Zlatko Dalić has officially released Croatia’s preliminary squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Not many changes from the last international window, with Joško Gvardiol and Mateo Kovačić returning from injury.
Dalić once again went centre-back heavy, with Josip Stanišić being the only natural fullback option. Jakic and Perišić will likely see minutes in wide defensive roles.
Dion Beljo was left on the standby list despite scoring 38 goals for Dinamo Zagreb this season. Adrian Šegečić and Luka Stojković were also included as standby options.
Overall, a strong squad with plenty of experience and quality heading into the tournament.
Who would you have added or left out?
If cohesiveness and continuity are key main Pillars of Croatian strength, Dalic moving forward could be a good outcome.
In the beginning, things seemed to be getting out of hand and off the rails with some players challenging his leadership when he first started coaching, esp. (Kalinic, Rebic), due to his low-key nature, and his decisions not going their way.
Seems as though Modric stood behind him and help him weathered the storm. As long as your winning, people give you some slack.
Seems like the last 8 years have been calm sailing. My look back missing these halcyon days.
He represents the best in Croatian Culture, he is not just some calculated success candidate in some cultural vacuum.
19 years ago Croatia vs Brazil,
The best thing I have ever seen & heard was the Croatian Anthem Sung by all the Croatian fans in the stadium.
The Unity was unbelievable, turn back time, for the Croatia vs England game,
You’ll give the Croatian team a boost.
Special mention to an unsung hero, One of the best managers in the world.
ZLATCO DALIC,
LIKE LUKA MODRIC,
HUMBLE.
Croatia u15 2-0 England u15
Dudu jr and Loko’s Zvone Dacer w the goals
Dudu jr 2 goals in last 2 games
Next up Swiss
Surprised Mart isn’t updating us properly on this?
You guys are not interested in youth football.
Eduardos son with a goal and was also brought down by the goalkeeper for a penalty for us which we scored from. The son looks promising, and I think he is going to be taller that Eduardo. He must take after his Croatian mothers family.
For those interested ? the U17 EURO finals start on Monday with the first match against Belgium. KO 13:30 Cro time.
Dudu jr gonna make up for his dads injury and bring us to the promise land
This time we will not have any talk about his sons Croatianness
Yes maybe a more athletic taller version of Dudu??
Best of luck to the kid
Maybe see you in 2030 as a wunderkid if we are lucky;)
U snooze u lose Stojko
Perfect statement by Sege
Adrian Segečić on receiving a stand-by call-up from Zlatko Dalić:
“Honestly, I didn’t expect everything to happen so fast. I was focused on my performances and on proving myself every day at my club, so receiving a stand-by call-up from coach Dalić is truly a great honor and motivation to keep going.
Of course, every young player dreams of being close to Croatia’s senior national team, but I know this is only the beginning and that I have to continue working even harder.” [tportal]
Why wasn’t Sutalo even in Ajax squad Thursday ???
Majer got 16 minutes off the bench vs. 2nd division crap – game ended 0-0
Biondic got 28 min off the bench – game ended 0-0
@anonymous
Your favorite the Pink Pandur is playing the biggest game of his life tomorrow. At 26 years old, he has to be the logical successor of Livakovic. But can he handle the pressure of the brightest lights yet as Livakovic has at the WC? Livakovic will always be a legend for his performances against the Nippons and the Samba Boys in ‘22.
Massive massive game for him
The biggest game in football as the winner gets 200m pounds via promotion
Hull is still the underdog and nobody expects them to win
If there was ever a match for him to be MOTM is this one
I love Livakovic but kit never hurts to have a goalie that (hopefully) plays in the Premiere League!
We need some insurance.
Livaković is 31. He ‘might’ still be good for us over the next four years, but you never know.
Kotarski had a bad year and Nediljko Labrović had been a flop at Augsburg. Karlo Letica had a decent year, but he’s about the same age as Livaković. Šemper might be an option, but Pandur is a couple of years younger so hopefully he continues to get better.
Just bring in ivusic or semper. They are more reliable gk.
He will be also remembered against Messi in 22 man
England just wanted to get fresh talent on the team. The only surprise I saw was Foden. They do have young and offensively talented defenders that are young and inexperienced at the national level; James, O’Reilly, Spencer. Our defence as just as good and playing at top level. Rice and Bellingham are the only top tier level in the middle. Kane and Saka are the only two legitimate threats at forward. Nobody else comes to mind as concerning. They aren’t the likes of Spain or France with loads of talent. They aren’t special. The midfield game is what I’m worried about. The age factor will come into effect. We need to be aggressive and shutdown the middle. We can get a draw but let’s get a win. Start with a 3-4-2-1
Hope the Croatian team that scored 12 goals in two games, two years ago, shows up. If so, we should be okay.
Stojko
Did you call Dalic like Anonymous advised you 5 days ago ?
Listen to Tuchel v-a-v Alex Scott – start at 11:00 – perfect attitude, KEEN to come to pre-camp to get closer to the squad, etc – this is how a PROFESSIONAL acts (not go on vacation like Davor wants lol)
***.youtube.com/watch?v=s9TkCkJDBCQ
Anonymous can led a horse to water, but can’t make it drink
LOL, thanks for trying. Blast off, not until Nation’s League or later.
This England squad is full of players (especially defenders) that haven’t played for club bc of injury or bc on bench
and lots of players that haven’t played together at England level (some have only had a few minutes on the pitch)
So it’s not the worst thing to play them first before they develop and rhythm and cohesion
Croatia has advantage that most of the squad has been together for the 2 year cycle (and obviously some for 15 years) – so maybe Dalic ain’t crazy not adding a bunch of new names
Croatia definetely has advantage in team cohesiveness while England looks like a balanced team on paper the devil is in the actually cohesion on and off the field
Jagusic has played more minutes in 2026 than John Stones
John Stones going to the WC (with massive injury/recovery risk) and Jaga isn’t
Not fair
England squad announced (note Djed Spence from the “2nd second league”)
x.com/England/status/2057749785843576894?s=20
Also a starting XI of players that didn’t make it (their depth is crazy)
x.com/fw_rema/status/2057750593112879260?s=20
Pomalo and Fjaka are 4 letter word in the english language.
You could make a grand team with those names of the past. Fortunately, you can’t play 33 players @ a time.
In Croatia case, I wish we could select 33 players, based on some of our current selections. In with the new old, and all the even older, stay until they give us notice.
The insanity of having King Charles and Keir Stamier talking about the joys of Islamification and being a top 10 powerhouse soccer country. They won’t be out done by France, Spain, and Germany. It is more than soccer that is coming home to roost. Open borders might not be good for a country’s cost of living, quality of life, Christian culture, but it is sure good for soccer success, and that troublesome problem of dealing with pesty boring family relationships. It is a lot easier to deal with people as cogs in a wheel of success. A new generation every 4 years. Hard to compete with that. Maggie’s rolling in her grave.
This is a diametric antithetic to current Croatian way. Feel bless with what you have. Let’s see what happens, but I think we would have a little better chance going the English way with new blood Stoj, and Seg. We will probably roll with Olic at least for two years.
You won’t see Poland, Hungary, or Austria winning a WC soon.
