After Croatia’s surprise exit from Euro, rumors started to swirl regarding the future of Zlatko Dalić’s position as head coach of the Croatian national team. Dalić took the position nearly seven years ago in 2017 during a do-or-die bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. As everyone knows, from there, the rest was history. Despite winning three international medals (2nd WC 2018, 3rd WC 2022, and 2nd Nations League) and widely seen as Croatia’s greatest manager ever, Dalić’s position was seen as shaky by some after a rocky Euro qualifying process and the Vatreni’s exit in the group stage at Euro. Despite Croatia’s exit, Dnevnik confirmed Dalić’s position is safe, after an exclusive interview on Nova TV with HNS president Marijan Kustić.
During the interview, Kustić confirmed after talks with Dalić, he will remain manager of Croatia until at least 2026, when Dalić’s contract runs out. This exclusive interview cements Dalić’s safety as the NT manager and puts to rest any doubt regarding his potential departure from the squad. Dalić will return with Croatia in September when Croatia kick off their next Nations League campaign in Lisbon with a clash against Portugal in the League A group stage.
International coach is needed.
Spend the money to make the gains.
Croatia always penny pinches when it comes to coaching and sticks with the cheapest options.
Thank you Igor- Been saying the same for years
ha pathetic italy gone shite side out go the Swiss
@MART and Maminjo
Love the discussion you guys are having below Slavonac’s comment. MART I’m so glad you pointed out that remark by Dalic with regard to the senators. I too share the same concern. Look I’m not a Dalic hater but he loses a bit of credibility with me when he says such things. Dalic has to redeem himself now and I think HNS is being a bit casual with the NL goal they have set for him i.e. to remain in League A. The goal should be to qualify for quarter-finals— third place in the group (which leads to relegation play-offs) should not be deemed acceptable.
Sucks that we’re out of a big tourney that happens only once every two years after merely two weeks and seeing teams like Georgia and Slovakia still in it… oh well.
As Dannyj said in an earlier comment, we will be back and STRONGER!
Dalic has a 56% win percentage with the national team with zero championships and had a golden generation to work with. If he is so great why doesn’t he coach a top team in Spain, Italy, England?
No way he should go .. disappointing performance at the euro .. sorry to say but no he should be sacked .. croatia should off progess threw the group stage he knows this ..
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8xC63Qsfw9/?igsh=NG82aWN0cmJkbnMx
It’s little consolation, but they sent the corrupt ref home.
Wolfgang Stark 2012
You think UEFA sent him home because they are upset with him?UEFA put him there. Like the Japanese ref for Brazil Croatia in 2014. You think he happened to make four bad calls against Croatia by accident? Same with the Argentine ref in the 2018 final. FIFA and UEFA know what they’re doing. Then after the fact they have to act upset. Just garbage.
Dalic is a Croatian Gareth Southgate ,plays it safe when he makes a mistake, he will often make a worse one ,killing you against oposition who react well to your own tactical weakness.
I think Bill Belichick is free maybe he can coach.
He does know how to win titles
@Wasaga Toni
You read my mind. Let’s go.
Delic must depart. Initially, his limited input was beneficial, allowing the team’s available talent and ambition to shine. However, during Euro 2024, poor decisions led to an embarrassing 2-point outcome, exposing Delic’s shortcomings as a coach.
Billy lost it with Patriots in his final few years. But he would still be better than Dalic.
I like that Dalic is staying on as coach. He is very level-headed and has the perfect temperament to deal with hot-headed Croatians. The biggest mistake that I saw that he made in this was not showing enough faith in Budimir. I thought he was our player of the tournament. Although he was not scoring himself, he was involved in all three goals that we scored. I’m not sure why he showed so little faith in him.
I’m still perplexed as to how we had absolutely no aerial threat when our ground game was abysmal?
We had a height advantage over ALL 3 teams and again just chose to pass&pass&pass looking for the perfect opening?
We scored One goal in this manner all tournament I don’t count sucic’s lucky bounce own goal.
How did our goal against Italy occur…outside in to Buddha where Chaos was created.
How many in-swingers did we have with multiple guys in the box?
Luka’s piss poor corner kicks are infuriating the few times we did get an opportunity.
Italy’s defense was a stone wall when we tried to break thru down the middle …we could have used that in a crucial moment at the end obv.
We have absolutely no creativity and are not willing to improvise or search for a new direction when the old one isn’t working.Whose to blame there ?
