Alright guys, here we go! The real tournament starts Thursday night for Croatia when they take on Portugal in Toronto at 7PM (ET) in their Round of 32 knockout round match. There’s a lot to unpack for this one. Here’s what you need to know:
- PORTUGUESE HOME GAME??? The Portuguese are going to treat this as a home match. The largest concentration of Portuguese in Canada are in the Greater Toronto/Ontario area at roughly 180,000 people. However, Croatia has the largest concentration of Croatians in North America in Ontario as well. So if you have the privilege of being inside the stadium for this match, BE LOUD for 90 MINUTES and DO NOT let the Portuguese make this a home crowd for them.
- LEGENDS MATCH: This will be the last World Cup match for either Luka Modrić or Cristiano Ronaldo. The two former Real Madrid teammates will go toe-to-toe with the winner moving forward to possibly face Spain and the loser going home.
- EXPECT THE BEST CROATIA LINEUP: The Vatreni have yet to play a great game at this World Cup for 90 straight minutes. I’m expecting Dalić to roll out his best possible lineup for the Portugal match which includes Baturina, Petar Sučić and possibly Marco Pašalić if he wants to play a bit more offensive-minded in a 4231. However, will a less than 60% Joško Gvardiol be part of the defensive plans? He came off the bench late versus Ghana. Could we possibly play him at CB to minimize his running game on the wings vs. Portugal?
- VEGAS ODDS: Vegas has Portugal at -260 to progress to the next round making Croatia the betting underdog in this match. Vegas also has the Under 2.5 goals weighted which means they are expecting a 1-0 or 1-1 match in 90 minutes. CroatianSports has a gut feeling this match will go into extra time, maybe even penalties. As we all know, Croatia have won four straight penalty shootouts at the World Cup dating back to 2018.
It pains me to see our two most valuable players on the bench
At the same time, this board has lost credibility on the back line. We slammed the 18 and 22 lines featuring lovren and it turned out great
So maybe dalic knows something
So frustrating and a real let down, really thought our backline would be solidified with say Stanisic, Gvardiol, Vuskovic, and maybe (Perisic)Jakic?, there is no consensus amongst fans and leadership. Though this could have been figured out in four years.
With that said, at least Musa, P. Sucic, Baturina, and Vlasic make me feel we have a chance moving forward, if we can nail down the defense, with the four preferred backline we envisioned, whoever that is. Dalic wants nothing to do with G & V it seems. He did give Luka a chance, and he did not like the result, a regular English shooting gallery it was. There may be no room for redemption.
Seemly, Dalic was really impressed with Budimir’s high skilled thigh tap in, so Musa might not see the field again, who relies on overrated skilled foot work, timing, speed and positioning. Too bad he is a hard-working geek, and not part of the European greek fraternity league.
It is really sad that we won’t therefore the advantage of G&V soft offensive abilities.
Fixing the backline is where Dalić will have to earn his salary.
If he sticks with a largely untested Pongračić/Šutalo combo (with two €70 million defenders on the bench) and Portugal crushes us, then Dalić will look like a fool.
If he tries to swap out Perišić from LB (where he’s suddenly looked amazing) just to get Gvardiol into the LB position, he’ll potentially look dumb as well.
At the same time, if he suddenly goes with the rumored “Gvardiol at CB” move (in place of Pongračić), but Gvardiol still makes mistakes then Dalić will still get grief.
Personally, I’d love to see him just surprise us with a Stanišić, Vušković, Gvardiol, Perišić backline.
Just take the risk.
We’re not going anywhere with a mediocre Šutalo/Pongračić combo. If Portugal doesn’t shred these two apart, then Spain will.
Vušković always has a bad first game (then absolutely crushes it after) and Gvardiol is an elite CB being forced at LB. They’re the future and they’re our two most expensive players.
I’m in favor of the backline you propose as it would help us moving the ball forward. Too often we start attacks with either Kovacic or Modric going to the top of our box to initiate forward movement. We end up compressed in our own half.
If we have Vuskovic/Gvardiol who are more comfortable on the ball, we can stretch the field out and not have our midfield duo starting so deep.
Based on what Marin said today, is it a hint DCC sees the field for the first time? Maybe Erlić starts instead? We had at least two guys open on the free kick goal.
Our best chance of winning would be Marco P on the wing, and Musa upfront (who is out of favor again), because they bring speed that we sorely need. Teams like Ivory Coast, Congo, Capo Verde are fast and gave everyone fits. We don’t. It’s hard to get by solely on technical ability as in the past.
I agree with folks like Maminjo that the England game showed anyone can compete with anyone but also a reminder that they simply ran all over us in that 2nd half. It should have been an 8-2 final not 4-2.
I agree with folks like Maminjo that the England game showed anyone can compete with anyone but also a reminder that they simply ran all over us in that 2nd half. It should have been an 8-2 final not 4-2.
It’s further exposing that we’re not as good defensively the last two years as we traditionally are. For all of the talk about Vusković, Gvardiol (injured now) we’re nowhere as good as when Lovren/Vida patrolled the middle defense. I’m still shocked that regular posters here never appreciated their play (for whatever reason).
England just barely beat Congo. I can’t believe we lost to these smucks. They only have Kane just like Argentina only have Messi. They are beatable and that first game against them should be a lesson for us. He wasn’t covered on the first goal for the header and had so much space for the winner.