England squad announced
https://x.com/England/status/2057749785843576894?s=20
Also a starting XI of players that didn’t make it (their depth is crazy)
https://x.com/fw_rema/status/2057750593112879260?s=20
Read a very interesting news article on UEFA website. Looks like UEFA will change the format for 2030 WC Qualifying. It appears that they will adopt the same system as currently used in UEFA club competitions.
The European Qualifiers will also assume a tiered structure: League 1, composed of the 36 teams of UNL Leagues A and B and League 2 composed of the remaining 18 (or 19) UNL teams.
In League 1 there will be three groups of 12 teams drawn from three pots of 12 teams. Every team will play six home-or-away matches against six different opponents, two per pot, similarly to the format of the UEFA club competitions. League 2 will be staged exactly as UNL League C with three groups of six (or one of seven).
No more home and away matches against the same opponent.
UEFA still working on the details, but this will make it even more difficult to qualify.
Next NT caption should be the one and only Luka Vuskovic. He is young but his character is second to none… a strong one indeed and he would get my vote otherwise Gvardiol would be my sexond choice…
Kova or Gvardiol would probably get it (assuming the older vets all retire).
Wow – Tuchel tweaking the squad to maximize chance vs Luka Vuskovic and our back 3 – Toney is certainly a handful and the most physical striker England will have – will be a great battle – maybe they start w 2 strikers
BREAKING: Sky Sports News understands Ivan Toney is set to be included in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad
He hasn’t been called up since June 2025 – wow – Dalic could take note
Toney is a handful? He’s playing in the Saudi league lmaooo
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48835984/luka-modric-mask-christian-pulisic-ac-milan-champions-league
This is awesome. Seems Modric is fit and wanting to play in the Serie A finale.
Too bad – was looking forward to Luka man-handling his stupid yob face during every corner
Harry McGuire on X
I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.
I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years.
I wish the players, all the best this summer 🏴
We’ve talked a lot about the next coach , but who’s the next captain? I would have said Mateo Kovacic if modric retired 4 years ago … but now I’m not sure – do you go to Gvardiol, is he captain material ? Is it someone like sucic?
Maybe the answer is Kovacic for a couple years until someone is ready to take over ?
Gvardiol seems the logical choice, I agree. With all the great midfielders that are coming up, don’t know how often we will be playing Kovacic moving forward, with him being on the downside of his career. It could be Kovacic and he hands it off to Gvardiol when he is not playing. I am assuming Kramaric, and Perisic are both near the end as well. Don’t see them making it to 2030 WC , maybe 2028 Euro cup at best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Umso2jeB2o
Interesting interview with the team’s analyst
Yeah, he’s from John O Groats.
Non-resident, non-catholic can’t speak the language either and he has a medal with us?
If he is from John O Groats, does that make him Groatian?
well worth watching more to the end
***.24sata.hr/sport/video-pogledajte-pogodak-sina-eduarda-da-silve-u-porazu-mini-vatrenih-od-japanaca-1129098
That is coming full circle, one of the best his father. Very surprised, he did not change alliance to Brazil, since it sounds like they live there and are happy, and are treated well. Assuming he speaks Portuguese as well as Croatian?
He must really want it if he is investing in the additional travel time. Hope it works out. Probably more competition as well for spots on the Brazilian national team as well.
Mateus speaks Croatian, Portuguese and English.
They only moved to Brazil after Eduardo retired from Shaktar.
So, for the first 8 years for his kid’s life, they were based in Ukraine and frequently visiting Zagreb.
The kid went to some American university in Ukraine (that taught him English) but likely spoke a mix of Portuguese and Croatian at home.
He speaks Croatian probably about as good as a German diaspora Croat.
Hull owner/lawyers contacted EFL that Southampton should forfeit the PO final 3-0 to Hull and Hull directly enter the Premier League (instead of Middlesbrough replacing Southampton in a PO final at Wembley)
Interesting to see where this lands – EFL may have f up by not declaring Middlesbrough won 3-0 vs. Southampton (forfeit) instead of what they did say is Middlesbrough will replace Southampton (and stay silent on the Middlesbrough vs. Southampton result)
You are all delusional.
Dalic tried 3 a the back and it did not work. You expect him do try it again in the WC against England…lol. If any of Pongracic/DCC/Erlic get starts we will not advance past the group stage.
The teams strength is in possession with Modric, Susic & Kova. The only difference from past tournaments is that now we have set piece threat with Gvardi, Vusko, Mantano, Stani & Buda.
Dear Dalic, we know you read this board for coaching advice. Pls do not start Buda & Krama vs England.
Enough with the Stojko talk as well. He did not start if the fist a half of the season and has ZERO senior National team caps. He’s a good player but too little too late to make the squad. After this WC if he keeps playing well he should be called up to the Nations League.
Our Italian brothers are giving it back to the dirty Greeks for f-ing over Jaga
Love it (from Index – thanks Mart!)
#####
A FRIENDLY match between Greece and Italy, scheduled for June 6, could be cancelled. The Greek Football Federation is reportedly frustrated by the Italians’ plan to send a team made up of U21 national team players to the match, rather than their strongest team, writes Football Italia .
Why is Italy sending a young team?
The Italian national team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final in late March, coach Gennaro Gattuso resigned. The federation has yet to name a permanent successor, so the senior team’s two June friendlies – against Luxembourg on June 3 and Greece three days later – have been entrusted to U21 coach Silvio Baldini.
Baldini insists on young players
Baldini is expected to call up a squad for these matches made up mostly, if not entirely, of players he already manages in the youth team. Although captain Gianluigi Donnarumma has reportedly made himself available, Baldini has been clear about his intentions. “I will call up exclusively players from the U21 team,” said the interim coach. While Italian fans have generally reacted positively to the idea of rejuvenating the team, the Greeks have a different view.
#####
Agree. The squad selection is too safe and lack of certain creativity and motivation to change dynamics of the games..
In this case, it is important to bring a wildcard like theo walcott. Segecic or stojkovic is a good option. Someone where opposing teams underestimated them or didnt study enough of them
But looking at selection without sufficient wingers and full backs, i suspect dalic is going for 3 man defence. Hence so many CB. Stanisic gvardiol perisic and pasalic probably play as attacking full back.
Such defensive lineup could work against big teams like england
We need people who are offensively creative and shoot on Frame with consistency. You can’t win if you don’t shoot forcibly and accurately between the goal frame.
You think that was easy to do, and it is for people like Mislav Orsic, but not so easy for people like Brozovic, Kovacic, or Lukaku on a bad day.
In 117 minutes against Brazil in 2022, we did not have a single shot on frame.
We removed Kovacic and Brozovic and brought on “Not Ready” Orsic and Petkovic in the 114′ and Mislav is able to find Petkovic on a perfect back pass.
We truly need a Mislav Orsic and Bruno Petkovic type deemed as questionable or “Not Ready”, for the wild card role.
Then the “Not Ready” Orsic single handedly provided us with the winning goal for the Bronze medal in the end.
As true as it was in 2022 we need the “Not Ready” Stojkovic, Segecic, and Musa on the team, who know how to forcibly shoot on frame, and are still young enough to execute the task.
We can have Kovacic move the ball up and down the field for 90 minutes, but eventually we have to score once to win the game, or at least have the sharp shooters to win the PKs.