Remember when for those few years all we did was swing it in and hope for
The best
Im not against that as needed
I agree, we can’t just keep jamming the middle
It’s like we create our own bunker sometimes against us cause of forcing so much in the middle
Whether due to incompetent coaching or deliberate match fixing, the decisions made by Delic were baffling. Despite being ahead only 1-0, he substituted in an out-of-form Perisic and sat the excellent ball handler Kovacic in the 70th minute. Even more perplexing was the decision to rest(?) Modric in the 81st minute with the score still 1-0 instead of a more comfortable 2-0. To top it off, bringing in the defensively weak Juranovic in the 90th minute to close out the match defies all logic. Delic’s actions demand serious scrutiny, and he should be swiftly replaced.
Corruption erodes public trust in institutions and undermines the foundation of a nation’s governance. When officials engage in corrupt practices, such as match fixing or making dubious coaching decisions, it not only taints the integrity of sports but also shakes the faith of citizens in fair play and justice. Such actions breed cynicism and disillusionment among the public, weakening the bonds that hold society together. To maintain credibility and uphold democratic principles, it is crucial to root out corruption wherever it exists and hold accountable those who betray public trust.
Nije život samo nogomet, ali bez nogometa život nije život.
What does keeping Coach Dalić have to do with all of this? Get off the slivovica. The guy deserves another chance after what he has done for Croatia. And Juronovic played well at the ‘22 WC. How quickly we forget the good times! We will see how he does in the Nations League games in the Fall.
Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t know you personally, but I appreciate you. I value everyone on this site because we all care. However, let’s leave behind any defeatist mindset for good. The quarter-final should be our benchmark moving forward.
I believe we all recognize that the rest of the world perceives our achievements as mere luck. If we succumb to an inferiority complex and settle for mediocrity, we will only validate our critics.
Coach Dalić is not a defeatist but a realist. But think about it: we blew leads in the last two games on the last kicks of the game. Lightning struck twice! We were so close. Heartbreakers for sure, but he deserves one more chance to prove himself.
to the haters:
Ostajete izbornik?
Nisam čovjek koji će pobjeći nakon prvog neuspjeha. Ovo je moj prvi neuspjeh. Neće mene otjerati naslovi po novinama i komentari na društvenim mrežama. Moje mjerilo je onih 100 tisuća navijača u Njemačkoj, 30 tisuća navijača koji nakon Italije skaču i bodre nas. Znam da sam doživio poraz i da su svi koji su čekali poraz dočekali svoju šansu. Oni sad izvode penal, ja se branim.
translation:
I am not a man who will run away after the first failure. This is my first failure. I will not be driven away by newspaper headlines and comments on social networks. My yardstick is those 100,000 fans in Germany, 30,000 fans who jump and cheer us on after Italy. I know that I experienced defeat and that everyone who was waiting for defeat got their chance. They are now taking the penalty, I am defending.
once you read his questions and answers you have to see he’s definitely credible and I still stand behind Dalic. I didn’t like everything I saw but he’s done wonders for us and I’d like to see him with a new squad.
I’ve seen guys like Slaven Bilic and after a few years of totally trusting and supporting him I felt he over analyzed everything, to the point where he started to make gaffe’s because he never trusted himself and stuck with a plan. Tudor is a good tactician but he gives up way to easily and he’s a mental midget as soon as people question him. I’ve got patience for Dalic…at least for another cycle and then we re-evaluate.
…he’s very honest about the current player situation. many of us see things that aren’t there, he’s on the ground level, a professional and looking at things from that level. we questioned why Marco Pasalic or Pjaca didn’t get a chance and he openly stated that they just aren’t on the level to play a competitive match at the moment. I suggest you guys see his interview.
About time somebody brings some reason to the comments section. 2 WC semifinals and 1Nations League finals and we want to hang him? Give him the next two years to show his true meddle now. France has stayed with Deschamps. We should do the same. Viva Zlatko!
“Ovo je moj prvi neuspjeh”
Gotta disagree with this.
In addition to Euro 2024, he also screwed up badly at Euro 2020. If we’re counting Nations League, then we got crushed badly in 2019 and 2021.
His results are very volatile.
Four very bad performances, and three very good ones.
I don’t like the talk about us trying to “modernize” our game.
Personally, I love our dominant possession game… But I think we just need to go back to replicating what worked in 2018 (which was having a forward trident that presses the opponents nonstop like Perišić, Mandžo and Rebić did).
Dalić might go down the way Bilić did.
They both have similar weaknesses where they’ll default to trying to make their veteran players happy…then they get burned for it.
Gotta hope for a good World Cup qualifying draw, or else we may end up missing a tournament as it’s pretty much a guarantee that guys like Broz, Perišić, Vida and Krama will continue to get starts (and diminish over these next 18 months, causing us problems as we get closer to the World Cup).
