WILL BECKHAM AND FRIENDS HELP OUT CROATIA?
It’s funny how things can work in sports. One second you have a bitter rival that you despise and will do anything in your power to humiliate. A month later that same bitter rival can become your only lifeline to prolonging your very own season. This is the sinking boat that Croatia currently sit in. Will the S.S. England come save the Croatians out of their own misery as this year’s qualifying campaign has been absolutely atrocious for them.
This is the deal. Should England beat or draw Ukraine this Saturday and Croatia does what they’re supposed to do in Kazakhstan next Wednesday and win- Croatia go through to the playoff round. If Ukraine manages to beat England at home and then win against Andorra again four days later (plan on it), then Ukraine goes to the playoffs sending a sad Croatian team home with no plane reservations for South Africa.
Just for the record, I’m going to put this out there before October qualifiers start up. Croatia doesn’t deserve a trip to South Africa! If a Top 10 team in the world can’t even control their own destiny with two rounds left in qualification- something is wrong. Sure Croatia got beat down by an England squad firing on all cylinders TWICE, but to draw Ukraine home and away after dominating them both times and to barely squeak by Belarus without their star player is unacceptable. Now, this doesn’t mean I won’t be cheering for them and hoping they grab that playoff spot; it just means that they underachieved and it shouldn’t surprise Croatian fans if they don’t make it.
WILL CAPELLO STICK IT TO UKRAINE?
ESPN Soccernet.com has reported that the playoff round in November will be seeded by UEFA. This means that the four best 2nd place teams cannot play each other based on FIFA World Rankings. This is fantastic news for Croatia as we would not play Germany, France, Russia, Greece or Portugal. This means, should Croatia qualify for playoffs, that there is a 25% chance of playing Bosnia for a shot at the World Cup finals.
IF Ukraine beats England, the Croatian press is going to lose it. I want to go on record right now by saying that along with Croatia not deserving a spot like I stated earlier, Ukraine played England better than we did in qualification. The match at Wembley was 1-1 before a late England winner. It is not inconceivable that Ukraine can beat an already qualified England team at home. Capello and players alike have already said that they want to keep the momentum going by winning out. Many second stringers for the Three Lions have much to prove.
Remember that Capello was disgusted when England conceded one lousy goal to Croatia in London. I don’t see them letting off the gas. Will England stay classy and mimic Croatia last campaign and play at 100% even though already qualified or would they dare throw the game in spite of Croatia?
I can only pray that we’re not talking about English shenanigans after this match on Saturday. Croatia play a friendly against Qatar Thursday October 8th with a 12:30 PM (Eastern) kickoff in Rijeka.
Thanks to Marko Polo for the Soccernet link.
I cant watch this crap
Two flares are on the pitch to start the Ukraine England match. They have to be thrown by Ukrainain supporters 95%.
Keep at it boys!
England's team is already out, so here it is: Green, Johnson, A Cole, Gerrard, Ferdinand, Terry, Lennon, Lampard, Carrick, Heskey and Rooney. Subs: James, Bridge, Upson, Barry, Milner, C Cole and Agbonlahor.
Looks like England is playing for the win. So far so good for Croatia!
Trus me, no chance Bosnia will move their game to Sarajevo. The reason they are using Zenica is for the home field atmosphere. Kosevo stadium has a track around it while Bilino Polje has no track and the fans are much closer to the action and the stadium makes far more noise.
An eventual BiH-Cro match up will not have hooliganism because they will make arrangements not to allow the visiting team's fans to travel. It will be the same way the Cro-Yugo game was back in 99. Now, there might be trouble in cities like Mostar where the population is mixed, but there will be no trouble at the location of the game.
hahahaha Looks like Serbia will lose points and not qualify due to their fan behavior. lol this made my day.
All I said is that if we play in the playoffs the same way we played this whole campaign, we will lose. Any good European side will expose our weaknesses. Repeatedly…Modric or no Modric. Our defense is the worst I've ever seen it. If we are going to succeed, something has to change. That's all I'm saying…
They should play in Siroki Brijeg. After all, isn't that all 'Bosna'?
