be facing a high level of competition half the time. Anyway, I agree that the youth should be prioritized. Perišić will only belong if he can prove it with his play.
It’s very strange and telling that nobody wanted to pay 200K for his release clause, and that he had to pay it on his own.
It’s also a nice kick to the groin that he transferred to Hajduk for free, was paid nothing while at Hajduk…but then he had to pay them 200K to release him, haha.
Nije u soldima sve.
Modric should serve as an example to other fellow national team players who retire early. Mandzukic, Rakitic, Kranjcar, etc..all wimps who retired early. Man up! Don’t sell out!
LOVE THIS from Matanovic – one of his best attributes is the confidence he exudes while on the field – like he’s [50] caps in – hopefully he continue working hard (including on his finishing)
Oh the irony – if – after a 6 yr drought – our next striker ends up being the best of Mandzo and Zlatan
x.com/TheCroatianLad/status/1833963687637606779
Matanović on Mandžukić and himself:
“Mandžo is a hero for us Croats. It was clear that he always fought for Croatia, running even when he couldn’t anymore. I have something of him in me. And how did Ibrahimović score goals? I’m a mix, a little bit Mandžo, a little bit Ibra…” [SN]
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Just a couple of positives from the Poland (and Portugal to an extent) match.
Matanovic was amazing. It doesn’t matter that he missed all his chances. For strikers getting into scoring positions regularly is the hardest thing. Look at our previous strikers. Even mandzukic never had 7 shots at goal in half a game like matanovic did against Poland. People say scoring is the hardest thing, yes. But first you need to generate the chance. Luis Suarez, didier Drogba. Both these guys after one season in the premier league people were saying that they are good players but they can’t score. This is because they were working so hard for the team that when the chances came they were tired and snatching at chances. Then they adapt to the rhythm of the team, their stamina builds and the relax a bit, one or two goals come, suddenly you have a world class player, scoring for fun. Matanovic was also good with build up play, showing good control, movement and passing. He also pressed like a monster which is not easy for a guy his size. I cannot emphasise enough how impressed I was with the two games he played.
Baturina is an unbelievably talented player. He just lacks aggression and arrogance. He always wants to be unselfish always passes at the first opportunity. This is a big problem. He needs to be more selfish and more cocky. He needs to take more risks, dribble more, shoot more and demand the ball from his teammates more. Being the heir to Modric is a heavy psychological burden. He will not succeed unless he takes the rakija and goes for broke. Just do it. To hell with consequences. Make some mistakes, lose the ball taking on the defence, not stuttering and making a nothing pass. Come on kid. You can do it.
Petar sucic is good. He was not bad against Poland. One or two mistakes. He froze a bit under the lights. But he doesn’t stop moving, and he has the ability, he can become a big player.
Pjaca very good. He made like one mistake. He handled several situations very calmly and we all know if he gets the chance he can be devastating with the ball. Respect please for a guy who has fought back from the worst luck imaginable with injuries.
Tactics:
Absolutely brilliant. Poland are not a bad team at all. We had almost complete control and unlike in recent years we were able to turn possession into direct play and chances very quickly. The formation works. Majer, stanisic, juranovic, Erlic, perisic (he is an alien don’t think he is done because he isn’t), vlasic to come back in. Marco P as well. Crnac, simic, ivanovic, ljubicic, vidovic, beljo, hodza, jankovic, matkovic, zvonarek, vuskovic and many others hungry to make the grade.
We are good
P.s Luka sucic!!!
It’s a shame that Marco didn’t get a transfer – someone knows what ended up happening? Why wasn’t he able to move?
Andy Bara reveals that Marco Pašalić was very close to joining Mainz: “Pašalić was supposed to leave, and we were very close to a transfer to Mainz in the German Bundesliga. The Mainz deal was very close, and everything was fine until the last two days.
I think the turning point was the match against Olimpija in Ljubljana, where Rijeka lost 5-0, and Mainz’s people were watching Pašalić in his final test before the transfer.
I wanted him back on the German market, he knows the language, and the adjustment would have been easy, but in the end, we didn’t succeed.”
Niko Sigur played his first match for Canada. Regardless of first match or not, he looked very poor. Zero chance he cracked our 2026. This one isn’t on Dalić.
U21 Croatia 0 – Portugal 2, as expected, Portugal just too good. We actually created some chances in this match and first one fell to Gabriel Vidovic in the 4th minute, but he was unable to score. The best chance fell to Matkovic in the second half when he really should have done better with a header from close range.
Overall, we defended well for most of the match with Portugal dominating possession and keeping our goalkeeper Cavlina busy who made some good saves. Luka Vuskovic also played well in our defence.
