Croatia edge the Scots at home with the help of VAR after that frustrating equalizer in the 90+5′. After being down 1-0 in the first half, the Vatreni banded together for an equalizer just three minutes later, and a solid second half provided the necessary victory. This game had its ups and downs, but who were Croatia’s stand-outs, and disappointments?
Dominik Livaković – 6.5
1 save, 1 goal allowed. Not much he could do on the Scottish goal. He did have one frightening clearance straight to a Scottish player, but it remained fruitless.
Joško Gvardiol – 5
One of the weakest performances I’ve seen from Gvardiol. Very confusing, considering how he’s been a top 3 player for City this season but definitely did not look it today. He made many wasteful passes and looked like our shakiest defender today, often being caught out of position or looking slow in transition to defence. He didn’t get involved much in build up play like he normally does. Despite this, he still made an excellent cross-field long ball to Perišić in the lead up to the first goal.
Duje Ćaleta-Car – 8
Croatia’s best defender today. Duje knows his role, as he is the slowest and most limited defender in our back-line, but he plays it perfectly. He was dominant in the air and made numerous good clearances on dangerous Scottish balls. On the Scots first goal, he was well positioned and nearly cleared it off the line. These solid performances anchoring Šutalo and Gvardiol and truly cementing him as an important player in the starting eleven should he keep this up.
Josip Šutalo – 7
Confident performance from him as he did well on the ball and won his battles, winning 4/4 ground duels and 4/6 aerial duels. He and DCC dealt with Scotland’s striker very well.
Borna Sosa – 7
Borna Sosa was very active down the left flank today and put in a pretty good shift. Although he went 0/6 on crosses, he provided some good movement and passing in the final third. He got the “assist” on Kramarić’s goal by causing the rebound that Krama eventually buried. However, at times he would try and do too much by cutting in and trying to dribble, then losing the ball and causing a turn over.
Ivan Perišić – 8
Ivan had a slightly polarizing game, but provided LOTS of good play for Croatia today. After this performance, I don’t see a better option on that right wing-back until Stanišić or Juranović return. Perišić was directly involved in both goals, assisting the first and crossing the ball that lead to the second. He was direct and threatening, and linked well with Luka Sučić and Luka Modrić. However, he would often try and force a dribble, or unnecessarily take his defender on when a better pass was available, leading to a turn over. He was also often misplaced in the defensive transition, leading to Modrić or Šutalo having to over-compensate. His positive impact on the game was large, but he did make some mistakes that showed his age and slight decline in quality.
Luka Modrić – 10 (MVP)
Absolutely ran the show today, once again proving he is truly world class. King Luka was winning every duel, creating numerous chances, and was incredibly active in offence and in defence. There just really isn’t much more to say here… this was a prime Luka Modrić 10/10 midfield performance.
Mario Pašalić – 3.5
I have no huge issue with Pašalić starting this match, rather, my problems lie in WHERE he started this match. I cannot comprehend utilizing Mario in any position other than CAM. He is not nearly dynamic or quick enough to be playing in Kovačić’s role. Luka Sučić should have been playing next to Modrić with Mario further up the pitch. He essentially did nothing today, other than cause a horrible turn over leading to Scotland’s goal.
Andrej Kramarić – 7.5
Kramarić wasn’t anything spectacular today but I give him a +1 boost for his nicely placed (and timed) goal. He’s so tricky and nifty on the ball just has trouble truly taking reign of the match, and prefers to operate in the shadows. His goal was great and he had a threatening shot earlier in the game, but that’s about it.
Luka Sučić – 7
This is a hard rating to give as he had some disastrous moments in this match, but also some unbelievably promising ones. I’m giving Luka the benefit of the doubt in saying this was simply an unfortunate/unlucky performance. Yes, his poor clearance caused Scotland’s goal. But that kind of back-spinning ball is hard to hit and I think he clears that 99 times out of 100, so no big worry there. He was slow in defence and isn’t the most dynamic in movement like Kova or Modrić tend to be, but that’s just his play style. The good news is we have Kova, Modrić, Baturina who all move quickly and track back well to allow for the creative outlet that is Luka Sučić to thrive. He is not a complete midfielder but he does not need to be. Despite his error and his couple of lost duels/misplaced passes, the good moments he provided in this match were truly things to be excited about. Luka basically scored his first Croatia goal today if it weren’t for the incomprehensible early whistle from the referee. What an absolute bullet of a strike. He’s also very threatening cutting in from the right on his left foot and displayed that a few times today. The 7 rating compliments his good play today as his mistakes were more a product of him being unlucky rather than his lack of motivation or general poor play.