This isn’t a walkover tournament for any team. We have no excuses. I hope Mexico will beat these arrogant bastards. They are a mediocre team without Kane. Covering him and shutting him makes England look average. If you look at their last Euro run..they were trailing every game.
Congo pushed Portugal and England to the end. We are able to beat Portugal. I know it deep in my soul. Our team has Pride, resilience and a never say die attitude.
LFG and prove everyone wrong like we always do!!!!
ZA DOM SPREMNI!!!!!
ZA DOM!!!
The good news is that it seems anybody can beat anybody, so it’s not like beating Portugal is some impossible feat.
The bad news is that it really shows how mediocre we’ve been in this tournament, losing so easily to England (with Ghana, Panama and now Congo faring much better) and struggling so hard to create chances against Panama.
The first half against Ghana was good but we really need to show a lot more if we want to salvage this tournament.
The entire game against Ghana we were solid. Then again, the equalizer they scored was off a corner. England did the same. We need to do better at that. I don’t know what’s so hard about that. We have height too.
We relaxed too much in the second half and we gave them too much possession.
It resulted in their goal (even though their goal was offside, the chance does not happen if we allow them so much possession on us).
Vlasic’s header was nice but it shouldn’t have gotten to that point. We should have shut Ghana down.
We beat Ghana 2-1. It was a great game. England cannot break them a. Just accept the win.
The Ghana goal was not offside. The guy in the offside position didn’t affect the play at all. We all know that if they called back a goal like that against us, we would lose our minds. The Germans got screwed, Senegal got screwed, we didn’t. But I expect some bs tonight because it’s Portugal and Ronaldo.
It wasnt off a corner. It was a stupidly given away free kick by Pong.
I see dalic rolling out the same line up as against Ghana
Unfortunately that’s a line up of 5 midfielders
Which actually leaves Croatias sub depth very light
You’ll see a big drop off when you move from modric kivacic p sucic baturina and vlasic to l sucic, fruk and moro
Another case where it seems we could’ve used majer from a talent level
Keep it coming. If Congo takes out the Lions, and Paraguay take out France, Austria take out Spain; we are looking good.
Unbelievable!!!
The ref made a call against an England penalty!
Looked to me that Kane was already on his way down before the goalie even made contact.
I agree with the ref 100%
A fair ref… never thought I’d see the day.
FIFA is definitely firing that ref.
On to more important matters….
Napred Hrvati!!!
Napred Hrvati! 🇭🇷🇭🇷
Congo leading England 1-0 at half time. . . .
Vuskovic to Brighton “Here We Go!” for 50M + sell-on %
Maybe Dalic hasn’t been playing Vusko while the deal was being worked out (as he was distracted) but now it’s done so he can focus on the field again?
A done deal. New York Times etc reporting a done deal. Wow.
https://www.flashscore.com/news/brighton-reportedly-agree-deal-to-sign-talented-tottenham-defender-luka-vuskovic/ARcfUKel/
Yeah, maybe Dalic wanted to avoid this distraction? Maybe he was concerned it was a distraction for Vuskovic? Maybe now this is settled he will start Vuskovic against Portugal?
But here is the question: do we consider this a good move for Vuskovic? (Many here have said, over the years, that they generally don’t like our players going to the Premier League.) What is Brighton like as a franchise?
That’s 50 million POUNDS too
Portugal have played more extra time and penalty games at the Euros than the World Cup. But if it went down to the wire, we would have the upper hand no question. Modric, Vlasic, Pasalic, and Kramaric would be our penalty takers. We’re going into this game as the underdog and that’s fine with me. We’ve always been underestimated at the big stage. Portugal hasn’t been able to click yet but still are a dangerous team. Most of their goals are off set pieces, headers. Just cover Ronaldo always…maybe put two guys on him. I don’t care that he’s 41. He’s still a phenomenal athlete and capable of scoring at every angle. If Congo can score a goal and Uzbekistan can in the position of almost doing it then so can we.
Vuskovic is fantastic defending against set pieces in this situation. There is no Bundesliga defender better in the air.
But . . . Will he start?
Scottish league is even worse than HNL..based on market value of top 5 teams. I rather he goes to belgian or dutch league.
It’s a shame he went to a club that hasn’t been in the champions league in so long. He brought Hull city back to the EPL and he goes to Rangers?
Sweltering heat and Modric at 40. But how do you sub him at 60 minutes after what he showed in the second half vs. Ghana? We’ll see how the game goes but imo this will be one of Dalic’s toughest calls – when and if to pull Modric. I like our depth but Modric is Modric.
Guys… IM FUCKING SCARED !!
Smiri se Igor.
Dosta!
🫂
Iggy’s confidence seemed to be building in a previous post, but it looks like Iggy may be falling apart again. . .
The World Cup stress is tough on Iggy.
Ne brini, Iggy!
Arrived in Toronto… just wanted to share… around 8pm or so was driving by the 407 portion near the Toronto airport and sited the Croatia worldup bus being escorted by mobile police motorcycles.. they are in town boys!
Vatreni su stigli bas Toronto gori od vrucine…
Bog blagoslovi nasu Reprezentaciju trebat ce im podrsku u ovom paklenom razdoblju!
Bit ce je*eno!
Around this time last week during Panama game weather was perfect in Toronto at the game.. Philedelphia was somewhat humid and raining kind of put a damper on before game time festivities but the win was sweet…
For this next game make sure you bring a second jersey and a change of clothing lol it will definitely be a sweat fest!