Croatia is on a regular basis ranked in the 20 teams in the world, which is a feat to be very proud of no doubt. But why it is rarely ranked in the top 10. We are weaker than the very large multi-ethnic elite teams who know how score with apparent ease.
We have the talent, let’s use these unready rising players no one knows, but we do.
I am very happy that this is a legacy, but we need the “Not Ready” players who have a fire in their heart and have hot boot.
your example above against Brazil was a result of a weak shot going straight to the keeper but was deflected. Sometimes luck happens.
Either way, Orsic was a very impactful player for us in WC2022 and Euro2020.
Sometime you need to include a couple of wildcard backups who have the capability to create nothing from something.
Unless you are like Stojkovic, you hit the goal post in your sleep like a game.
Soccer is won and loss by how many forcible “Lucky” shots within the goal frame one can make.
A shot within the frame always has a “Lucky” chance of always going in. A shot above the frame has no chance or too far from the side has no Luck.
The one who is most luckiest usually win. But it is not luck is it.
Agree with a lot of this. The same can be said for teams that get annoying 1 goal wins by having questionable PK calls awarded to them.
If your opponent is in your penalty box 75% of the game, but you are in your opponent’s penalty box only 10% of the game, then it is natural that there will be the disparity in PK calls.
You are rewarded by “luck“ for being aggressive enough (and better enough) to be in the attacking position much more than your opponent. So there is a “fairness“ to it.
Very good point!
What if you’re like Igor’s ex-team which hasn’t been awarded even one penalty all season despite probably earning at least 3-4 if not more?
Thats a good point and often its bringing on that” not ready” player that cracks the game ,at a crucial stage.
Only one name needed to be on this list that gives us more flexibility everything else is ok if you breakdown Dalić ideology
1. Stojkovic can play attack and mid
(Who do you drop Fruk!)
If we play a 3-4-2-1 (3-6-1)
I believe Ivanovic is not an option because does not suit this style of play… not ideal player to play behind a Striker..
And not an ideal player to about Perisic
(Stojkovic would fill these roles the best)
Stanišić will be our starting RWB
Marco Pasalic is an option for attacking minded RM when need be
Mario Pasalic will be utilized and can fill a neutral role playing here if we need a two way player he can also be utilized behind our line striker
Jakic will fill role as destructive RM/RB or centrally if need be (Hence no call for Smolcic-Jakic more flexible)
Modric for Moro
P.Sucic for Kovacic
Perisic (this is where I see we need Stojkovic the most he can fill this LM role percectly)
Gvardiol can be utilized here but much rather have Stojko option here
(Dalić believes Baturina is his option here fair enough as well as behind the striker)
I like what I saw with Baturina on left and Vlasic on right tucked behind the stiker
(Dalić will most likely start Kramaric right though and sees Luka Sucic or Fruk as subs here as well this is why I don’t believe we need one of the two.. I think Luka Sucic is slower great shot and technicality Fruk is more quicker agile diffeeent players and maybe this is where Stojkovic lose out… to me though Stojkovic is just better option then Fruk here too
Back three of
Gvardiol/Vuskovic/Sutalo
Dalić wants CB depth for each position here and gets this with
Pongracic/DCC/Erlic
That’s what I see
This is what I think will happen too. I thought it was too late to do 3 at the back as we seemed more comfortable with 4, but now that it looks like we will go with 3, the formation/lineup you described is likely what we would go with.
If Gvard & Kova are not fit to start vs England is would do with this lineup:
Liva
Jak – Sutalo – Vusko – Stani
Modric – Susic
Marko P – Bati – Perisic
Mantano
Bit of a concern that Gvardiol was not even on the bench for the last two Man City matches.
Dalic was asked a question about the fitness of Gvardiol, Kovacic and Modric on Monday and he stated that their level of fitness will be assessed in the training camp and during the friendly matches against Belgium and Slovenia.
Dalic was confident that Modric will be OK, but his comments were more cautious about Gvardiol and Kovacic.
My mistake he was on the bench on Tuesday.
Hopefully Dalic can stay and continue to build what he started. It would be interesting to see how he manages after Modric retires from the National team. However, if he does leave then its understandable.
Terzic would have been a good pick for the team. Bilic has a bit more experience now and even Kovac, with his side finishing second.
If Pep does leave Manchester City, I was reading that many players from that club are going to leave too. It seems that Bayern, Madrid and other big clubs want Gvardiol. Perhaps, he should avoid Madrid since their dressing room is a mess right now.
Imagine if Bayern had Gvardiol, Vuskovic and Stanisic all at the back.
Dalic was offered a new contract by HNS a few months ago, however he stated that he wanted to concentrate on the WC only and did not want to discuss it at the time.
The most likely outcome is that he will leave after the WC and take a lucrative coaching job in the middle east ??
Bilic is the front runner to get the job.
Corluka and Olic both have UEFA Pro Coaching Licences however they both lack coaching experience. Olic did coach CSKA Moscow in 2021 but got sacked after a few months.
You never know with HNS, when Bilic was appointed senior coach in 2006 he had only coached Hajduk for a year in 2002 and our U21 team from 2004 – 06 before getting the seniors job.
Dalić is always apparently leaving to some Middle East team.
It’s a nice negotiating tactic, but I can’t see him succeeding there.
Would be funny to see him with his krunica on the sidelines while coaching UAE.
Middle Eastern club team, Qatar NT job or … the new one … a China club team – apparently a China club offered him 10m per year and he turned it down
The thing is – Dalic is leaking this to the press (who else would?) presumably to show HNS he’s desired and hence he should stay as Croatia NT manager – but the reality none of these links are impressive – it’s not like some top 3/5 league top team has offered him a manager role – so it’s actually showing he’s not that desired
Dalic is already well paid for what he brings.
1.6 million Euro per year is not unreasonable for what he brings. He’s not a tactician and his in-game subs could be better. He’s a motivator and veteran’s coach who manages by consensus (with a focus on keeping the locker room happy).
That’s worth about what he’s currently being paid.
He won’t be able to replicate this on some talentless teams from the Middle East who desperately need tactics.
Dalic is obviously leaking these stories (like he always does before his contract expires).
If we do well this tournament, then I don’t mind if we re-sign him. Most of our good Croatian coaches are not available and Ivica Olic creeping around is giving me nightmares.
Kranjcar got his coaching license a week ago – so he’s ready to take over the U21s from Olic – that’s why he’s pushing Olic for Dalic’s job
Niko also mentioned Miki Badelj has someone with a coaching license
This coaching license threshold should be increased / made more difficult – it’s like handing out real estate agent licenses after a couple of course lol
I would have picked Ivanovic, Meyer and Smolčić and dropped Moro, Fruk & Pong.
If Kova is in form you 100% have to start him in the WC. Croatia need to dominate teams with possession. We are not going to dominate anyone with speed. We also need to score on set pieces now that we have weapons like Vusko & Matano. Krama & Buda can get the start against Panama. For the final game against Senegal Dalic should pick the players that performed best in the first two games.
My ideal starting line-up vs England.