We might do our patented “strong start” then a sudden choke job in an important game during the second half of the qualification cycle.
I’m hoping we immediately integrate Sučić, Baturina, Marco Pašalić into the starting eleven, and try out a couple of young strikers early…bring back Oršić…move Gvardiol back to CB (and order him to stay back there)…
Still keep some veterans, but in more limited roles off the bench when needed.
It won’t ever happen, but we’re planning for 2026 (not 2024) so Dalić needs to grow a spine and do this properly.
I expect the September callups to be near identical to this Euro squad, and I expect us to start the qualifiers strong… But it’s a ticking time bomb if we’re still reliant on Broz and the gang.
Maminjo, what’s this you worry about us missing the next WC?
A year ago, when I raised some concerns on here about us qualifying for the 2026 WC due to the aging squad you strongly disagreed with my comments.
We will be seeded for the WC draw unless we lose all 6 matches in the NL ?, however it still won’t be easy. We could get teams from Pot 2 like Austria, Denmark, Turkey, Hungary, Serbia, Scotland, Czech Rep or Ukraine. I think that Austria will be seeded because they have improved a lot in recent times but even so any one of the above countries would give us run for the first spot in the group and direct qualification.
Coming second means play offs and we all know how difficult they are to navigate these days just ask Italy.
I agree with the HNS decision to keep Dalic. I watched his full interview on HRT 2 and one remark worries me, when asked a question about our senior players Dalic indicated that he won’t discard them and that they are still in his plans. I just hope he means more time on the bench for some of our senators?
I’m just being dramatic. I don’t actually think we’ll miss the World Cup.
But I was always advocating for Modrić off the bench for 2026 (and not as a starter).
I would also prefer not to discard any useful veterans (like Krama) but they need to be able to accept a bench role because they will diminish in two years time. This too worries me about Dalić, especially when you see how well players like Sučić, Baturina and Marco have performed in limited minutes. I think he’ll screw things up and still start our senators until something bad happens (and then he’ll react) but it might cost us.
I didn’t expect Broz to drop off so dramatically and for Oršić to be cut from the team so easily (while we still hold onto guys like Vida).
I also didn’t expect Gvardiol to have such a terrible tournament (none of us did). At the same time, I also didn’t expect Kovačić to take such a big step forward and for Budimir to be such an impactful player. I knew Sučić was good, but he looks very good. Sučić and Budimir set up all our goals.
I think we have all the pieces to qualify and possibly do well… But it’s imperative that we integrate our youth and play these impactful players which (for some reason) weren’t obvious to Dalić.
It’s not an “age” issue (this tournament never was). It’s a Dalić issue, for not using the players available to him.
Agree we need to integrate younger players. Kovacic and Budimir were our best players and everyone else underperformed.
I feel sorry for Perisic one of our greats, I fear at 35 and suspect knee that his career at the top level is over. I’m hoping that Orsic will be ready for the NL matches in September.
We have a decent mix of vets and youth.
Kovacic, Sucic and Baturina all look very good this tournament and I would start these three in central midfield. You can sub out Baturina with Modric in the starting unit (but limit Modric to 45 min).
Marco Pasalic and (hopefully) Orsic can start on the wings (or have Ivanusec at LW as a stop gap), with Budimir in front. Budimir seems to have good chemistry with Orsic, Marco Pasalic, and Sucic anyway. We do need to scout for quality young wingers and not be afraid to call up an U21 player to test them out. Same goes for CDM, where we have youngsters like P. Sucic and Hodza.
Budimir (although slow) does try to press. Orsic and Pasalic are quick and need to press as well. They have great technique as wingers and I miss Orsic’s inside step and bombs on goal.
We needed this from our forward trio all tournament, but Dalic chose to limit Budimir’s minutes and not give anything to Marco Pasalic.
Our backline has talent. Just seems like they were in disarray and didn’t have the chemistry or support. I refuse to believe that Gvardiol can’t improve and won’t be able to captain that backline with Stanisic also being an excellent young player.
We don’t need to modernize our style. Just keep that high IQ central midfield possession type and use pressing wingers and a target man (like we did in 2018).
That starting lineup against Italy was a disaster the moment it was posted, and is what caused me the greatest concern over Dalic losing it. Everyone knew it was the wrong lineup, and we lost that first half badly and were lucky to still be in the game. Now Dalic is talking about reinventing the wheel…man, I don’t like what I’m hearing, but I guess we’re stuck with him another two years, so we’ll have to see how it goes in September onward.