Ivor Pandur has signed for Rangers…
rangers.co.uk/article/rangers-announce-signing-of-ivor-pandur-from-hull-city/1XKF2aiaLWotZp38qik8Tv
The good thing for us is the Portugese manager is apparently an idiot and his own peope don’t approve of the way he handles things. I think Portugal have the talent, but they are not managed well. I think we could beat them. My concern is against better teams like France/Spain. I’d rather we not get a spanking on the world stage.
Matheus Fernandes
99M transfer vs 50M transfermarket estimate
Guess we just have to double Bati and Pero transfermarket estimate to come up with their market value?
Math is easy
And the MORON of the day award goes to Pong
🎙️ Marin Pongračić on his own performance against Panama:
“The coach told me that against Panama there were quite a few mistakes from my side; we definitely don’t want that.”
He played really well against Ghana, so why does this make him a “moron”? It seems like he did something with the feedback
Basically, Croatia has to defeat the best world beaters, for the privilege to play Brazil/Norway/England in the final.
Do we even know who WE are?
All in a month’s work. Try to enjoy each moment. Feel blessed to be where we are and have made it this far.
Sound advice!
Watched the last 15 min of first half of France vs Sweden
Not sure why Sweden were playing with both Isak and Victor upfront
There’s no point as they only got 10 touches each per half
Meanwhile Sweden were missing another man in midfield – ideally a #6 to get stuck in just outside the box – as France kept walking in no problem and firing off shots etc
Seemed like an obvious thing that needed fixing asap as France were applying so much constant pressure and the can’t just let them fire off shot after shot
In the end they each had only 21 / 25 touches all game and 1 SoT each
Sack Potter asap – MORON
Ps someone please explain to Robert that Thursday will be 110 degrees on a “feels like” basis u know bc of humidity
@Anonymous.
Refocus. Stop advising the Swedes.
Get back to managing Croatia through to the next round . . Portugal is not going to be easy, and here you are taking time out to help advise the Scandinavians . . .
Portugals record at world cups isnt good at other comps ,good ,but not world cups ,we need to help them.continue that and stick to what we know and how we know.
Pandur leaving Hull for Rangers seems like a massive step down… would’ve been cool to see a Croatian keeper in the Prem.
Terrible move.
One of Scotland’s National Team keepers is there and now he has to compete for minutes in a worse league.
Agreed with you guys it’s a terrible move, even more terrible now I hear that Rangers have a Scotland goalkeeper.
Pandur had no choice, from what I have read Hull is in financial problems. What is a concern is that the Rangers goalkeeper is going to Hull. There must have been a deal done with a direct swap of goalkeepers and some money exchanged.
Also, looks like coach Jakirovic does not think that Pandur is good enough for the EPL? Hull needs to buy at least 10 quality players and hope that they don’t get relegated immediately back to Championship.
Rangers fans are very pleased with the signing on their web sites, and they are welcoming Pandur . . . They are calling him their new number 1 goalie. They are pretty enthusiastic.
It looks like Pandur has probably been told the number 1 goaltending position at Rangers will be his to lose.
He has recorded a short video statement for Rangers fans.
Hopefully this link to one of the websites works:
https://www.followfollow.com/forum/threads/rangers-confirm-ivor-pandur.327013/
Rangers are an old and veritable franchise, legendary really, they play in Europe, and his being their number one goalie, should that work out, is perhaps not a terrible spot going forward, particularly if he has been told he would be a second stringer, only a back up at Hull in the Premiership.
Maybe Jakirovic simply feels that he needs a goaltender with Premier League experience to help them get through the first year?
As for Hull, I don’t generally like our players heading to the Premier League . . . . But in this case they would be going to play for Jakirovic.
In that 10 quality players Hull is looking for, are there are Croatians who make sense for Hull, where it would also be a good move for the Croatian player? Would a move there be a good fit for any of our players?
Canada Vs Morocco on Saturday. Watching Netherlands and Morocco on penalty attempts was difficult. Three posts, two or three saves. Somebody needs to take Croatia’s notes for both players and keepers. I think the last four penalty shootouts we’ve missed four. Morocco’s goalkeeper made it look easy with shuffling side to side and bouncing. He made a one hand save and so easily. Morocco is pulling a Croatia with now winning a penalty now each in the last two world cups. They are fast team and look better than we played them four years ago. France will play Morocco in the quarter and we would play the winner that if we make it to the semis. So basically our path to the final would be Portugal, Spain, States and most likely France. France is making Sweden look silly.
France will wipe morocco( if its them they meet) Holland would have won penalty shooutout quite easily ,with a couple of confident penalty takers ,they won both tosses then still blew it ,their own keeper long legs( unco) pushed it into the net muppet then hakimi misses and they still blow it if you get a chance .Take it!
We got this! No fear!
Keys to the game-
Confidence and belief. Perisic needs to teach these young guns how to be audacious.
Man management. It will be ridiculously hot and humid. Who can run? This will work in our favour. Portugal superstar primadonas all play on big teams. Not used to grinding it out.
Height on set plays. Corners, free kicks, balls into the box. They won’t be able to handle us. No more Pepe anchoring their d.
They are hackers when things don’t come easy. Pray to God we have a fair ref. I won’t hold my breath. FIFA definitely would prefer Portugal v Spain. Hopefully we can spoil their nefarious machinations.