Two matches left in October both at home, we first need to beat Andorra and then get a draw against Greece to come second and head to play offs. Three best second placed teams will also qualify directly to the EURO however with this loss it is most likely play offs for us, that is if we do not lose to Greece.
Kalinic OUT of Hajduk! That didn’t last long. Predictable. Gattuso next?
“Sometimes maybe good. Sometimes maybe shit”
Big game for u21 v Portugal for top spot in group in about a half hour… anyone know if this game is telavised?
It’s on MAX Sport.
Don’t bother watching. Easy Portugal win.
Much like the narrow win over the Faroe Islands, Olić doesn’t seem like he knows what he is doing.
It’s probably better we lose and fail to qualify, just so the HNS can dump Olić and kill off the notion of him being a Dalić replacement.
Also, if our U21s are eliminated… Dalić may be more inclined to call up a U21 winger or perhaps call up Luka Vušković to the senior team.
Domagoj Vida’s Son David – 10
Touching to see him get emotional at the pre-game ceremony (bc he loves seeing his dad play for Croatia and knows it won’t happen again)
Croatian sentimentality – just beautiful
He’s born 2015 – so only a few more years – till he’ll be ready to join our U17 – and make the way to the senior squad
***.instagram.com/p/C_uz9mBOBgW/
***.youtube.com/watch?v=lpDTUTjb164
Ivana Vida gets some points as well, ha ha
Referee – 10
Not bc he gave a yellow for every little foul we made (keep in mind Kova played w/ a yellow after the 2nd minute…)
But bc he insisted that Modric re-set the ball and move it FORWARD 2 yards before the free kick (Modric didn’t want to, but finally conceded)
Domagoj Vida’s Son David – 10
Touching to see him get emotional at the pre-game ceremony (bc he loves seeing his dad play for Croatia and knows it won’t happen again)
Croatian sentimentality – just beautiful
He’s born 2015 – so only a few more years – till he’ll be ready to join our U17 – and make the way to the senior squad
http://www.instagram.com/p/C_uz9mBOBgW/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpDTUTjb164
Fair assessment. Lower for Petar Sucic. He’s not ready but below 5 is not fair. Petkovic a little higher but very close to the assessment. Mid and back good. Upfront , who knows. Should be interesting to see if Matanovic is for real or not. Damn , he creates chances . It might be the puzzle. And CC, where is this coming from? I thought he was done but he played pretty good. We might have some towers on the D . Tall guys that move well.
DCC was done for about six months when he went to a disaster Southampton but then moved to a reputable team where he plays with some world-cup winners and received mentoring from the former The Best Defender in the World for a season, so it was just a matter of time. He seems to have matured enough to live up to his potential now.
Good to know. thank you TGAD.
Petković the most underrated player of the match. I thought he was great. He does more than most viewers realize to draw defenders and open space for his teammates. He’s a tank with finesse, and that was on full display against Poland. Remember, he drew the foul that led to the goal, and it took two defenders to even just drag him down.
I agree. It’s taken me a while to fully appreciate his game but he’s dangerous because of all the things you mention and also he’s not afraid to take a shot at goal with a heavy boot. Like Hellboy throwing a punch with his heavy right arm.
FOTMOB ratings:
Modric 9.2
Sutalo 8.1
Kovacic 8.0
Livakovic 7.9
Gvardiol 7.5
Matanovic 7.5
Caleta-Car 7.3
Pjaca 7.2
Sosa 7.0
P. Sucic 6.7
Petkovic 6.6
Subs:
Kramaric 6.7
L. Sucic 6.6
Pasalic 6.6
Budimir 6.2
https://www.fotmob.com/matches/poland-vs-croatia/2wd566#4421966:tab=lineup
Great goal and match by Modric, but 10 ? more like 8. He had some misdirected passes and a couple of poorly executed short corners one of which led to a dangerous counterattack. He was our best player, closely followed by Kovacic, Sutalo and DCC who get a 7.
Speaking of 11, Benjamin Sesko had a hat trick the other day, against kazahstan Could have used some of those in the world cup unfortunately.
When your doing a 10 @ 39, that should be an 11.
Matanović is the exact talent that needs to play as our #9.
Good athlete with real hunger in the final third.
Centimeter from impressive goal.
@ Markus .. ISTINA !!
Matanović 7 — The 21 year-old striker gets this rating for being the most involved striker I’ve seen since Mandzo. But he’s very raw and should’ve had 2 goals today if he were more composed. Unlucky to strike one off the bar but this was his first start for the Croatian senior side. Give him some more time.