Livako
Jakic – Vusko – Gvardi – Stani
Kova
Perisic – Modric – Susic – Bati
Matano
Love all of it ZDS
You see one African country and I guess you seen them all.. Senegal and Ghana are interchangeable… 😉
So is Croatia and Serbia amigo
This is a question for the US based Croats ( which I am.not)will they be turning out in huge numbers for the Croatian games? The friendlies Colombia ,Brazil, didnt seem to get that many.
Great question. I know a lot of people that would “love” to go. But I know very few people that actually have definite tickets already.
We are used to the secondary market here, it’s legal, I think a lot of people are waiting for prices to drop more (they have finally started dropping already as of a couple weeks ago.)
My sense:
-Dallas – will be tough, a ton of English fans will be here in a huge stadium. I bet we will be a significant minority
-Toronto – I’m sure we’ll be the majority
-Philadelphia – tough to tell. Third game of the group stage, may not be an “important“ game. Could go either way regarding attendance.
oh ok thanks ,gives me.an idea of what the atmosphere might be like at different venues ,going to be an interesting first game.
do not expect much. This will not be like a Euro or World Cup in Europe proper. Those fans all can speak croatian. The people who will be showing up for the games in the USA don’t speak croatian. They do not even look croatian. The people who were in Florida for games in Florida all looked american. They were pale and fat.
You mean the ten Croatian fans that showed up to the Florida matches?
It seems as though the Croatian news outlets all agree that Dalic will call it quits after this world cup.
What are the chances that Bilić would be the next coach?
I honestly think he deserves a second stab at it. He wasn’t a bad coach for us, and he has had a lot of success in different clubs. He is also a good coach for the younger generations on my view.
Anyone but Olić.
We need to start a Never Olić movement.
Damn shame that Terzić just signed with Atletic Bilbao.
I am behind that idea. I think it would be completely stupid if they pick Olic to coach the team. He hasn’t done anything. If he can prove himself coaching some decent teams outside of Croatia then maybe but in this circumstance no way.
billic is ok but you need a quality coach who is working at a high level.right now Niko Kovac deserves another slot ,ill never for get billic leaping on the scorer while turkey slyly slotted down the other end,leading to a screwing us for penalties, top coaches know dont get carried away till its completed.
I can see Bilic, a lot of noise lately with bilic. Given who’s all in HNS at the moment I can see it go that way.
@Mart
Thank you for mentioning Index a couple days ago – been reading them the last couple of days and like the clean layout, sharp content and to the point – it’s no nonsense news
No bs and fluff like 24sata which also annoys Anonymous w all the tabloid stuff – it’s getting as bad as the Sun in the UK
I don’t like their political stance because they are pro old Yugo, but their sport content is very good.
My*
May Arsenal win the league 😊. Need a couple of Croatians and we can dominate Europe 😊😊
Congrats – all the “stars” (read: VAR/calls cough cough) were aligned for u this year 😉
😂👍🏻
With man city out hopefully Kova and gvardiol can get another start of competitive action to increase fitness.
Yup – good point
Especially with Pep leaving nobody is going to want to risk their WC on a nothing game (I mean the players who have been injury free all season)
If they each get 60 minutes that’s more than enough
Dalic is the most frustrating coach of all time. HE HIMSELF said we lack speed . And yet , Segecic , Stojkovic and Ivanovic are not selected .
This man has more luck than brains, truly.
And regarding the last poster and Kovacic . I am watching the match and he has done nothing of note at all. Just pass backs .
He looks out of shape as well.
Kova starting / playing now for Man City for all u Negative Nellies
I love that he’s back and great sign, still subbed out before 60 min mark again. But he played about 30 mins on Saturday so that’s the first time he’s played twice in less than a week.
Hopefully gvardiol gets subbed in for some mins
For me the difference In terms of should they or shouldn’t start because of fitness between Kova and gvardiol is the level of backup for gvardiol is so big where as for Kova it isn’t.
I think it was a tactical sub as they were chasing a goal so Foden is an all offence sub
Also Semenyo and Bernardo Silva came off with Kova at the same time
Josko no minutes today but he’s months ahead of schedule so we’re lucky he’s even back – he can use the two June friendlies to play 60 then 90 minutes – won’t be 100% for England but he’ll be ready for a long tournament
Suggest we have Modric sub for Kovacic after the first half, once we get out of the group play. One of them is able to take PKs and be relatively successful at it.
Love em both but pks are not their forte.
Igor Europa Final Wednesday 3pm ET
Majer relegation PO May 21 2:30pm ET and May 25 2:30pm ET vs. Paderborn
Wow
What a harsh punishment – really kind of unbelievable
Pandur Wembley opponent now Middlesbrough
######
OFFICIAL: Southampton have been EXPELLED from the Championship play-offs.
Middlesbrough will now be the finalists against Hull City on Saturday at Wembley as Southampton have admitted to multiple breaches of filming other clubs’ training.
######
I don’t get all the hate in Moro, guy is decent and one of only true #6 players we have.
Jakic to me is slotted as a RB for this team.
We literally have none so someone jakic has to.
I remember after euros everyone was mad on the board we hand no true #6 after Italy game now everyone wants to cut the only 6.
I get the angst of all the CM but I wouldn’t touch Moro.
We don’t need Fruk L.sucic Mario pasalic and vlasic this is the list where you needed to cut two of out the 4. For me it would be Fruk Mario pasalic but obviously that would never happen.
Fruk, kramaric, and vlasic all same type of players don’t need three guys like that.
I will say I get the dressing room dynamic is important but if a super experienced team would get rocked by having one or two new guys thats weak esp since they would be kids and prolly know their roll.
I get Dalic not having more full back players cause to be honest they all suck.But I would have added someone who’s comfortable playing in the left midfield if Perišić needs a break.
I get segecic he’s young and a diaspora kid not from Europe , you would want to at least have him around a little before WC. Still no problem for me if called.
I get stojkovic small temper wild kid, but I would have no problem if called.
But ivanovic been around team a bunch there’s no risk in team dynamic like how do you call Fruk before this guy I truly don’t know.
One of lvanovic stojkovic or segecic I would have called. And with such an experienced team there’s no risk of the so called family falling apart don’t wanna hear it.
As far as kova I love him and thought he was best player last WC. But I do struggle with how much he can give in 90 mins if he can go 90 min then he will start, if he limited to 70 I’d rather kova subbe off modric in the 65 min and go with baturina starting.
Kova had no real offseason in summer 2025 he was off all year basically and two operations since coming back. The most he’s played is around 58 mins in one game with basically 7-10 days between his minutes.
After dalic comments yesterday I would be shocked if this wasn’t the lineup.
…………sutalo ……..Vuskovic………Gvardiol……
Stanisic ……..Modric……..P.Sucic………..Perišić…
…………………Kramaric…………Baturina……………
…………………………….…Budimir………………………….
Kova sub for modric don’t need Modric playing more than 65-70 mins.
Vlasic sub for kramaric
L.Sucic sub for baturina
Musa sub for Budimir
If perisic can’t play 90 gvardiol moves up and pong comes in
Marco pasalic or jakic sub for stanisic
If gvardiol and perisic need to come out same time we’re screwed
My guess is Baturina would be the sub for Perišić at LM/LW.
(assuming we start Kova or Krama, which unfortunately leaves Baturina coming off the bench).