Ajmo dečki!
Napred Hrvati!!!
Well said, Stari!👍
Napred Hrvati!! 🇭🇷🇭🇷
I think if Perišić starts again at LB, it gives us our best chance with the backline issues the past two years. It’s sad we don’t have someone better than Pogračić but I think it’s too late to try DCC in there. I cringe when the unknowledgeable regular fans bitched about our combo of Lovren/Vida (better than Bilić/Stimac) who were studs and now we’re giving up goals on set pieces and 4 goals against England.
If he starts Musa, it would give much needed speed upfront and Marco P on the wings, it would make Portugal work harder.
I think if Perišić starts again at LB, it gives us our best chance with the backline issues the past two years. It’s sad we don’t have someone better than Pogračić but I think it’s too late to try DCC in there. I cringe when the unknowledgeable regular fans bitched about our combo of Lovren/Vida (better than Bilić/Stimac) who were studs and now we’re giving up goals on set pieces and 4 goals against England.
If he starts Musa, it would give much needed speed upfront and Marco P on the wings, it would make Portugal work harder. Based on his stubborness, it would shock me to see it.
Regarding multicultural team lack of success, the only Caveat, is France.
Although now that France has evolved to a pretty much a 90-95% replacement African team, with one mandatory pre-evasion token Frenchmen player or coach, they have dominated.
There can be an argument, that England, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Italy just need to up the replacement levels to 95% -100%, before they rise to the top.
Croatia, should try to maintain their own stock and do the best we can is my thought.
Is all the social upheaval worth it.
Obviously not.
The Netherlands right now are dealing with Moroccans trashing their towns in celebration. The police are even being overwhelmed in some places trying to manage this.
Sure, the Dutch have medaled in 2010 and 2014, but so what?
They also missed the 2016 Euros and 2018 World Cup. They also were bounced pretty early a couple of times in recent years as well.
Germany have been doing very poor as of late, and we don’t need to mention Italy.
I can’t imaging people wishing to sell the idea of having a good football team as some stupid reason for uncontrolled migration, lol.
I like the Japan Model. Do the best you can with your own people, and the Japanese have done quite well. Their time will come. No migration needed. When the population goes down to 40 million, they will eventually start having children again. No need to destroy the nation state, superior cultural values, and tradition.
Would rather seek quality of life vs World Cups. How many cars and buildings will burn in France if they win again. Celebration Oakland city, California style. France can keep their cups.
Terrible to see this violence from the Moroccan fans in so many major Dutch cities, especially after a loss at World Cup (which is tough enough to take in and of itself).
But Croatia needs immigration. And to that end, I know a young fellow in North America whose family is Croatian, they speak Croatian, they are pillars of the Catholic Church here. They have built financial success. He is about 25 years old, very proud of his Croatian heritage, and so he has been seriously trying to get his Croatian citizenship for a few years now.
He is still struggling to get it.
He is a salt of the earth type, no criminal record, a hard worker, volunteers at local organizations, and a huge Hajduk Split fan. He would blend seamlessly into the country, probably live there at least part-time for now, and possibly full time if economic opportunities allowed. At his age, he needs economic opportunity.
At the least he would build part of his life there, spend his money there, invest there, and certainly retire there. Loves the country and its culture. Considers it home.
Yet . . . The Croatian bureaucracy seems to be fighting him with all they have, fighting him all the way, fighting him tooth and nail. I am sure he will stay at it, and hopefully eventually get it, but why fight someone like this and make him jump through a thousand hoops?
Stupid.
And sometimes you can’t fix stupid. The political class in most countries is stupid behind imagination.
Croatia has a very simple solution waiting in the wings to boost the population, and make the country financially and economically vibrant. A seriously well-planned “Croatians Come Home” campaign.
It would require a few things: very low taxes to make it attractive, and a gentle government and regulatory regime. Don’t start rumbling about a military draft or mandatory military service and so forth. Keep the EU at arms length. Build solid relationships and peaceful relations with neighbouring sovereign countries, even if that isn’t easy in every case. It beats the alternative.
What would the campaign bring? An increasing population, a growing economy, a better future for the country.
I look at my own family. My family has nine people left in Croatia, and sixty in the diaspora over four generations. The world wide diaspora numbers, in my view, are likely grossly underestimated.
Go back three generations. You can show you have 4/8 (or more) great-grandparents born in Croatia and buried there, or two grandparents born in Croatia, or one parent born in Croatia: “welcome home.”
Streamline it.
No muss, no fuss. Simple. Easy.
And when they arrive, they would only be cheering for Croatia during World Cup. They already are.
It’s all about choice isn’t it, you look at Joe Simunic he chose Croatia and rejected Australia (I think that’s great by the way), but we have Mbappé who rejected Cameroon for France, that’s the right choice for him, I mean why would he choose Cameroon, what could they offer him 🤣🤣🤣
I would say that England, Germany, Spain and Netherlands need to give more reps to their ethnic stock. I wouldn’t up the replacement levels but make it a priority to develop the talent. Skill over speed.
Who did I offend for my posts to go to “moderation”?
If u put titties asses and pussies they’ll get thru right away
Learn to use the algo to ur advantage 😉
Mine is also awaiting approval!