Igor Matanović – 7.5
Matanović was much less involved than he was against Portugal and Poland. In the same essence, the one good chance he did receive, he put away very cleanly and finally notched his first international goal for Croatia… hopefully the first of many. Igor was good today, he took a nice shot from out far following his goal and he presses well too. He simply received weaker crosses than the last two games and thus wasn’t seen quite as much. I think he deserves another start against Poland to reward his goal and to continue his positive attacking play as we have a real positive striker for the first time in a while. If he keeps putting these chances away too, we could be in for quite a treat.
Zlatko Dalić – 6.5
Dalić’s general approach to this game was quite good, and I think he made the right decision on ten of his starting eleven players. His subs were also excellent up until the last one. In sum, he did well in setting up for this game and his subs were impactful. On the other hand, Pašalić at central midfield was questionable and his last minute substitution of Jakić was just plain unnecessary, and almost caused a horrible Scottish equalizer at the death (if not for VAR). Why make a sub when the boys are focused and trying to kill the game, just to cause thirty added seconds for Scotland to try and equalize anyway?
Subs:
Petar Sučić – 7.5
Petar provided a much needed central midfielder following 45 minutes of watching Pašalić attempt the role. He did nothing especially spectacular but he was very very solid and looked comfortable next to Modrić. He kept good tempo on the ball and dictated well.
Martin Baturina – 8
Baturina was an absolute bull in his 30 minutes of play. He ran hard, looked fantastic on the ball, and even created a dangerous chance by breaking a Scottish defenders ankles in the box. You can see his confidence and skill growing as he’s in good form for Dinamo and is getting more and more accustomed to play on the international stage. Deciding between him and Luka Sučić for the start against Poland will be tough.
Bruno Petković, Ante Budimir and Kristijan Jakić did not play enough to merit a valid rating.
Overall, not a bad performance by any means, but this match against Scotland certainly left a lot to more to be desired. Perhaps these ratings are a bit inflated for the mediocre performance the Vatreni put up, but I do believe the players had quality today. Tying it all together as a cohesive and dominant unit is what’s lacking at the moment and something needs to just click. What do you think of the performance by Croatia today? Who stood out and who disappointed?
Anyone have a link to the Sucic strike that was cancelled?
In terms of Croatia giving up late goals
1) goals in stoppage are 2.5 times more likely than the rest of the game as a result of fatigue and the team that is down aggressively pushing forward
2) even with that in mind, the solution is to bunker. Several games croatia has been caught with players upfield as the other team scores. People in this site cry when croatia bunkers but maybe it’s the best policy
Does anyone know a Bozo from Split who plays basketball ?
He Will b on 90 day fiancé tonight
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JwG0xXm_iWM
Fuck, I hope Božo is there..
Dear HNS –
Anonymous feedback was to make ur videos less like top gun not more
We note ur latest vid has the same music but now there is a line where two players jump up and into each other almost body checking each other
This is an EXACT rip off of top gun beach volleyball scene
Let’s do better
Love
Anonymous
Xoxoxo
Just as Dalic has admitted he played Broz at the Euro to get him to 100 caps
Dalic clearly will play Perisic at least until he surpasses Mandzukic for 2nd in goals behind Suker (at the moment they are tied for 2)
@ FT
I like your analysis on why we give up leads late in games.
We need the front line to run at an open defense and put teams away with extra goals as opposed to absorbing pressure in the final minutes.
I’ll take a Marco P for 20 minutes wreaking havoc on a tired and desperate defensive line over surviving our slow horses up top.
We were two minutes from 6 pts at the Euros.
This needs to shift.
https://www.footboom1.com/en/news/football/1928564-luka-vuskovic-the-new-gvardiol-has-arrived-he-has-the-ability-to-play-for-a-big-club-like-real-madrid
Tottenham guys are just going nuts for him. I really hope the pressure and hype aren’t too much
I know his dad played but apparently grandfather played for hajduk as well
His brother of course but also has a couple of cousins playing as well professionally
So obviously it’s in the blood
His father (Daniel), grandfather (Mario), and great-grandfather (Marko) all played for Hajduk Split.
Luka Vušković is essentially a science project destined for football. He’s our Yao Ming of football.
See TM YouTube channel
This article covers most of it but there was a bit more
The quotes are from a guy who works for TM – he was asked about their MV vs spurs fee (he didn’t have a good answer)
If the monster luka can keep developing on defence
What can this potentially do for our defence going into World Cup ?
Or is there just no way dalic will implement him cause of age and inexperience?