Baturina has played LW at times for Como this season, and his heat map always favors that left side even when he plays centrally.
Love yourz lineup brother
Nice line-up. Would like to find a way to get Matanovic coming on with Musa and Marco. All three seem hungry to try and make something happen.
Do we think the standby up list order is in order of closest to being called up? It’s certainly not alphabetical
It’s going to be about Livakovic and our D standing up to take us to the semi finals. We play for ties and then put it away in shoot outs. We’ve all seen this playout and I think we can do it again. Health of Gvardi and Kova will play big in this tournament and Dalic will have to actually coach and play the sub game very well for once. Let’s see how he does as well. Likely his last tournament so I think everyone will have something to prove.
Coach Dalic will have to actually coach? What has he done for the past almost 9 years?? I guess it is all the Krunice he has said. We will miss him. Viva Zlatko!
If Olić is his replacement, then yes, we’ll be screwed to kingdom come
In 2022, we have sufficient cover for LB RB LW and RW..juranovic jakic stanisic sosa orsic perisic.
In this 2026, we only have defensive minded stanisic and jakic. Have to convert gvardiol to LB if needed. Juranovic is an offensive RWB if we are behind in a match.
We dont have orsic to cover perisic. No one to cover mario pasalic. So disappointing. Thought we could take segecic or stojkovic
U look at england..bowen rashford gordon saka makeke
Hey! First time we agree on something.
I’m not a fan of us going “central” again with every player.
We called up so many central midfielders and center backs, and we have very few players who can play the wing or full back positions (despite having a few intriguing young options).
We’re likely just going to roll with Gvardiol, Stanišić, Perišić and (maybe) Marco Pašalić as our players who can play the wing and full back roles…
Give them all 90 minutes a game, hope they don’t have a single bad game, no suspensions or injuries (requiring a sub), and hope for the best.
I agree we definitely don’t need pong and erlic. Take smolcic instead would be sensible.
Also Stojko. Segecic maybe not ready yet.
Ivanović should’ve also been called up as he can give you minutes as a forward/winger off the bench (and provide you with speed or pressing in a defensive game).
Sure, he may not be starting at Benfica but at least he gives you something the other strikers/wingers (we currently have) do not.
Or call up list is “ok” but there’s too much redundancy.
Kovacic is better than any English midfielder. And not far behind modric. Petar sucic is quickly catching up and is a better combo with Luka. World class midfield
Kova is good but he’s being released by Man City as a free agent.
That should tell you something about how valuable he is.
No team would do those with Petar Sučić.
Yes, I understand that Sučić is younger and on the upswing (which increases his market value over Kova’s) but I still think Sučić is the better player for us today.
Next we will start saying modric is mediocre because he doesn’t score many goals. Only 1 goal in Serie A this season despite playing nearly every match. Modric is a bust. I don’t know if it’s because you are Americans you don’t know ball at all sometimes the comments here smh
Noone is saying Kova is mediocre, it’s more the amount of time he has been off that is questionable. It’s not like Gvardiol who had only been off since January. 4 to 5 month is different than year and a half which is a long time.
I am also Canadian FYI. Don’t know ball. Lol. Easy there don’t get your panties in a bundle.
Sorry, having a bad day 😊
Kovacic is an INCREDIBLE player. It’s strange how people start forgetting how good he is. He doesn’t score many goals. Yes that’s a weakness in his game. But it’s not really his job. His ability to break the lines and break the opposition press is amongst the best the world has ever seen. Just look at the teams he has played for: inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Man City. Who knows why they signed him? Before he got injured recently he had become our best player. In addition, offense isn’t only shooting. The pass for Haaland in the recent match is one of the best attacking plays of the season. Our team still has some issues but Kovacic isn’t one of them. Respect on his name please
There are very few midfielders in the world who would have spotted that sudden opening, reacted to the situation just as Haaland began accelerating, and threaded that pass. Very few.
He just played 30 or so minutes in the FA Cup final against Chelsea! Pep put him in when the score was 0-0, and City wins the coveted cup 1-0. People here are almost making it sound like Kova is playing in the Albanian 3rd divison. LOL!
If his health holds up, and it seems he is right on track, his general fitness level will be just fine. Having Modric, Kova, Sucic and Baturina is a good problem to have. The team will probably have to play something close to 9 games in 30+ days if they went to the final. The midfield will be run off its feet.
Kova is underrated. He is a world class midfielder. Lets hope he has a great World Cup. I think he will, and that he’ll surprise a few people here.
Inter SCARED they won’t be able to keep Pero after the World Cup
Interest in Premier League, Spain and Germany
If an offer for 50-60m comes in they might not be able to turn it down
https://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/sucic-napusta-inter-evo-koliko-bi-dinamo-zaradio/2793616.aspx
Additionally, I believe that Musa should be our 1st string striker, not based on the fact that he leads the league in goals in the MLS, of which no one puts any value, but his actually efforts on the NT is superior to any of the other strikers chosen.
Small sample though.
I agree that he’s an interesting option, but everyone here is largely basing this on the two crossbars he hit during the Colombia game.
Kovacic has had a fairytale existence as a above mediocre player, with limited offensive ability, when does he play, when we are ahead or just parking the bus?
He cannot take any PKs, Majer is not much better.
I would switch out Moro, Fruk, for Segecic, Stojkovic, if you go with the current hot feet.
At the very least, take one less goalie or 2nd string backline player to make room for them, and go heavy on the needed additional offensive options. Take a risk and bring two goalies only.
Moro and Fruk were on/off bit players through this whole thing, Dalic does not owe them a spot.
We need the Stoj/Segecic option on the bench.
In a way Majer being off doesn’t make sense. Kovačić has barely touched a ball in 18 months and gets chosen meanwhile Majer doesn’t get the call up. Doesn’t seem make any sense. Sure his season isn’t great but he is always been a substitutions threat for us.
I dunno some decisions are questionable, I like Kovačić but the guy hasn’t played in over a year and a half it’s gonna be an issue for him.
I will say this again as well I don’t see the point of both Fruk and Moro. In this instance we could have then had Beljo as another attacking threat option. We could have also then had Segicic. Or an additional winger which we could really make use of.
One of the three Pongracic, Erlic and Šutalo should have also been dropped. All three of them on the list doesn’t make any sense. Personally I would say Pongracic he had been a liability for us on many occasions.
A lot of questionable decisions be Dalic here I think.
Why? Majer isn’t playing for a reason. Kovacic was also injured and just made an impact getting back. I see where you’re coming from but it’s time to shuffle the squad. Majer had his time and had a solid World Cup in Qatar. I do agree with the defender statement. Three of the weakest players on the team and one of them will start vs England…ouch. Smolcic deserves to be part of this team. I’d take Prpic and Mlacic over the other weak defenders you mentioned. We do have more of an offensively gifted backline now but I do miss the likes of Corluka, Srna, Lovren who played tougher.
Have you noticed football has moved away from “tough” defenders. Offensive players are favoured 90% of the time when it comes to foul calls. I trust Dalic. Look at the flopping done by Brazil in the March friendly; tougher shutdown D men like Lovren would get carded out of the tournament by today’s standards. Majer has not had a good season for Wolfsburg 2 goals 3 A, 28 matches played; Wolfsburg are not a good team. Lovro did well in Qatar but was lacking at the Euros and is very slow; not useful against all three fast teams we are facing in Group L.