Your username is offensive to all Croats that remember Ante Paradžik, a true Croatian man, as opposed to the Yugoslav man that was Franjo (Sranjo) Tudjman 🤣🤣🤣
I don’t know how we fix the holes on defense. It was Dalić who waited until November to use an 18 year old phenom on defense and was exposed vs England, instead of bringing him up in the spring to give him valuable experience. Gvardiol is clearly not the same so how does he return to the starting lineup if we wasn’t capable of starting against Ghana???
I think if Perišić starts again at LB, it gives us our best chance. It’s sad we don’t have someone better than Pogračić but I think it’s too late to try DCC in there. I cringe when the unknowledgeable regular fans bitched about our combo of Lovren/Vida (better than Bilić/Stimac) who were studs and now we’re giving up goals on set pieces and 4 goals against England.
If he starts Musa, it would give much needed speed upfront and Marco P on the wings, it would make Portugal work harder. Based on his stubborness, it would shock me to see it.
Here’s a fun fact:
Italy – WC winners in 2006 – haven’t won a knockout game since
Spain – WC winners in 2010 – haven’t won a knockout game since
Germany – WC winners in 2014 – haven’t won a knockout game since
Likely Spain will beat Austria to end the streak, but Italy will be at 24 years by the next WC and Germany will be at 16. How the mighty have fallen.
Their organizations are disjointed and not following their blueprint. Local talent is being switched for foreign talent in their leagues.
Thanks to EU directives.
@Mile.
Interesting. Thanks for posting. It is hard to believe when first reading it, but it seems it is true.
When you look at the quality of footballers that, say, Germany has, one wonders how this can happen.
I know we’ve had success with penalties in the past but I really hope Dalic has been doing training for them especially for the younger guys.
Don’t want to end up like the Germans:
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/05dASqCvjC
I don’t know how we fix the holes on defense. It was Dalić who waited until November to use an 18 year old phenom on defense and was exposed vs England, instead of bringing him up in the spring to give him valuable experience. Gvardiol is clearly not the same so how does he return to the starting lineup if we wasn’t capable of starting against Ghana???
I think if Perišić starts again at LB, it gives us our best chance. It’s sad we don’t have someone better than Pogračić but I think it’s too late to try DCC in there. I cringe when the unknowledgeable regular fans bitched about our combo of Lovren/Vida (better than Bilić/Stimac) who were studs and now we’re giving up goals on set pieces and 4 goals against England.
If he starts Musa, it would give much needed speed upfront and Marco P on the wings, it would make Portugal work harder. Based on his stubborness, it would shock me to see it.
Vlasic brings high energy. Musa has scored the only quality goal by a striker. He continues to prove he is the best solely on results, not based on who he knows, what kind of shirt he wears, or league he plays in.
I would like to see all five get time against Portugal: Gvardiol, Vuskovic, Musa, Marco and Vlasic.
Vuskovic should have been played off his feet in the qualifiers. He looked like a deer in the headlights against England and that was not right. He was completely mismanaged by Dalic and the reason why Dalic can’t manage the next group coming up. He’s decent with players he knows and just can’t develop other players who are up and coming. I’d say Sucic cousins and Baturina have fended for themselves and have been decent more out of their own talent than anything that Dalic did to put them in a good position to succeed. Sorry, respect to Dalic for past success but that means crap for the next game. Maybe Vuskovic will be something but not under Dalic.
If we lose with a gvardi and Vuskovic pairing
I don’t think we will sit here and say I wonder if… 4 years down the line with pong and sutalo
Super Slav had told you all that balls in the box will defeat the Bunker.
Due to my superior speed I was able to inform Dalic on how to break the bunker.
Ever since we have been playing less Tika Taka and more ugly Scottish football to break down these teams.
Just as England used to over play the Long Ball tactics, we also had to adjust and mix up our attack.
We as te became very predictable but now due to Super Slavs Football IQ our team is starting to grow.
Never Fear, Super Slav is here.
I dont think it’s pretty fair to call Spain anyone’s kryptonite outside of the very best teams
Spain tends to beat everyone
Croatia actually has a pretty impressive record against Spain
They beat them in 3-2 in nations league in 2018, they beat them 2-1 in euro 2016
They played them tight to penalty kicks in the nations league final and in euro 2020 in ot, and in euro 2012 when Spain was at their strongest when they were a rakitic better placed header away from a huge upset
Even their 3-0 loss in 2024 euros had them out possess Spain which no team had done in years and have more expected goals
Overall not too bad
Portugal hasnt been great but only the 2016 game really mattered
The biggest potential positive for Croatia is that Ronaldo is playing. He could score two goals but he could also very likely leave spain playing 10 v 11
This is one where non in form gvardiol and untrusted vuskovic hurt in their absence
Having central backs who will be able to exploit the extra space created by ronaldos lack of activity cascades into advantages all over the field
Very questionable if sutalo pongracic and perisic combo got that in them out of the back
The 2012 Spain game with Modric delivering that perfect ball to Rakitic for that free header was one that really stung.
It is obvious that Dalic was looking for any reason to bench Vuskovic. I remember before the tournament everyone was pretty confident Vuskovic would start every game. I had my serious doubts as Dalić will always be loyal to his vets. Crazy that we have one of the best CBs sitting on the bench as he didn’t even have that bad of a game vs England compared to others.
Regarding Gvardiol, how he is not trying him at CB is wasteful. Sutalo and Pong CB pairing is playing with fire.