His size and skill if keeps developing will be scary
If he ends up playing for Spurs next season (or is loaned out and starts in a Liga Petica team) then it will be too hard to ignore him
It’s not the entire reason we’ve given up 3 stoppage time goals lately, but our front line never puts any pressure on the opposing team in the final minute or two, making it very easy to build up the play.
Do you really want two slow guys like Budimir and Petkovic in there protecting a 2-1 lead???
Do you Guys think the 3 at the back is the right way for the next couple of years?
Yes!
Probably not. When stanisic and Juranovic get back they will prob move back to 4 on the back line
I’ve yet to really watch matanovic play but he looks like a big strong kid who hopefully can really start to finish well
He’s starting to find his legs in Germany and hopefully it all progresses
Obviously dalic is going to ride Perisic till he dies
I guess we owe it to Perisic
I just hope he will choose to take a lesser role
He always had a great skill set but without the legs he can’t be like luka and change game as needed
Luka has the ability to use the legs as needed and let’s his brain and the ball do the work for him hence why is still literally top 5 midfielders in the world
You take 5 years of age off luka and his transfer fee goes through the roof still
Hoping orsic can revitalize career still as he is not that old
Would be so good for him to just go back to Dinamo and play regularly and get some good European games in too
It did seem like Marco pasalic was doing all the right things and has the attitude
Not sure why dalic is so afraid to play him?
I feel like he is a poor man’s rebic with better attitude
Which is not all that bad
The national team doesn’t owe anyone anything. No one is bigger than the jersey including modric. Yesterday was a slow game at home against a weak Scotland and perisic still lost the ball a bunch still got beat a few times still hadn’t taken a single player on the whole game even though we passed it to him countless times his defending is bad and he offers nothing except being smart and position himself offensively well. It that only works against weak opponents.
How de we know we do t have better options? How do I know ivanusec cant be better or Marco pasalic they never play it is up to dalic to find options. We do t need a player as good as 2016 perisic but we do need a player that can run put pressure track back and once a while take a run at the opposing teams defence perisic ain’t that anymore.
If we go into 2026 WC starting modric, perisic and kramaric that’s f####n nuts.
I agree
But we know dalic is either too loyal or too scared or both
I don’t think many would be mad if we tried a couple different winger options
Orsic pjaca and young pasalic I believe would be hungry and run hard and press if that’s what’s needed
Fact is we don’t have mandzo 2018 Perisic or rebic to hunt like they did but I guess we can’t really play that style now anyway
Who gives us that press? Matanovic, simic potentially?
Guys in their ideal spots what is the best way to line up midfield?
Two Luka and kova in more dm?
King, kova, P Sucic as DM?
Where, how does baturina fit in? He is obviously in good form and is probably ready to take it to the next level for repka
I remember people were bagging on him a little while ago Some were calling him another coric type hype boy
Dude is only 21 still. Where was luka and rakitic at the same age and progress in career….
Give him time, we gave kova a leash the length of the Adriatic and he is 30 now
Obviously they need to show something at a young age and both sucic cousins and for sure baturina are showing it
The fact they can learn under king and kova how to win and boss the midfield is obviously a massive advantage
Midfield trio should be Kovacic, Luka Sucic and Modric (in that order) meaning that the Kovacic should play 90 minutes every game with Luka Sucic not far behind (and Modric playing 60 minutes or coming off the bench at the 60′ mark).
Baturina or Petar Sucic should start in the games that Modric does not. We should start playing Modric in the same way as Real are doing right now. There will always be suspensions, injuries and guys out of form…so having these five midfielders rotating in these three spots will be more than enough minutes for all of them.
Mario Pasalic should never start. He should strictly be off the bench in the last 20 minutes AND ONLY IF we have wingers and creators on the field already and are looking for him to be that extra guy to crash the net to put away a header or rebound (which is his specialty).
I envision P. Sucic and kova playing together as the number 6 role. L.Sucic right in front of them and baturina playing as the supporting striker in what kramaric is today to matanovic that’s how I would play those guys together.
When it comes to the back 3 CB and fullbacks I’m not as sure but I would do more to find out than dalic. One thing I know for sure in the middle of the back 3 either erlic or D-cc whoever is healthy and fit. Dalic did no favours to pongracic putting him in the middle against Portugal he should never have been therE. Then either stanisic sutalo gvardiol and pongarcic. I would like to try stanisic Erlic and sutalo . Play Marco pasalic on the right wing and gvardiol on the left wing.