@Golden child
I love it.
"Once we get our ugly little magic gnome back in the middle I think things will get better."
This is among the best characterizations that I've seen on the site.
@Michael
As long as they keep the venue in the Federation. No chance Bosna will ever play a game in an RS venue.
I just checked BiH's home schedule for their campaign and all their home matches have been in Zenica.
I could see them playing in Sarajevo to bump up the homecrowd experience.
@GoldenChild
I'm feelin ya
@Andrej
I prefer not to play Bosna for the same reason. They have a great team and deserve a WC spot for their performance against Spain and Turkey.
@Matt,
thanks for the highlights, new post is up.
@Ante
We played great in beginning today vs Qatar but it was us trying not to embarrass them I think we scored 2 quick goals and played the ball back to goalie over and over and over again we made some mistakes made some good subs to see how they play it was a good experimental friendly match i think.
@Everyone
Be realistic I would be scared to play Bosnia not because they are better because I think we still are if we play our best and are at 100% health but because of hooligans! I am putting money if we get that draw we are both going to be eliminated this would be a bloodbath match in Croatia and Bosnia…I just dont want to see them for that reason FIFA would come down on both of us so hard and that is an unavoidable outcome with that draw
@ Alex and all the other doubters:
You should all just change your names to Nancy with all the negativity being thrown around.
Yah we've looked like shit, and yes we got our guza's handed to us by England.
But Dennis does have a point about them being easily one of the top 4 teams in the world right now. They are on a hot streak , and like us before EURO, were carried by that streak.
Now all I'm saying is, we aren't out yet, so until we lose and are knocked out I'm gonna be a hater of your hatin.
Booya, Za Dom. Once we get our ugly little magic gnome back in the middle I think things will get better.
highlight Link:
http://eurorivals.net/highlights/croatia_v_qatar_20091008.html
Took some good shots, had good opportunities, Qatar goalie played well though. It could have been 6-2 easily…..
An eventaul Cro-BiH match would not take place in Sarajevo. It would take place in Zenica.
Bosna are definitely a strong side in this tournament.
You can almost see Croatia vs Bosnia in Sarajevo…..no way in hell would they make that match in Mostar.
You can't necessarily rule out an automatic loss, sure we've played like crap in our last few matches, but imagine Ukraine with Shevchenko or Tymoschuk? You think they would be in any better of a place?
Just remember 1998 qualifiers and what happened and look at our team back then.
If England beats Ukraine and we draw Bosna in the play-off's, Bosna will go through.
Did I just say that?
The way we've been playing this whole campaign it won't matter who we'll draw- we will lose…
Thank You Sepp Blatter?
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2009/10/08/1546919/fifa-shifts-the-goalposts-examining-the-seeding-of-the-play
I never heard anything official regarding the playoff format. Perhaps we may be getting ahead of ourselves. This decision would really help us out allot if we do qualify as a runner up. Just pray to god we dont draw Bosnia. Dzeko would not only score a hat trick, he would take Krizanac, Kovac and Simunic for their lunch money as well.
@Andrej,
I didn't get a chance to catch the game. How did they play?
"we dont deserve to be there we have barley won our games 2-0 andorra and getting spanked by england that is not deserving of a place at the WC!"
England in my opinion is a top 4 team in the world right now. Getting spanked by them doesnt mean we dont deserve to qualify. The 2-2 and 0-0 draw with Ukraine is what stand out. However, Ukraine haven't done better. They put on one good show against England and that was it. How about their draw against Belarus? How about the two posts Croatia hit in Zagreb? How about Ukraine scoring twice in Zagreb on only 2 shots on goal. Clearly we deserve a playoff more than Ukraine. However, if Ukraine manage to beat England, well, then I will roll out a red carpet for Ukraine.
@Petar Radman
"The defense and defensive midfield seem to have allot of problems communicating with one another."
No one talks on this team. Whats wrong with them.
"Today Croatia was Qatar and Qatar was Croatia"
classic line.