I can get behind this squad expect for three decisions Dalic made. Smolcic, Ivanovic and Beljo.
Smolcic has arguably been one of the best defenders for Como this season. He’s helped them climb to top five.
Ivanovic might not start a lot but he still managed to score 8 goals this season. I would take him over Musa or Pasalic from the MLS.
Beljo is the biggest suprise of them all. He scored 38 goals and five of which were in Europa League. Just because it’s the Croatian league that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t start.
Besides that, it’s a solid team. Weak links like Majer, Jurnaovic, Sosa etc are gone. Lots of fresh talent to show for and eager to represent the checkers. Gvardiol has gained more experience and been exposed to the best teams at a high level against Argentina, France, Spain, etc. He’ll be babying Vuskovic and telling him to keep his cool and not get a careless foul in the opening game.
Apologize if it’s been talked about before
But why does Prince luka require a 3-5-2
Good question.
Yes, they play three defenders at Hamburg. I think we get that.
But even so . . . why can’t he have some speed in the middle to support him (like, say, Sutalo) with Stani and Gvardiol out wide at the right and left, with those latter two having the freedom to join the attack?
Is there anything inherently wrong with Vuskovic playing in a four-at-the-back system?
I am worried about three defenders against England.
And why risk it against Ghana, who are going to sit back and try and catch you off guard with a lighting fast counterattack, hoping to kill you with speed and dangerous attackers.
Against Panama, I might go with three. They don’t seem to have the same threat up front.
I don’t recall it being discussed before. It’s a very good question. . . .
I trust Dalic knows the answer and has his good reasons, but hopefully someone here can give us an answer and an explanation.
Thats just the starting lineup. that can easily morph to a 442 or depending if we are attacking or defending. Its time we change up our game a little bit to be less predictable.
What’s with the Dalic photo in the announcement btw ?
It’s season-deaf
Hopefully he doesn’t roll up to Dallas in that cardigan and HEAVY jacket (looks like wool-blend)
Also looks like he’s wearing jeans – which is also silly to combine aforementioned tops with jeans – in no situation is that appropriate
At least he’s not wearing a tie – could be worse
Very primitive and sad all around – too bad he doesn’t take some of his $ and hire a stylist to dress him – if he can’t figure it out himself at his age
Stojko
Did you call Dalic yet ?
I TOLD U SIX HOURS AGO TO CALL HIM AND HE’S SAYING U HAVEN’T
“Ako Stojković ovako nastavi, bit će jako blizu reprezentacije. Krajnji popis je 1.6. i ako se dogode neke stvari, koje ja ne bih htio da se dogode, ozljede ili tako nešto, onda ćemo razmišljati o igračima kao što su Stojković i Majer koji je također otpao. Sa Stojkovićem nisam pričao.”
Call him NOW – wake him up – don’t wait
Beljo can’t cry too much
Chelsea’s 65m Joao Pedro with 29 G+A this season didn’t make Brazil
Imagine being one of the BEST strikers in the PL and not being good enough for the WC lol
Ditto Chelsea’s Andrey Santos and Porto’s Thiago Silva (poor Prpic – Silva joined Porto in January to make Brazil WC squad and took all his minutes – all 4 nothing)
Yeah but we aren’t Brazil.
As Dalic said. Beljo had his chance.. he probably didnt show enough in training or his matches. perhaps he doesnt mesh well with others and Dalic is concerened with keeping a good atmosphere. its not all goals and assists.
This will be Dalics 5-3-2 lineup vs england:
………………….Budimir………………….
………………….Krama…………………..
……..modric….kova….sucic…………
perisic……………………………Pasalic
……….Gvar…Vuskovic…Stan……….
…………………Livakovic………………..
Its still up in the air whether he puts Sutalo rcb and Stan rwb. Against panama he will do a full rotation in the defense.
That is the lineup except Marco pasalic he’s not starting. Stanisic is starting as RB you can bet the farm on that. And sutalo will start aside from that rest of lineup will be it.
This is so true 🤣
Gvardiol & Vuskovic as your CB partnership is pure filth
😊
X.com/ufcfooty/status/2056350416237965733?s=46
SN says only 26 to Rijeka
But Dalic highlighted Stojko as biggest dilemma – saying he’s completing w Wedding Boy and Fruk for a spot
So which one is it ???
And u wonder why Anonymous throws out nose picker and moron so often
Only Dalic / HNS can f up releasing the list and press conference that everyone – including players – don’t know anything
Unless it’s deliberate and he wants to keep them all on their toes – but it’s a bit late for that
Good to see Marco, Musa, Matanovic in. Marco has an X-factor and the other two played well last game.
I agree with Z on Budimir. Dude scores loads of goals in Spain because:
1. His team plays a specific style that suits him, spamming crosses in and hoping to get something.
2. La Liga is much weaker than what people give it credit for. Apart from maybe 5 teams in the league, it is truly not as high quality anymore. Sure, better than the HNL where Beljo is scoring tons, but weaker overall than the PL and, in my opinion, the Bundesliga.
He can score goals here and there but is slow as molasses, can’t control the ball with his feet, and is not even that strong for a big man. He has scored 1 goal against the top 4 this season and I am fairly certain a lot of his goals have been penalties. You can tell Dalic doesn’t actually truly rate him extremely highly either as he’s constantly looking for younger options to phase him out.
He has had a few decent games for us but not many. For me, the biggest contributions were earning a PK in the Nations League vs. France and heading the ball down for Modric to score against Italy in the Euros.
If we are just going to sit back and cross all game then fine he is a decent option, but if we are actually going to possess the ball and play the ball into the striker’s feet at all, he is not a good option tactically. Fine, have him on the squad, but he should just be more of an option off the bench if we just don’t have anything going and need to swing the ball in.
It is unfortunate about Ivanovic not having a great season as he probably fits our team the best out of all the strikers. Dalic knows this as well as he was trying to phase him in even during his Rijeka days.
Hey, maybe I’ll eat my words (and I’ll be happy to do so), but if our strikers are Budimir, Musa, and Matanovic. I prefer both Musa and Matanovic in the lineup as they’ve both had just about as many good appearances for us as Budimir has in half the caps and fit our style of play much better. Kramaric is not a striker as we all know and should only be playing attacking mid or as a ‘second striker’ in behind the other true striker.
Switching topics. The one thing a certain child on this site is doing right recently is talking about Stojkovic being on the roster. The guy provides a bit of flair and fearlessness not a lot of our roster does. Their style of play is not really similar but he is a bit like Vlasic when he was first breaking into the national team in terms of providing something completely different and giving us a different look, even if it’s off the bench.
I am not going to claim to have watched tons of Segecic either, but it would definitely be nice to have some speed and versatility off the bench and he’s in great form.
Majer missing out is not surprising. He does tend to show up for the national team though. I am on the fence on whether I prefer him on the roster.
I used to want Fruk on the team before he actually finally got his chance when he was actually lighting it up, but I feel as though he’s been a bit more quiet this season and needed to make the move to a slightly better team to actually prove his worth. I probably would have dropped him.