Even in our “down years” when guys like Ivan Klasnic were starting upfront, we were always solid on the backline. How sad that a lowly skilled guy like Caleta Car starts.
The dumping by regular contributors on the decision to start Perišić makes no sense. The guy contributed to both goals we wouldn’t have gotten with someone else in that spot.
The logic that we should be starting the younger players would make more sense if we actually had someone comparable to him or similar in skill. Even though the guy has been out a year due to ACL tear or playing a few minutes for Hadjuk, it’s sad that he’s still a starter, but that’s the reality when we have no one else.
This is not the 2018 squad when we were loaded in the starting 11 and had a deep bench.
“The guy contributed to both goals we wouldn’t have gotten with someone else in that spot.”
And how do you know this?
For years people say things like this, and this is the type of mentality that would have prevented players like Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic and Igor Matanovic from ever seeing the field.
Luka Sucic contributed to all our goals and chances at the Euros. All he needed was some game time to show us what he could do (which he never received in the games leading up to the tournament).
In yesterday’s game, Perisic did not run. He did not press the opposing defenders. He did not run back for his defensive duties.
Whenever he received the ball, he stopped the forward advancement of the ball and stood there flat-footed, looking to make a cheeky pass or try and take a guy on one-on-one (which he kept failing at).
His first half was bad…but he did better in the second half.
Baturina came in and (although not a right winger) he did all the things a RW player was supposed to be doing, and created havoc on that right side.
Sadly, he didn’t get enough minutes, but it would be foolish to suggest that none of our younger, faster and more defensively responsible players would have done more than Perisic.
Perisic is still a useful player, but needs to play limited minutes in a reduced role. He contributed to both goals, yes, but we won’t be playing home games against “Scotland-level” teams forever.
If we get into the Nations League quarters and are paired against France or Spain…will we be praising Perisic when he’s walking back on defense (leaving our backline to deal with Mbappe entirely on their own)?
Will Perisic be beating players like Niko Williams one-on-one while standing their flat-footed with the ball?
We have talented guys like Baturina and Marco Pasalic on the bench, waiting for their chance and we can’t spare a minute for some of these guys to prepare for the ACTUAL big league teams we will be playing at the World Cup or Nations League knockouts?
We’ll be unprepared again, just like the Euros…and we’ll be forced to take a ‘flier’ on young guys (during the actual tournament) that we could have tried out and developed chemistry with much earlier.
Not sure how that comment made it out of moderation..
Anonymous wants to weigh in on the “group think” surrounding our CBs
None of our CBs deserved more than a 4 yesterday – maybe 5
“Everyone” exorcise Pong after H1 vs. Portugal bc of beautiful vision pass by Bruno Fernandez got past him (while Sutalo tracked back and stopped right next to Bruno instead of sticking a leg out and Gvardiol also was in la-la land in the box and the same pass got past him too) AND the GOAT RONALDO found some space b/w Pong and Gvardiol
Dalic pulls him at half-time and publicly criticizes him after the game
Than everyone pills on
Nobody here is accounting for difficultly of opponent – Pong was playing against Man U’s Bruno Fernandez and the GOAT Ronaldo – while the CBs y’day were against just promoted Bournemouth’s Christie, THIRD TIER Birmingham City Dyke and 18 yo first Scotland cap Doak who is on loan at 2nd tier Middlesborough
The reality – as Anonymous has pointed out before – is our defensive line goes and will go as Gvardiol goes (who btw has been playing almost every minute at Man C this season – he needs some load management / a rest) – if Gvardiol has an off-day – that the true standard of our other CBs get exposed (they aren’t that good) – when Gvardiol plays well – than he makes them look that much better
Let’s go thru the footage of y’day game (as u will see our CBs still haven’t learnt against mistakes vs. Portugal and repeated some of the exact same “mistake” Pong made (vs. Ronaldo))
***.youtube.com/watch?v=kPLP1uyEYtY
1) 24 min cross by Christie (Bournemouth) to Dykes (3rd tier Birmingham City)
– why didn’t Perisic block the cross to begin with ? Anonymous counted and the whole game he only blocked one cross from that side the whole game – every other time he shied away (on the reverse angle u can see he is poorly positioned on purpose so ball doesn’t hit him) – so Perisic should have blocked the cross (if u want to “blame” Pong vs. Portugal for not blocking a world-class vision pass by Bruno Fernandez (which he couldn’t or would have been a hand-ball) – than how are we not applying the same standard to Perisic and why wasn’t he pulled off at HT ?