@Ziva istina
"Again, this is a meaningless game. These guys are jogging out there hoping to avoid an injury.
Dont put too much weight into this performance."
I agree
@Alex,
"Its simple- if we have the points then we "deserve" to go. It's all relative- we may be poor, but Ukraine have been even worse in their inability to defeat opponents, which is, after all, the object of qualification."
well said!
@TheGoldenChild
"If England loses, the "conspiracy" written up by the Croatian press is going to sound bigger than the Watergate scandal."
hahahahaahaha
@Michael
Thanks for the link. I cant believe this either. We will keep you posted. Hopefully, Kranjcar is ok.
Banovic is midfield player. He has not just one decent season in Germany either. He can look at his career to date and be reasonably happy. He could have been more, but its not been too bad. He has over 50 appearences for Bremen, over 70 appearences and 10 goals for Nuremburg – one season there he was very special. And now how similarly good record at Freiburg. Plus he has plenty of matches in Bundesliga. I think he has the experience and knowhow to do Modric's job.
I actually disagree regards England. Forget thinking about them as a team – i'd prefer to think of them as individuals. I think Walcott and Wright Phillips have a lot to play for so if they play they will play at 100% and prob lift the rest of team. I think Johnson still has a point to prove. I think other players like Rooney, Gerrard and Ashley Cole are incapable of playing half pace. Thats why Rooney gets angry when he is subbed early. I don't think he'll take it casual. I also think Peter Crouch also has a massive point to prove. The only thing i'd worry about is Heskey cos he is not playing well at club level and if this spills over into international level it could give Ukraine a chance.
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/index.php?cmd=show_clanak&clanak_id=14471
I cannot believe this…………….
Btw, I haven't watched Banovic since he was at Nurnberg, but I thought I remember him as a striker and not a midfielder?
"Croatia doesn't deserve to qualify"
I don't know how I feel about this comment.
Lets take a look at the rest of the second place teams in Europe to see if they "deserve to qualify".
Group 1, in my opinion the group of death. Powerhouse Portugal has been struggling against Denmark and Sweden and will most likely squeak in to second with a win over Hungary. Have they done anything more than Croatia? At one point in qualification, they lost at home to Denmark, then had three consecutive goalless draws. As good as they are, "they dont deserve to qualify"
Group 2 Greece, tied Israel and Moldova and lost twice to Switzerland. Hell of a lot worse than losing twice to England and 2 Ukraine draws.
Group 3 This group is crazy. Most likely it will be Slovenia in second however, NIreland, Czech, poland, and even Slovakia can slip. Besides Slovakia, no one has impressed. If Slovenia can beat Slovakia on Saturday, they deserve deserve second place
Group 4 Russia and Germany both deserve to qualify. It doesn't matter who is second, I expect both at the world cup
Group 5 Bosna had an excellent qualifying campaign and deserves to qualify. However, it wont be easy with a draw against France or Russia.
Group 6 Thats us
Group 7 France, playing in a relatively mediocre group, had three consecutive 1-0 wins over Lithuania twice and faroe islands. Two draws over Romania, and a loss in Austria. Serbia are an excellent side but are no England. Ukraine is much better than Austria, and Belarus would give Lithuania and and Romania a run. In my book thats another point for Croatia.
Group 8, Ireland, another easy group for second place Ireland. Italy have been a fraction of themselves since winning the world cup in 2006. However, you have to give credit to Ireland for sneaking out a 1-1 draw in Bari. All four Ireland wins were one goal wins. A lucky penalty kick and a weak Bulgaria has a shot at second place. Overall, Ireland deserves a playoff, however, if they were in our position, Ukraine would pip them for second.
Group 9, Norway, they reached the playoff with only 2 wins in 8 matches? Enough said. So they lost 2 to powerhouse Holland, thats ok. 4 draws to Scotland, Macedonia, and Iceland. Definitely don't deserve a world cup spot.
When you add all this up, you have:
4 countries deserve to be there(Ireland, Bosna, Russia, Slovenia)
4 countries dont(Norway, France, Portugal, Greece)
Sometimes, the most deserving squad is not the most talented squad as seen here b my analysis.