Ronaldo doesn’t play for Spain
Please fire pimply analyst yet again and try a new one
Thx
Is it just me or is it crazy that because of one off game Dalic is not going to play the best CB in the Bundesliga for the rest of the tournament
Not just you. It is batsh*t crazy.
Maybe we shouldn’t get too far ahead of the curve here.
You might well be right. But let’s see.
After starting Vuskovic and throwing him into the middle of the fire against England, maybe Dalic sensed that Vuskovic could use a couple of games off to ease the pressure on the kid a bit, let him familiarize himself with being at a World Cup with the Vatreni for the first time, and maybe he goes back with Vuskovic against Portugal.
Dalic started rookies Sucic (22), Baturina (23), Vuskovic (19) in the first game, and when it came time to sub off Musa, he chose to put in the WC rookie Matanovic (23) over the La Liga veteran Budimir (35).
Last World Cup 2022, he gave Gvardiol a huge role as a young WC rookie (20).
While he leans to his vets, I am not sure it is unduly so.
I agree that Vuskovic should start. But let’s see what Dalic does. For all we know, Dalic may have already told Vuskovic he is starting against Portugal.
Spain and Portugal have been Coach Dalic’s kryptonite during his coaching tenure. I hope he can turn that around this Thursday. Let’s hope Croatia plays an A game against the Portuguese.
We have a deep bench. The weather is forecast to be in the 80s. Will they close the dome? If its hot, I hope Dalic will substitute early and often. Trust our depth.
The stadium in Toronto doesn’t have a dome
He’s thinking it’s in the SkyDome. Probably could’ve, should’ve been. MLB Blue Jays didn’t want it.
Ok, thanks.
I thought the roof was retractable.
Croatia will beat Portugal if Dalić keeps playing chess. Remember when Jakić connected with Gvardiol to earn us a 1-1 draw? Aside from poor concentration on one of the first plays of the match, Croatia basically dominated that one. There was also the 2-1 friendly match before Euro 2024 : yes, just a friendly but still a win. Also, Slovenia took Portugal to penalties in 2024. Strong defense will be crucial, and pressing Portugal’s defenders will create scoring chances.
We all remember 2016. Portugal were dogshit in the group, didnt get a win and got thru with 3 points. Then they scrape past us and go on to win the whole tourney.
I know they havent played well this tourney, but so it was in 2016. They know how to play knockout and will be a major pain in the arse. I still think we have a decent chance to win and it is a bit of a potential fifty-fifty call, but that’s rough in the round of 32. Anyway fingers crossed the big guys keep losing and we win (Go Austria v Spain!)
Imagine if Austria and us both win !
9 African countries get through. Do we get one? Nope.
We get #5 Portugal.
Meanwhile Argentina get #426 Cabo Verde.
I think a better comparison is Australia who also finished 2nd in their group (with 4 points) and got Egypt. Lot of luck involved. Some tough draws for sure (Japan v Brazil / Holland v Morocco). Unfortunately we have a terrible record against Portugal and i am not at all confident.
So you are saying it’s rigged. It’s the luck of the draw or pots.
I wouldn’t say rigged but it is a little unbalanced and we seem to be on the wrong side of it. They also now keep apart the top seeds if they win their groups until the late rounds. Or something like that.
We can all agree, at the very least, that the World Cup is poorly organized and in need of reform. It is shameful what FIFA has done.
FIFA should be embarrassed.
This is not how a professional sports tournament is supposed to be run.
It is not even amateur hour. It is worse than that.
Example: Canada is ranked about 30th in the world.
Canada is now sitting happily in the round of 16 and their toughest opponent so far has been Switzerland (Canada lost), ranked somewhere between 16-19th in the world.
We, Croatia, ranked 11th-13th in the world. . . .
We have already played England (4th in the world) and we will have to beat Portugal (5th-8th) world, to get to where Canada is now sitting, waiting gleefully in the round of 16.
Unbalanced is too generous a word. This kind of unfairness, which can easily be avoided with a little planning and common sense, is a complete and total disgrace.
Yeah it looks stupid and unfair but I really have no idea if FIFA can do anything to mitigate this unfairness.
In ths WC, for sure we’ve had zero luck of the draw (England in group stage, Spain as possible R16 opponent) and no luck with other results (Portugal finising 2nd in Group K hence becoming our R32 opponent). As someone here said, we basically would have to run the gauntlet just to get to the quarterfinals. Absolutely brutal, and now compare that with Canada’s situation as you have pointed out. Even their R16 opponent Morocco isn’t that bad, at least not a juggernaut like Spain.
@Bartolec
I have no answers as to the very best approach. I think someone here posted some possible solutions a few days back.
But a local tennis tournament in our area with local players, volunteer organizers, and a shoestring budget, has the players seeded and more sensible matchups evolve as the tournament moves along. If there are 48 players, the 6th and 7th highest seeded players could meet, but not in the round of 32!
FIFA is what it is.
We just have to go one game at a time. I am hoping we play a great game against Portugal. I want to see the guys bring their A game, and what will be will be.
Will any Europeans make it to the round of 16? Lol
Anonymous told u MORONS that the big dogs would fall away like flies
Netherlands and Germany in the same day – wow wow wow
Dutch keeper is the worst keeper I’ve ever seen try to save penalties
Morocco keeper was very smart movement back and forth and just enough distraction on the line before the penalties were taken
Lesson ? Too many players trying “perfect” and “too cute” penalties – just whack it in and get it on net
Luka V’s team ITK commenting on Baturina transfer news
***.youtube.com/watch?v=OA58pxMH4_g
Correct the FIX not fox.