– Dykes watched the Portugal tape/Ronaldo 2nd goal and his making the EXACT same run in EXACT same space b/w DCC and Gvardiol – this doesn’t turn out to he a heading opportunity as the cross was off and Dykes can’t jump – but if that was Ronaldo in his place who could get a header off with that cross it would have been a goal – again – same mistake by our CBs – by the logic of people on this site (and Dalic) DCC would be held responsible for such a goal – so why wasn’t DCC pulled off at HT like Pong ? It’s even worse actually bc it’s the same mistake over and over again – should have never happened
2) 32 min cross by Doak (Middlesboro) to Christie (Bournemouth) goal
– Look from time Pasalic gives away the ball where Perisic is – than look where he ends up – no clue why he stops at top of his own box – is he allergic from entering his own box ? He should have been there instead of Sucic and closing down Christie
– Now look in comparison – Sosa full out sprint on other side with Ralston – to make sure Doak doesn’t have an over-lapping run to pass into this – this is an OUTSTANDING effort track back from Sosa
– Gvardiol got turned by an 18 y.o. on his debut and Doak crosses it in
– Now stop the video just after the time Sucic wiffs on the ball (start and stop the video to see all this) – look at Christie and Sutalo relative positioning – they are level and about 1.5 metres away – now look at the fast reaction of Christie to chase the ball – now look at the DELAY by Sutalo in reacting – he is VERY SLOW to react here (he almost waits for the ball to bounce on the ground to take his first step – it’s too late than) – this is the difference in between him closing down Christie and not (he doesn’t) – than Christie takes his shot and Sutalo is 2.5 metres away (Livakovic should do better from this angle) – Sutalo still had the chance to slide tackle at this point to clear the ball – but he doesn’t he stays on his feet and watches the ball go by – than DCC whiffs on the ball on the goal-line (he should have known the angle the ball is coming in and the angle of his body before kicking that basic physics even if he struck the ball cleanly it would be into his net)
– If anything – the goal is on Sutalo (slow reaction initially PLUS not slide tacking to not clear the ball) – why wasn’t Sutalo taken off at HT like Pong ?
3) 78 min Christie chance (shot / pass)
– Look at DCC – his positioning / awareness / read of flow of play is terrible – first he thinks / tries to close down McTominey who is like 10 metres away (he will never get there so no clue why he takes any steps forward) – than he follows the ball towards the side that already has Gvardiol and Sosa there – why ? He isn’t doing anything other than opening up the middle for Scotland – no awareness if other Scotland player is behind him (he doesn’t look) – so it ends up with Gvardiol and DCC doubling up needless on Christie
– Look at Sutalo from the start – he’s with Torino’s Che Adams (who came on as a sub) at the start of play correctly – but as the play unfolds and he enters the box he leaves Che Adams and starts tracking towards Christie and Livakovic – the problem with this is Christie could have passed it back to Che Adams with this right foot and would have been completely open – Sutalo should have been aware of Che Adams – that’s his man – and at least tracked in a way that CUTS OFF the passing lane back to Adams – but he doesn’t do this – we end up with our 3 CBs vs. Christie – as a reminder Christie plays for just promoted Bournemouth
– Now look at Perisic – just as McTominey gets the initial pass – Perisic is 2-3 metres ahead of Vancouver Whitecaps Ryan Gauld – now look how Perisic runs back – this effort is completely unacceptable (and/or his current max sprint pace is completely unacceptable – one or the other or both) – he just strolls back – by the time Christie makes his shot / pass – if the pass is better or if Livakovic saves it and it bounces thru other side Gauld is completely open for a tap-in
4) 90′ min chance
– Gvardiol with a silly give-away (didn’t he do the same vs. Italy at the end that cost us the goal ?)