I agree that there is no need for all 3 of DCC, Pongracic, and Erlic and would prefer to drop one. Even if we play 3 ATB, Josko and Stani both are more than capable to play CB in that formation and you still have Sutalo, 2 of those 3, and even Jakic can do a job there. It would be nice if Sosa wasn’t an idiot and went somewhere where he would actually play regularly. Smolcic is so-so for me. Not a long term option, unfortunate that Valinicic had that bad injury, hasn’t been great since coming back.
Speaking of Jakic, having both of Moro and Jakic seems redundant. I get Jakic is probably going to be more of a fullback/defender for us, but I don’t see us truly needing Moro when we have Modric, Kovacic, Petar Sucic, even Luka Sucic has played some as a last midfielder. I did not mention Mario Pasalic as he is NOT a deep midfielder and I can’t stand when he plays there for us. For me, he is a great asset off the bench when we need a goal and definitely should not be starting on the wing.
I would have preferred overall, drop 1 CB, Fruk, Moro. Have Stojkovic, Ivanovic, and maybe Majer or Segecic. I would consider dropping Budimir but I can see why he gets called up, just don’t prefer him over the other 3 or 4 options personally. Not my style of striker (and in my opinion, not Croatia’s style either).
Overall, I always go into these tournaments and any Croatia game with optimism as we can beat anyone when we play well, but I think we are going to have some of the same problems as we did at the Euros in terms of the lack of speed and likely still a lack of width if Marco Pasalic isn’t in the lineup and we play a midfielder out wide. Dalic said we will play 3 ATB against England. Hopefully Josko, Vuskovic, and Stanisic/Sutalo as the CBs as I don’t think any of DCC, Pongracic, Erlic will deal with their speed and verticality very well.
Once again, I intended to make this comment a lot shorter, but couldn’t stop once I got going. I don’t comment as often as I used to anyway. We have let this become a bit of an ‘anonymous’ blog nowadays unfortunately.
Final side note, I don’t want to take people off the site, still come and engage, but most of the ‘knowledge’ and ‘eye test’ he claims to have, have come from reading Twitter/X (whatever you prefer to call it) and then claims it as his own on here. I know you’re going to read this and get upset, that’s not my intention. By all means, keep people updated on who is scoring and doing well and give your opinions, that’s the point of this site. We are not all going to agree (as I am sure the Budimir lovers will get upset reading my opinion on him), but please tone it down just a bit for everyone’s sanity.
I agree with these squad changes.
I don’t like that we’re leaving off such decent offensive wildcard options like Ivanović, Stojković and Majer… just to triple down on CBs and CDMs.
If we’re down a goal in the knockout round, subbing in guys like Moro and Pongračić isn’t going to do anything for us.
Honestly it’s not too bad and standby list is still a thing, there’s still some time.
Of course Dalic shoved all those cb’s. From his perspective a 3 back needs 3 backup cbs+1 extra for recovering Gvardiol, unfortunately pongračić, Caleta and Sutalo are awful in a 3 back and shakey in general, at least Erlić makes sense for a Vuskovic sub in the middle for his aggressive physicality in the last 5 mins but that’s it. I would have taken Mlačić over one of them but that’s probably a hot take which I didn’t suspect anyway, plus unproven in national team, but I think from how poor the 3 backup cb’s have been this season it isn’t a big gamble to try Mlačić who might be a good backup vs the others who are definitely gonna struggle.
I didn’t think much of Kotarski but it doesn’t really matter, Livakovic was the true golden glove last tournament and Pandur is promising, 3rd Gk is just for vibes, locker room and looking tall and scary. I would have thought Kahlina would be a decent pick since it’s hosted in the United States and he’s already there in mls as the best Gk in the league and has had great form (check his Sofascore ratings, I know it’s mls but still). Doesn’t matter too much tho.
If I had to swap I’d do:
Kotarski -> Kahlina
Čaleta-Car -> Mlačić (more promising, already better technically on the ball and exposure would only help him, good backup for Gvardiol. I know he’s been on the bench for udinese but started all season in hajduk and he’s been quite good in serie a when he’s played, looks better on the ball than Šutalo already and a much faster decision maker, made a good goal line clearance recently that sutalo would have never read and probably would just slip and watch the ball slide past him.) Also good in that u21 match vs Turkey. Has that ability to drive the ball forward well and dribble while being physically dominant, a strong long ball player and fast defensive decision making. Many qualities that would get value.
Pongračić -> Fullback option between Smolčić/Juranović maybe Valinčić (would have been more useful especially considering smolcic ability to go cb and Juranovic being a good sub for Perisic when he’s a wingback and stanisic going LB. Just a profile that is missing, a quick wingback, Smolčić isn’t a quick wingback at all but he at least doubles for a cb and stanisic replacement. But I guess Pongračić can go right back if needed but he’s never been good in cb with sutalo. Juranovic just came back from injury and was doing well but perhaps too late. Valinčić is fast and direct for counters but developing his decision making still. All have their weaknesses I suppose but under the right circumstance could have been a major impact sub. Mainly as a quick wingback to surprise and drive the ball forward and get us out of a rough patch.
Vlašić or Šutalo. I’d leave out Šutalo since Gvardiol, Vušković, Erlić, Mlačić would have been enough cb’s but it is what it is, I know they take more CB’s since Gvardiol is just recovering and will probably need subs. Vlašić can at least take a penalty in the shootout and is a wildcard for goals, maybe sutalo stays Erlic goes but I’d rather Erlić be there to sub out Vušković and get a tactical yellow card late game like he did vs Luis Diaz in Colombia friendly and it won’t matter since he’s not starting anyway, but one of those for:
-> Majer (Huge miss imo, I know he’s being relegated but I’ve watched his matches this season, it’s simply tactics and they have Eriksen over him, when he’s on he’s one of the most creative players on the pitch and quite press resistant, not defensive but has good movement, only struggled with his finishing and hasn’t been clinical enough.) I know many wanted Stojković but his dynamic with the team remains to be seen and with his temperament and personality, it could have been a huge gamble to take right before and we don’t want any drama, at least in this callup slot. Had Dalic tested him last year in qualifiers then it would be more clear, big risk for a bench player, Majer the safer choice. Would have been a strong sub for modrić to keep that passing ability and set pieces, with kova still controlling. We all know how important Majer set piece ability would have been for Vušković.
Moro -> Jagušić (This is disappointing, I know he hasn’t been starting and Moro is more of a controlling midfielder although now Kovačić is back so I thought he had replaced Moro, I guess Moro is included since Modrić is still technically recovering so he got an extra midfield controller. But jaga just seemed like such a big impact wildcard, I could totally see him making a breakout role if given the chance in #8 or 10 even RW off the bench. Him Segečić and Mlačić were the clear 3 to promote to senior from u21 for this tournament, you need to bring a couple future stars with no senior experience to get them that boost for the future and bring something new to the squad that other teams don’t know about yet, especially with great potential like them. Plus it will make them get more exposure for their club and possible better club signings to further improve, unlike these 30 something year old players who stagnated and stay at a mid table club for 5+ years and already peaked. Still thinking about Barca scouting Jaga, if he went to Dinamo even he’d probably be called up. I just feel his quality and goal threat would have been valuable in this group stage as a backup plan that no team would have suspected, such depth in quality we’d have. Too bad. I also see how most would say the same about Stojković which this spot would have been his too if not Jaga.)