As stated earlier, the only thing I fear is the match fixing by FIFA’s golden boys Ronaldo & Messi.
I noticed some terrible calls against Columbia to help Portugal.
This tournament will be just like all others, favoured for the hosts and team of choice to win.
At least the Canada game was fair against South Africa and very good game from both teams but as you saw the fox was insured against Qatar with two reds.
Faster then a Speeding Dalmatian,
Stronger then slowest train in Osijek,
Able to eat 2 tons of cevapi in a single bound,
Look it’s Klepetan,
It’s Rimic Automobili,
No, it’s SUPER SLAV.
Gabriel (Brazil) and Virgil (Dutch) MASSIVE mistakes leading to goals today
And they start for Arsenal and Liverpool
But sure Dalic a 19 y/o Vuskovic must be perfect or shouldn’t start
LMAO
4 Things to know – 1] we give Portugal way too much respect 2] FIFA is in their pocket and will do everything to make sure we lose 3] Luka will leave it all out there. This may be the end of the line 4] Can’t lie, Portuguese chicken is damn good with that sauce you get with it. Add a few of those golf ball potatoes they give you and really yummy
I loved seeing Germany get beaten. Paraguay hasn’t done anything at football since 2010 when they gave Spain a run for their money in the quarter finals. They stared weak but are now in the drivers seat. Even in 02 they pushed Germany and were close. Good on them! Germany is overrated now. That 1998-2014 generation was unbelievable. Two World Cup finals and two semi finals. Then a Euro Cup final in 08. We were able to beat them twice during that period.
I hope Paraguay beat Africa. Hoping Cabo Verde win. Anything is possible now.
2008 Germany sucked.
We crushed them 3-1 and the biased ref called a foul to cancel the third goal and keep it from looking worse than it was.
We’re would’ve killed then in the semis if we didn’t screw up against Turkey.
98 Germany was cooked too. Then they lose 5-1 at home to England. Klinsmann called the situation a crisis back then.
Germans know how to turn it around though. If anything the Germans are always very honest about where they are.
They’re the opposite of the English or Toronto sports media lol.
Woke germany lost their mojo ,when it came to the shootout ,they werent strong.Parag. keeper was great too.
Can we take a moment to remember how Paraguay lost to USA 4-1 in opening game and then beat Germany
We have every right to beat Portugal Thursday my brothers and sisters and don’t you doubt it
This a toss up game and many put us in the we cant do it place we love to be in
Call me crazy which I am legally at times but I think we take this
Ajmo!!
Paraguay such balls fd Germany on penalties classic
Kann ich mein finger in dein muss gemitten ?
Germany CRASH out to 34 ranked Paraguay
They are in our QF bracket – Paraguay play winner of France vs Sweden’s fin fitta
110 forecasted at kick-off Thursday
Gatorade and 💦
Oh boy gonna be a blast
Guys –
Notice how we always lose Martin to the tittie bars after a match ?
This time he seems to have gotten lost in search of the titties – but it’s all gone wrong – unfortunately
https://x.com/NOT_MOTD/status/2071542398031634934?s=20
Faster then a Speeding Dalmatian,
Stronger then slowest train in Osijek,
Able to eat 2 tons of cevapi in a single bound,
Look it’s Klepetan,
It’s Rimic Automobili,
No, it’s SUPER SLAV.
My only fear for this game is FIFA’s love affair with Messi and Ronaldo, thus the match fixing.
Remember the Euros when FIFA ignored the Volleyball Spike handball that was totally ignored in the box?
What I loved about last game was putting Perisic as left back, his speed and ability was unmatched but would still like to see Marco start.
As well, it seems are strikers are only good for one half so I like the changes for fresh energy. Also, as stated more crosses in the box.
Lastly, To all my Croatian Brethren, never fear, Super Slav is here:)
Well, Super Slav, that is admittedly a fair amount of cevapi . . .but reliable witnesses have spotted @Anonymous leaping both Poljud and Maksimir stadiums in a SINGLE bound . . .
Can you top THAT?
(Just asking . . . )
@A Tin U
Of course I can, anonymous is just a simple nose picker and I’m superior in every way besides his 2 tons of picking 😉
Here is some of my back story so you can understand my greatness.
On a dying planet named Croton, genius scientist Jor-Elic sends his only begotten son Kal-Elic to be the saviour of humanity.
Baby Kals ship crash lands in the small Selo of Maletić, raised by simple farmers, Ivan and Marta Kentic.
Now as mild mannered sports reporter Klaric Kentic hides his secret identity as Croatia’s greatest hero,
Super Slav.
Faster then a Speeding Dalmatian,
Stronger then slowest train in Osijek,
Able to eat 2 tons of cevapi in a single bound,
Look it’s Klepetan,
It’s Rimic Automobili,
No, it’s SUPER SLAV.
Power & Abilities
– Stronger then TEN Joe Magarac’s
– More stamina then the Krsnik
– More body hair then the Vukodlak
– Wiser then Picokijada
– Football IQ times 100 Blažević & Dalic combined
– Able to chain smoke 1000 times more then Prosinečki
– Able to flap his hands and point fingers 100 times faster the Epic Broz
Never Fear Super Slav is here 🙂
Lol Paraguay 1- Krauts 0
U19 FT – Croatia 1 v Ukraine 3
Bad start to the second half was costly conceding the second goal in the 47 minute.