– Look at Sutalo when the ball comes into the orange boots player who plays the ball over top to Che Adams – Sutalo is just ball-watching – and is SLOW as molasses to react – he only turns once the ball is over his head literally – why is it taking him so long to react – he’s literally sleeping
– Look at DCC – what is he doing – just aimlessly and randomly strolling back – to where – to cover who – zero awareness of what’s around him – a Scotland player gets in behind him to be open in front of goal (DCC still hasn’t figured out he’s there) – no awareness
– Perisic too – he just lets Adams get past him – and is painfully slow to do anything – but at least he tries to block it (but he only had one successful block of one of these “crosses” all game – Anonymous was watching)
– If that was Ronaldo (not Che Adams) that’s an easy goal
– IT should not be on a 39 Modric to be on the goal-line for this – but reality is he knows the CBs level and doesn’t trust them – so takes it upon himself to get on the goal-line (in case the ball lands to that Scotland player in front of goal) – look at Modric from the time Gvardiol gives up the ball to the end – OUTSTANDING – look at that awareness / positioning – look who’s around him – how he tracks back – it’s absolutely perfect – but it can’t / shouldn’t be on him – this is the kind of movement our CBs should be doing
5) 95′ min chance
– DCC ball-watching (he’s not covering anybody just standing by himself with acres of space around him) – because of this Jakic is FORCED to cover 2nd tier Norwich City Kenny McLean in the centre – the entire defence line should be shifted over i.e. DCC covering Sutalo’s man (Che Adams), Sutalo covering Jakic’s man (McLean), Jakic covering Andy Robertson – I mean u can’t leave Liverpool starting LB open in the 95′ min – he’s the biggest threat out there
– Roberton passes it in – Sutalo actually does a great job quickly reacting on this one to close down McLean on first shot – than he back-heels it thru – again look at DCC from start of play to when ball goes in the net – during the entire play – he does not cover one man – again lacks awareness that Che Adams is behind him at the end – so again Jakic is forced back into he centre in last ditch effort
– DCC was a disaster on this play – the goal is on him (Jakic was doing the role of two defenders covering two players at the same time to compensate what started with DCC’s ball-watching / not covering anyone
Did Dalic not realize two 1st-place in Italy starting Napoli midfielders (McTominey, Gilmour) and one 1st-place in England starting Liverpool LB (Andy Robertson) were going to play ?
Scotland papers player rating praising Andy Robertson for “breezing past Perisic” and continually “bombing down the left-hand side” as well as Gilmour in midfield
Dalic had a very responsible defensively Marco Pasalic available – but no let’s put in the Automatic Baseball Pitching Machine in one spot on the pitch (see heat map) and keep him there for 90 min – u know not bc he is in form – but it’s our responsibility as the National Team (charity shop) to get him in shape for PSV
Perisic actually got better (offensively) in 2nd half – his two successful crosses came in the 2nd half – 59′ min and 70′ min (for the 2nd goal) – so 100% he’ll start next game (sadly)
As others have said Baturina had a great cameo (completely different body language / presence / confidence vs. previous National Team appearances)
Luka with an absolute masterclass again. Was so good.
Gvardiol not good unfortunately…got his pocket picked trying to be cute late and it almost cost us…
Late game can’t hold/protect a lead again..but thankfully Var saved us…
Sucic late goes down the left and just needs to take it to the corner flag and kill clock…and loses possession…just a dumb play…
Late also, we have the thrown in deep in their end on the right…and we lose it…anywhere would do…even a goal kick or thrown in…but we f around with it and lose it…
And WAS NOT impressed with Budimir and Petkovic late…they had one damn job….win the ball and kill the clock…and they both kept losing it to some journeymen hagis eating…kilt wearing hacks…ffs….win the damn ball…you are both big guys…and also….HARASS and prevent the their defenders from making a pass….they both were just floating and not doing anything…and it almost cost us…
But, 3 points is the key…a draw in Poland and we are top 2 and into the quarters…so lets get the job done.
If Igor hadn’t of scored his rating would have been 2 points less he was invisible otherwise…life of a striker.
Josko looked like he was playing on ice.
How have we turned into mental midgets with the constant last minute gaffes …has it gotten into their heads now as a self fulfilling prophecy?
Butarina truly does look like a young Luka let’s hope he stays healthy and hungry for a very very long time!
What do you want him to do? He was active last two games and got no goals and everyone cried. He was less active but clinical today and still we cry. He’s a striker he’s not supposed to be involved in general play all game long. Look at Haaland, the guy touches the ball 5 times per game and scores 2-3. If Igor can get on the ball in the right moments and put it away consistently, that’s all we need. Let the wingers and midfielders play around with the ball.
@ Maminjo
Both comments are spot on, I feel the same about perisic. I don’t understand dalic we need to build a team for 2026 perisic will be 37 not many 37 year old wingers playing at a high level.
Also I think dalic again contributed to our poor performance with player selection and tactics. First off tactics yes I am a fan of 3 at the back but o prefer a more traditional 3-5-2 rather than 3-4-2-1. Playing sucic as one of the 2 behind matanovic was a mistake. He was too high throughout the match and at many times was like a striker. There was a gap in our midfield and we as a whole we didn’t stand well on the field. Missing Kovacic we were always going to look off in the middle and dalic made it worse by basically playing 2 supporting strikers to matanovic. Sucic should have played a touch deeper with basic the 3 CM in more of a triangle.