Remember world up 98 qualifying? We didn't deserve to qualify either. Draw against a shit Slovenia, draw and loss against Denmark, and a Greece draw with Denmark on final day set us through. What happened 8 months later at world cup '98.
Don't lose faith in our boys. If we qualify, we have 6 months till the main event. Anything can happen. Hell, Ukraine made the quarterfinals in the last world cup and they didnt even "deserve to be there."
Couldnt catch the match but it sounds just like I expected. Did Cale get time at LB? If not, that's really frustrating, as this would've been a great oppurtunity to at least make an impression after his nervy Andorra performance. He's playing well at Trabzonspor and last season was viewed as in the top 2-3 LB's in the Turkish league. But he needs a chance to impress and a meaningless game wouldve been perfect.
I'll say it once more, Bilic has lost the confidence of the team. He can't force players to put away their chances but when the team as a whole plays lackluster and disorganized again and again and again- that's on the coach. I know I sound like a broken record but I need to vent…
Ziva, no, England won't play with the same motivation they did us, but Capello(at least) will still place much importance on keeping a clean sheet and maintaining the momentum and form. By not sending out a second string he's signaling his intentions. The English players will respond to Capello and not want to sully their record. I expect an organized, professional performance from Capello's side that very well may end in a draw. I'm more concerned about us beating Kazakhstan, tell the truth…
As for the Defense, Andre Mijatovic is the only person left to call. You can make cases for Vucko or Ipsa. I dont know if Ipsa is even playing regularly in Finland. Aside from those names, there is just nobody left. Unless you just scrap it and go with the youth and try and get them as much experience as you can in preparation for Euro 2012.
I watched it, thought Kranjcar was the best player on the field. People have thrown allot of criticism his way since he took over for Modric. I think Niko has done as good a job as you can hope for under the circumstances. He has tried to be the creative spark and has impressed with a solid work rate.
There is no simple answer to the defence. Lovren at times can be wild in defending. I think he can learn by being in the squad, but is not the answer. Kovac is there for a ceremonial hug and nothing more. Digging deep into my knowledge of Croatian defenders who are playing reasonable who have not been tried you've only got Bielfeld's Andre Mijatovic and Eskirespors Luka Vucko. You could try Mijatovic and see if that improves anything. After that i'm totally out of suggestions.
After and for the most of second i was pissed, but now realize, considering all our injures we had tons of chances, we just need to tighten up the defence, How? dont know but are attack looked good for the most part
Looks like there is too many defensive mids and wide players in this squad. I think Banovic might stabilise all these troubles. Yes it does suggest a seem a bit like when Giovanni Rosso's and Nenad Bjelica were called up, but Banovic might help our play to get passed some of these weaker sides we seem to be struggling with. The whole mid looks a bit lost without Modric. But Modric should not be the be all and end all of the team. If he's not there then we find another guy that plays like him rather than trying to replace him with wide men and defensive midfielders.
You can't depend on one player. The others who filled Modric's place should have made an impression. It looks like Pokrivac and Kranjcar filled his place. I'll let off Niko cos he is a wide player, but how did Pokrivac play?
Does Vuko and Pokrivac work better than Vuko and Kranjcar does?
Sharbini can't do much in 16 minutes, when all of the play is the other team.
When he has Modric behind him, he would fare a lot better.
Why is Bilic playing Vukojevic and Pokrivac in midfield against Qatar. Isn't that a bit negative. Where is his creative mid?
I'm just looking at the subs in and out. it looks a bit of a mess. god knows what formation and line up they were playing. Oh well is only a friendly. I think the kazak game will be a scruffy win. Its the play offs we're all waiting for. I don't mind Jelavic so much now. If a guy does something with his playing time then all the best to them
he played 16 mins. The last 15 mins Qatar was all over us. very little could be said of anyone who played the second half.
How did Anas Sharbini play? Does he deserve a place in squad or should he be replaced with Gabric, Badelj, Banovic or someone like that.