After going 3 – 1 down, credit to the boys for dominating the last 30 minutes or so. We created 3 or 4 good chances, but their goalkeeper made two superb saves and we also hit the post in stoppage time.
Thanks for these updates @MART!
Always very much appreciated!
Thank you Mart
Not sure why Vrzic and Durdov were not called up as this team has no wingers. Both did not have good seasons but have played well for the under19 s in qualifying.
Has Durdov’s development stalled? Can anyone comment on his ongoing progress? We used to hear a lot about him, but the noise about Durdov seems to have quieted down.
U19 – after 57 minutes Croatia 1 v Ukraine 3
Bad start to the second half. Ukraine much better and I cannot see us coming back from this.
U19 – HT Croatia 1 v Ukraine 1
Last 15 minutes or so Ukraine looks the better side and are dominating possession. Fair scoreline so far.
In earlier match in our group Italy beat Serbia 2 – 0. Our next match in three days is against Italy.
I would also like to know if Croatia House is happening again. That place was rocking all day long. I would love to experience and be the loudest person at the game once again but the cost is the issue. If anyone has an extra ticket I’m willing to work something out. I do live in Niagara Falls Ontario so if you’re out of town I could accommodate one bedroom. Let’s go Croatia 🇭🇷 we got this. The team seems to be working things out and I’m sure we’ll see the 🇭🇷🔥⚽️
Don’t invite strangers off the internet into your house and around ur family
Nothing good came come from that
Stay tuned to this channel for more life tips from Anonymous. A trusted source.
UEFA U19 Croatia 1 v Ukraine 1
22 min Ivan Baric 1 – 0 from the penalty spot.
Long ball over the top, Ukrainian goalkeeper comes out and fails to clear the ball and it falls to Sutalo who is brought down by the Ukrainian defender.
26 min 1 – 1
They score from a corner. Like seniors we are bad at defending set pieces.
Even game so far with not many chances.
Is Croatia House happening in Toronto for the Portugal game ? Anyone know ?
There is no such thing as “Croatia House” – everyone says it’s a decrepit empty hall that they rented out for a couple of days – great PR calling it “Croatia House” though
Tickets are now available for Croatia House🇭🇷🔥⚽️
We really need to beat Portugal if we want to consider this a successful tournament.
So far, we’ve been soundly beaten by England, barely scraped by Panama, and the only game where we looked “good” was against a team that had nothing to play for and were probably happy with taking a loss.
That being said, hopefully we’ve been able to pick up some momentum from that Ghana game and can carry it over against Portugal. We need our revenge for that disgracefully reffed game in 2016.
This tournament reminds me allot of Euro 2020.
In 2020, we looked very unprepared and were bad the first two games against England and Czech.
Then we made up for it by outplaying the Scots in one half and winning the game…but we were then easily dispatched by Spain.
If Portugal takes us out relatively easy, we can’t just use the same “small country” rhetoric, and consider it a successful tournament.
Isn’t that Spain game the one we came back and tied it with 2 goals with 5 minutes to go? And then Dalić had Brekalo play RB and the wheels came off in one of the craziest decisions I’ve seen.
I thought we had some momentum and if we pulled that off we were going to go far.
Also remember Perisic was held out of that game with Covid.
What a joke that was.
The Spain game wasn’t great. It was completely one sided and we were down 1-3 (and Spain scored in their own net on a bad back pass).
Orsic singlehandedly brought us back in the last 15 min of that game, but Spain still pumped two on us after that.
That tournament overall was very bad for us.
Dalic should of been fired then
He’s was actually on the cusp of being fired.
I can never forget Modric pushing him away after that Spain match when they were walking off the field. Modric was pissed off at Dalic.
Then there was this moment where Dalic called all the senatori to join him in his villa, and he smoothed things over with them.
100%, making it out of the group can’t be seen as an accomplishment anymore especially given how low the bar is now.
Well, not quite. We scored two at the death to put the game into extra time and Kramarič had an incredible chance to put us ahead before Brekalo jumped to try to head a ball 4 feet above his head, putting him out of position and allow a Spaniard to control and score. We then pushed everyone up to try to score, leaving us short in the back and gave up another. If memory served me right.
Ill be there! And Ill be screaming my dick off!!!!!!!
I think there might be some upsets today
Japan and Morocco could be the ones to do it
Why would Morocco winning be an upset? They’re way better than 4 years ago when they won 4th place.
I think if they beat The Dutch it would be an upset however I agree with you on the fact that they have improved
Because they are underdogs.
Yes
It’s not a bad thing we’re playing Portgual since they got outplayed by Colombia. Yeah, I know we beat them in the friendly, but they looked SO GOOD on Saturday.
I know we usually don’t match up well vs Portugal, but I’m happier with this matchup instead.
Croatia will win 2–1. They stay compact, control the midfield, and frustrate Portugal’s attack. They punish mistakes with quick counterattacks and take their chances when they come. Portugal creates opportunities but struggles to finish consistently. Portugal, at times, looks disorganized and lacks effort amongst some teammates. I don’t think they are as good as people glaze them out to be. 100% winnable if we fight hard and run them off the field like Colombia did and some African teams.