Second player selection how many times will dalic start Mario pasalic in the wrong position only to sub him out at halftime. Dalic did his team no favours playing Mario in kova position. Also in a 3-4-2-1 baturina would be better as one of the 2 behind matanovic. Perisic offered no speed or pressing.
I’ve watched Marco pasalic and he’s no player for Real Madrid but he’s decent he defends well and has speed and attacks the opponents I would give him a crack.
This is how I would line up against Poland.
Sutalo. D-CC. Gvardiol
Pasalic. P. Sucic. Modric. Sosa
L.sucic
Baturina
Matanovic
The biggest loss today is that Dalić will feel emboldened to continue to start Perišić full games at RW because he thinks he played a good game.
The over reliance on guys like Perišić, Krama and Modrić will bite us if we don’t play Luka Sučić in his ideal position and don’t start giving Petar Sučić and Baturina some 90-minute games in their ideal roles.
Great to see Baturina take over the right sided responsibilities that Perišić wasn’t able to do (making runs, taking on defenders, pressing)…but that’s not really Baturina’s ideal position.
This reminds me of the recent Euros where Luka Sučić was obviously our most impactful player, Dalić decides to start him in the critical game against Italy… but he starts him at RW (because he’s too afraid to bench Brozović).
I’m hoping the same situation isn’t happening again, where our game is being built around our vets and our star youth players are expected to just fill the gaps.
Ocjene hrvatskih igrača u The Scottish Mailu
Livaković – 6
Gvardiol – 6
Ćaleta-Car – 5
Šutalo – 6
Perišić – 6,5
Modrić – 8
Mario Pašalić – 5
Sosa – 6,5
Kramarić – 7
Luka Sučić – 4,5
Matanović – 7
Player ratings by the Scottish newspapers pretty much spot on, except for DCC whose rating should be higher. I guess they think that he should have done better with the attempted goal clearance. Having seen the reply DCC definitely should have stopped that ball from going in.
Those ratings are spot on except for DCC. He was our best defender today harsh to put any blame on him for the goal. That goal was on Pasalic who lost the ball which lead to the goal and Sucic for the terrible clearance. Modric was our best player all over the field. I don’t know why people keep insisting he should retire.
As someone else said the positives for me, and i only saw the last half hour roughly, Baturina looked really lively from what i saw, and Igor getting his first goal is obviously a great moment and let’s all hope the first of many.
Dalić: ‘Danas nismo bili dobri, nisam sretan, puno smo griješili’
Remark by Dalic in his post-match interview. At least he is being honest, and I guess what matters is that we won despite playing badly.
It’s mostly his fault.
The lineup was a mish mash of players who didn’t fit together.
Mostly slow vets with very few players who can actually run and press. Sosa out there sending crosses to a 5’9″ Kramarić (instead of Budumir). Perišić constantly slowing the play down and failing to get by players. Mario Pašalić feeds off others who create… But we only had one guy (Modrić) out there to create. Luka Sučić and Gvardiol had bad games which compounded the issue.
The moment Baturina was subbed in… He pretty much made more runs on that right side in a few minutes than Perišić did all game.
People praise Perišić for the game, but he played 90 minutes and was fed the ball quite a bit. He won’t be as successful against other (better) teams. The younger guys need to play ahead of him.
Just in
Rumours swirling
Our wingers Marco, Marco, Orsic have formed a union
They are demanding better workplace conditions (ie playing time next game) or are going on strike (won’t show up next time they are called up)
Sad it has come to this – but don’t blaim them
Stay tuned
Good to see Igor score. That was one very positive takeaway…… Another good sign was the way Baturina played…..
Question: if this team comes out and plays roughly the same way against Poland on Tuesday, can we expect to prevail? Or at least get a tie? Or will we need a better effort on the road in Poland to get anything out of the game?
If so: what adjustments should Dalic make for that game?
Gvardiol did not seem to be a factor in the game against Scotland. Is there a different lineup/formation that makes more sense, that would bring him into the play more?
Where would we be without Modrić’s interventions? How many passes did he break up throughout the match? Bravo.
We need speed on the wings
With six points, I would say that we won’t be last in the group and have in all likelihood avoided relegation ? If we can avoid defeat against Poland on Tuesday it is likely that we will end up at least second in the group and make the QF’s ?
My player ratings:
Livakovic – 6
Sutalo – 6.5
DCC – 7
Gvardiol – 6
Perisic – 7
Pasalic – 5
Modric – 7.5
Luka Sucic – 5
Sosa – 6.5
Kramaric – 7
Matanovic – 7
Subs: Baturina – 7, Petkovic – 6, Budimir – 6, Petar Sucic 6.5
Dalic – 6
Our worst players by far Pasalic and Luka Sucic.