Fruk -> Segečić
We have no Oršić this year, and sege was the clear and obvious choice for a dynamic attacking option, he’s what Dalić think’s Fruk is funny enough. Olić should have vouched for the 3 u21 guys more. Long range threat, doesn’t lose the ball, keeps balance with low center of gravity, relentless, very quick, good sub for Marco pasalic or Baturina/Perisic for either wings too, possibly even start some games. Biggest miss of the list imo but still on with that standby list. Quite simply adds the most of what we need.
Beljo would have been decent but Matanović and Musa have been way too good this season and Budimir has that goal record in better league and is better even off the bench. Beljo’s best bet would have been getting called up over Mario Pašalić since Mario is just a pseudo striker wanting to crash the box for headers, maybe Beljo would have been a better call if we wanted to just stack tall guys in the front late game with 2 target strikers for last minute goals. But Beljo is actually really technical for a target striker maybe more than Mario and has great link up play with good poaching and movement, would have been useful to capitalize on poaching mistakes. Just an option considering Mario Pašalić doesn’t contribute much in midfield other than goals and being tall in the box with a decent through pass right in front of the box, which Beljo has too+more goal threat.
Ivanović was never getting in after this season living on the bench, honestly he was kinda fighting Kramarić for that spot in which he’ll take when krama retires. I don’t think he was quite ready for this tournament, maybe nations league/euros. It’s a weird one the strikers have all been too good, could get the call over some midfielders like Fruk but was debatable for Dalić, I dont know the answer to that one, hopefully Dalić did.
The good news is the best starting XI are still called up, the bad news, Dalić trap picks in CB are here. Gvardiol, Vušković Stanišić back 3 will be strong, but DCC, Pong, Šutalo will look lost and terrified for last 10 mins of a match. Even that young Filip Pavić would have been more exciting in CB, he did well with Bayern vs Atalanta and was very calm, composed, dominat in a challenge and 100% pass completion is an ability the other 3 cb subs don’t have.
Overall it isn’t too bad although I hope Segečić gets in through standby for our sake because that’s probably the biggest problem we have fixed in one go. But we need both Marco Pašalić and Segečić as options not just calling up one. Dalić still has the important players and I think he has the tactics locked down, just gotta drop Kramarić to bench for Baturina and dynamic wingers like Marco so the genius midfield can actually capitalize on their playmaking. Also probably start Musa or Matanović, Budimir looks better as an impact sub and rotational/situational starter to create space in the box if needed like vs Italy and Albania in euro 2024, kinda like what Joselu did for Real Madrid in 2024. Just don’t start Krama and Budimir together, more of a one or the other and which skillset you need more. Vs Brazil Perisic crossed into good spots but Kramaric shoved himself there so budimir couldn’t win the header, krama obviously couldn’t win aerial duels, only if the defender doesn’t challenge him. At least one quick dynamic player needed on the pitch at all times it seems, Marco Pašalić, Segečić, Musa, (Juranović?).
Gotta agree with Vlad, the only veteran players that deserve the start are Modrić and Perišić.
Long yap over
Poor Jaga
😢
Stojko
Some guidance from Anonymous
U call Dalic and/or whoever u are closest to on the coaching staff
Today
Not tomorrow
And say “thank you very much for the call it is and HONOUR and PRIVILEGE to be called up. I want to stay sharp and match ready so want to join the Rijeka camp. Understand I’m on standby but you never know.”
Shows passion
Shows commitment
Shows desire
Shows team-first
Worse thing that happens is Dalic says “no”
But he knows you’re serious
If he says “no” then u tell him you will be training every day (be specific on what u will do / what’s the plan) until the WC starts
Don’t mention “vacation” at all in the call – that’s a nasty word – and Dalic will exclude u if he hears those words (whatever context)
Good luck
Ain’t over – stay positive – keep pushing – and are SO CLOSE
I have a longer assessment explaining this that I’ll comment but to sum up, personally I’d swap:
Kotarski -> Kahlina
Pongračić -> Juranović/Smolčić/Valinčić
Čaleta-Car -> Mlačić
Šutalo or Vlašić -> Jagušić or Stojković
Moro-> Majer
Fruk -> Segečić (most important)
Mario Pašalić -> Beljo?
Maybe some hot takes here but fortune favours the bold.
Not too bad call up from Dalić otherwise at least for our starting XI, but missing some quality that could have been useful, unlike most of those cb’s who won’t be.
No surprises on the list. Pongračic and Moro are a waste of space, but no shock they are on there since they’re Dalić’s guys.
Smolčić is on the “standby list” even though the Brazilians were storming past him (yes, I’m aware it was an exhibition).
Are we really this thin on the back up list for defenders, regardless of what formation is used?
The squad is fine except Fruk which is retarded it concerned with squad.
What is concerning is Dalic saying guys like Budimir and kramaric are the guys, I’ve said for months only old guys that can start are Modric and perisic anyone else and sorry to say it but don’t t waste your money cause will be disappointed.
It’s not like Budimir plays in a bad league. If someone can provide the crosses for him, he can be dangerous. I liked what I saw in Split against the French not too long ago.
Budimir can score 80 goals in Spain, yet he is not compatible with us
That’s a loco comment man
Not really,
He’s played for us 36 times.
He has 6 goals.
2 – Friendlies
3- qualifiers vs. Armenia, Gibraltar and Czechia.
1- nation league goal
Doesn’t really put the fear into our opponents.
Also 35y/o
Listen ma Croatian brother some facts : third leading scorer in the best LIGA in the world with players like Mbappe and yamil to compete with also playing for a sub 500 team just think what he could do if he were on real or Barca I hope Dalic starts him man
I’m not sure but kind of expected this with Dalic though…
At least 2 names that make no sense to me why they are not called up..
1.Stojkovic
2.Smolcic
Stojkovic is a diverse player who can play mid winger and forward (only other player that Dalic has used as this role player is Mario Pasalic).. Stojkovic though brings other tools Mario does not have.. blows my mind…
Smolcic as a player that plays RB only I don’t understand this either.. Yes Jakic has been used here but why not bring the real deal as it’s a position we are depleted in options for and Ivan fills that gap..
I like Segecic but the only way he gets in here unfortunately is if Marco Pasalic aint fit enough in Dalic eyes…
I can understand keeping Moro and Jakic
I like Luka Sucic but Stojkovic would be better fit today as well as I can say Erlic/DCC would been my choice for the exchange for Ivan Smolcic..
I get why Smolcic didn’t make it guy is slow. Watching Smolcic play last friendlies makes me think Italian league is junk. Guy recovery is weak I get it I get if he was LB then maybe but RB he was like maybe 3/4option
I have no issues with Smolcic exclusion… he’s slow plus
You have Jakic / Perisic/ even Marco Pasalic who can all fill in and are versatile
My only thing is why are we brining sooo may Center Backs … why Pongracic
Like in the knockouts games if we’re down by a goal …
Let’s have a difference makers on the bench like:
– Beljo
– Stojko
– Ivanovic
– Sergecic