Midfielder to replace Modric – i believe Badelj, Banovic and Ilicevic were all available. If Pokrivac and Leko can get in then why not them. Robert Kovac looked a little slow on their goal. Hey Robert none of this in a Dinamo shirt.
Kranjcar was able to walk off the field; looks like he is OK.
As for the game….it was a friendly and plenty of freindlies end up like this especially when playing a weak side. No point in giving a 1,000 word summary of the game, its not worth it. Just some quick hits…..
Our guys played at 75% and i think the main thing was not to get injured. Our play fell in the last 20 minutes.
The simple truth is that we lack a true creative playmaker outside of Modric. he is a tough player to replace and it shows on the field.
The D has holes, but we have known that for some time now.
Where did this come from? I was screwing up plasterboards thinking how there was nothing all that much happening today. I can't even comment on this game cos i didn't see it.
I saw only 2 goals so far. Some nice play by Klasnic on the goals. Nice one time finish from Pranjic's cross and nice set up header for Corluka. Not that impressed by the scoreline, but kudos to Jelavic. Told you he could be a joker in the pack. Whether he warrants it is up for debate, but he has proven he can score in these one off games.
hope kranjcar isnt injured
Mandzukic, Kranjcar, Corluka had good games.
Kovac's OG was a bit of a fluke.
Corluka
Klasnic
Jelavic
The announcers summed it up best at the end of the game. Today Croatia was Qatar and Qatar was Croatia.
If England lose, it will be no conspiracy and nobody should even think like that in the press or from the fans. If it wasn't for a 90th minute John Terry winner in London the two sides would have drawn 1 a piece. Ukraine will be playing at home and have everything to play for, they can definitely win this game.
Our defense is terrible. The midfield doesn't seem to interested in running back either. How does Lovren get the ball played through his own legs inside his own box? Qatar was all over us in the last 15 mins.
I did not see the whole game. Anyone know who scored the first two goals for Croatia?
Jelavic looked decent (from what I saw). Sure that's the last we will see from him now for the next 2-4 years. lol
Last scene of the match before I closed, was Kranjcar down holding his ankle.
I remember hearing the conspiracies when they lost 4-1 to England.
About how like 1M Kuna or something to that affect was paid out in gambling.
If England loses, the "conspiracy" written up by the Croatian press is going to sound bigger than the Watergate scandal.
It is the same squad that played us, but that does not mean they will play like they did against us.
Its simple- if we have the points then we "deserve" to go. It's all relative- we may be poor, but Ukraine have been even worse in their inability to defeat opponents, which is, after all, the object of qualification.
Btw, England have not called up a squad of second stringers- it's the same squad that played us…
nikica jelavic 90 min winner haha
Ziva, agreed….I have been calling for a look at the younger players for a long time now.
This game is meaningless, but it is still at home. That should be (operative word being "should") enough for a 2 goal win or so. Regardless of if the boys are fully playing hard or jogging it out.
I am still of the belief that for the last year/year and a half, Bilic has failed this team miserably.
The D has been in shambles for a year now, this is not something new.
Again, this is a meaningless game. These guys are jogging out there hoping to avoid an injury.
Dont put too much weight into this performance.
Sharbini In
Srna Out
bilic na vrbe!
bilic na vrbe!
HAHAHA I know it's only a friendly and we have some injuries, but are we seriously going to lose to Qatar at home? Seriously??
This D is in shambles.
should have taken srna out for cale corluka and kranjcar have played the best this far
Qatar goalie is very decent…he has made some great saves so far
Hey bud, you can't polish a turd. Sports aren't about entitlements. In sport, we talk about UPSETS, not DESERVING. We all deserve what we get.
2nd half changes:
Pokrivac Out
Rakitic In
Pranjic Out
Lovren In
Olic Out
Mandzukic In
Watching the Qatar game now. Two well worked goals by us in the opening minutes. I have been impressed by Qatar so far, they dont back down, have been playing with allot of energy and have been rewarded for their hard work with a Kovac own goal. Olic hit the bar on a wicked shot in the 39th minute, also, hit one straight at the goalie off a nice cut back by Kranjcar a few minutes after that. The defense and defensive midfield seem to have allot of problems communicating with one another.