How the hell is Modric 7.5??
Can HNS pls clean up their social media
In particular They keep releasing these video vignettes with top gun music playing
Last night they posted a video in the rain w rain “glistening” on the players
It looked like the beach volleyball scene from top gun (not a complement)
Also this was Scotland B team
They were missing over 10 regular players from the squad
And Croatia was missing Kovacic, arguably our best player at the moment. He is worth more than anything Scotland could provide.
Good teams learn to win when they are not playing at the top of their game.
How did your precious England make out against B Division team Greece? How did that Bowen clown play. lol
I liked Sosa and Baturina today especially. Perišić was also very good. I agree with the Mario Pašalić rating. I think you rate Luka S too high because that clearance was unprofessional and maybe explains why Dalić takes so long to incorporate these young guys. Sučić did not need to attack that ball the way he did, and he chose the highest -risk approach there. He will be a great player, but he needs more experience. I agree that he showed a lot of promise, even just being in the position he was in on the poor clearance was something positive because it shows he was covering the defense responsibly.
Yeah I mostly agree. His rating could definitely be lower but I gave him the benefit of the doubt because it was a mistake that doesn’t happen even once per 20 attempts at that clearance. You make a good observation by saying he was well positioned there which is very true. This was a down game for him but he will come back 10x stronger for sure.
I just wish he had used his head or his chest on that one first, rather than trying to blast it out of the air with (if I remember correctly) his weak foot. He had the space to do so, and I think that’s what a more experienced player would have done.
Same mistake Dalic
Italy JJ for Krama in 90 min (while u have vida and erlic on bench)
Today Jakic for Perisic 91 min (while u have erlic on bench)
If Dalic actually followed his players – or at least look at heat map of all the games jakic played for his club this yr – most in opponents half – some in his half – and absolutely nothing in his own box
To bring on Jakic on to close up shop at the end is moronic – he isn’t a defense focused player – esp when erlic sitting on bench
Dalić’s mistakes keep leading to wins. Unreal. Lol.
We haven’t been winning.
We’ve been losing or drawing games, and we’ve been very consistent with our issues.
We force veterans into the lineup and push our most in-form players out of position (or to the bench) to accommodate this.
We always lose the first half, then Dalic has to make subs to correct his initial mistake.
Since the Euros…
We lost to Spain badly. Drew Albania and Italy (and were eliminated in our worst showing in a tournament ever). We lost the first half in all three of these games.
In Nations League. we lost the first half badly to Portugal. Beat Poland in the first game where Dalic finally made the right call and fielded a good squad from the start.
Then he reverted back to his old ways, and against Scotland we went down in the first half AGAIN. This game was really a draw (but VAR bailed us out).
So in six games we have two narrow wins (both at home) and requiring VAR to prevent a draw against Scotland.
I don’t really ever defend Dalic, but I don’t think the Perisic sub was the reason for extra added time. At about the 3:30 mark, Scotland had a throw in near mid-field and the ball boy wouldn’t throw them a ball. After complaining frustratingly, the Ref looked down at his watch. I knew immediately that there would be extra time.
This game was just further proof what a special and impactful player Perisic still is for us.
He still has his skills… But he’s lost his explosiveness and speed.
He didn’t press, he didn’t defend, and he did a lot of walking on the field.
Our team is just too slow with him out there, and things were alot better when Petar Sučić and Baturina entered the game.
Perišić will always be good enough to create a chance or two, but he was still pretty frustrating to watch today.
We disagree. Most of the chances we had today (as usual) came through Perisic.
Perisic was good today. Team played well with him and thank God that Dalic had him play the whole game. If anything it was the young players messing up. I was surprised at gvardiol and sucic. Disappointing. Hopefully they are ready for Poland.
It’s because we continuously play the ball through Perišić.
He tried to take guys on one-on-one at least 7 or 8 times today and he failed to get by them every time.
This was a depleted Scotland side, so eventually Oerišić will create a positive chance.
He won’t do anything against a Portuguese caliber team.
I’d agree. Perisic has lost a step after the knee surgery. Still a useful for us and he played decent for us today. Someone who posted here rated him and Baturina the same. Baturina was really good going forward today. Created a tonne which we needed.
As Ante said, it was a strange game. The Scots are a tough out.
What can you say about Modric… amazing display today. He was everywhere.
Gvardiol was poor. Sutalo was great and is regaining his mojo…and Caleta-Car was solid again.