Do I ever miss Soldo and Niko Kovac right now. Do any of them have sons? are they playing football right now?
Ziva Istian and others are right. We do not deserve to go through based on our play thus far in qualifications. However, sometimes good teams still win even when they are not at their best.
@ ziva
i agree with you we dont deserve to be there we have barley won our games 2-0 andorra and getting spanked by england that is not deserving of a place at the WC!
i mean of coarse i wish we get there but some changes need to be made either some player go or bilic goes i love you bilic but you are not helping this team since euro cup we have gone in oppsite direction because of your refusal to change our line up
bahaha 2-1 croatia vs qatar we are playing alright but wow pokrivac is crap! how does he get a chance in team! srna is still playing bad this goal is his fault for losing possession and falling to ground! he wasnt even touched…i want to see shabini i want to see some new talent come in!! bilic you better do it at halftime its a friendly so 2-1 really means nothing but this is the time for our guys who have never played before to push those lazy players out of the line up
All I ever said is that we dont deserve to go based on our play in this group. How can you argue with that point based on what you have seen from this team so far. Forget how we played to get into the Euros and at the Euros. It does not matter at this point. Never said we are losers or anything else. I have always maintained that we can match up with almost anyone when fully healthy, but as soon as we miss a few peices we are done as a team that can compete against the big boys on the international level.
we still have a chance and that is only because we are in a weak group with weaker teams. AT this point getting to the WC is the prize and quick 3 games and out in the group phase. And we should be satisfied if we get that.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/igtv200
LIVE HERE TOO OTHER THEN HRT2
ziva, you're the one who started this whole "we don't deserve anything, we're such losers, I want to kill myself" bull shit. So shame on you. Then the other sheepish homers, as you call them, jumped on that loser bandwagon.
We played to beat England because they were the big "boys" and win against england gets you noticed around the world. If England wins. loses or ties agianst the Ukraine – nobody will care or notice.
We played that game well because our guys wanted to win and show the world we were a better squad. Somehow, I don't think the England players will approach the Ukraine match in the same way.
I'm not saying Ukraine will beat them, but I am saying that England will not go all out for this game – nor should they.
Ya , but do you also remember we beat england the next game 3-2 when we were qualified, they are playing with no pressure and to prove a point, i have no worries
Just because someone says something critical or negative does not mean they are against the team.
The opinion stated is correct…..we dont deserve to advance, but thank god we have a chance.
As for England….I know we are reading everything so far that they will give it 100% and play hard. Still, its a meaningless game for them and there is NO WAY they approach this game with the same intensity and desire as they have their previous matches. They have earmed their spot to the WC and if they lose 3-0 it does not mean they tanked the match.
Anyone recall what happend to Croatia during the last qualifying cycle when we found out at halftime of the Cro-Macedonia game that we made it to the Euros. We celebrated and played like shit in the 2nd half. I can see the same thing happening to England. You guys really think Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, etc…will go 100% against the Ukraine. I would be surprised.
With fans like Ante and Marko, the team doesn't need any enemies. Such self-defeating behavior by FANS of Croatian football. Quit beating yourself and the team up. It's really pathetic. You two should go get fucked because you deserve it.
Thanks for the cred 🙂
I myself agree with the "not deserving of qualifying". Although we've had some key injuries, unlike in Euro qualifiers, it still doesn't mean we should struggle against third-tier teams and get blown out in both England matches. Its obvious Bilic is reeling atm and he isn't looking any better with the players he is or isn't calling up.
For those who don't got HRT2
http://www.atdhe.net/9692/watch-croatia-vs-qatar
http://www.iraqgoals.net/ch4.html
11:30 AM EST TIME ONTARIO CANADA TIME
yup HRT 2
YOU guys know hrt2 live via saan.tv
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register its cheap 7bucks
but register address in croatia only enjoy !
stanko@live.ca
bog!
12:30 eastern time
Croatia's friendly vs Qatar is today on HRT2.