Ya we forget last euro too
Obviously he’s a good coach and has had a fair share of good luck
Seems to keep good unity in the locker room
But ya im willing to blow the nations league to develop and get qualify for 2026
I bet the old guard is like well we will stay with dalic and luka
Im fine with dalic staying if it’s to keep luka as half game specialist
Put vida on the cheerleading squad as captain
Krama good for now if we can not play him at bloody left wing
Perisic , We all love him but who knows how it would have went if we finally got to see orsic in that role
Broz I thought played well against Italy
He needs to get back to Europe for a couple of years but im sure the money is too good to leave
Surely living in Saudi and playing low end stuff must not jive with his makeup
Based off what we’ve seen at this tournament…
We seems to have figured out who our best striker is (Budimir), and we have a couple of great young midfielders to integrate (Sucic, Baturina).
We can also close the chapter on Perisic ever being a starter, and now that Budimir is the chosen striker, we can play wingers that will take on opposing fullbacks and can give him additional support (like Marco Pasalic and Orsic).
Backline still has question marks, but Stanisic as a starter has to be cemented (no more Jura), and Gvardiol just needs to be made aware of his bad tournament and take more accountability (which I think he will).
No major moves. Just the obvious ones (that Dalic refused to make this tournament), and we’ll be fine.
I’m totally down with bringing in more U21 players (like Matanovic, Vuskovic, etc.) to give them a chance in the last 15 minutes of games to see what they offer too.
I’ll accept the fact that Dalic is gonna stay on, but he’s gotta improve tactics, strategy and player selection.
The upcoming Nations League campaign should be an indicator to see whether Dalic has learned his lesson. If Croatia bombs here, I don’t see how he can be kept for the World Cup qualifying cycle.
I do think that Croatia should stick with a Croatian coach. However, there are 3 assistant coaches. I think it be worth it to bring in one foreign assistant coach (as one of the 3 assistant coaches) to bring a different perspective, and who’s strong tactically.
Cause the 3 we got right now, all I saw them doing, was sitting with their arms folded on the bench. Like 3 Dida’s in the middle of the town square. They didn’t even have a pad out, scribbling notes and strategizing.
Its like people dont remember what it was like before Dalic took over lol wild.
That’s because we hired former players with zero experience (like Kovac and Stimac).
Nobody is saying we should go back to that.
Coaches get stale after a while. Sometimes they lose what they had, especially when they get older. Jose Mourinho was unstoppable, now the guy just bounces around.
Dalic seems to have lost his touch after seeing his lineups and subs this tournament.
I find that he tends to play the politics side too much (satisfying the fans, ultras, HNS, former players, veteran players, etc.) and just does things based on a consensus.
He shouldn’t be doing this.
Nothing wrong with reaching out to the other interesting options that are currently available (Juric, Terzic). But I guess the money played a big factor for the HNS, otherwise I think Dalic would have been in hot water right now.
Dalic stays stinks up the squad collects the cash opens his 2nd restaurant after the worst ever showing in a Euro comp is a joke.You need a good Cro diaspora coach, dont know who is out there ,in the US ,Agentina ,Australia ,Germany etc but someone who has forged his career on the international stage up and comer .
Completely agree
The Oakland A’s put out baseball teams that would beat the Yankees year after year, with 1/10th the salary cap., by putting the right people in the right roles. That did not happen on so many levels this year in so many ways.
On that note, I think if Kek is aggressive enough to play Croatian Bosnia born Ilicic and Sesko at the same time, and go with those to two strikers, I think Slovenia will upset Portugal again. I think Ilicic is behind Sporar in bench order though.
The Oakland A’s successes can’t be compared… national soccer team pools are limited – they can’t find undervalued players in Italy, develop a specific tool and plug them in to their system!
Believe it or not Croatia develops elite players (like the A’s actually) at a higher rate than almost any team in Europe ( but we are capped by our 4 million ish population size )
We have a thriving diaspora and Dinamo Zagreb and the HNL continues to churn out elite prospects. I see more positive in the future but the next wave might come in a couple years ( we our finishing out our most successful wave in history)
Croatia will go thru cycles, I like the idea of bringing in 6 or 7 new players in now and letting them develop together as opposed to slowly filtering some in and allowing players that will never bring much more than a bench spark to hang around! We will se if dalic will allow the next cycle to start or hang on for dear life and play ugly football and hope to strangle out results for 2 more years…
Agreed, I think we had the engines, but we did not feel comfortable utilizing them.
Your approach would be better. Unfortunately, our victories of late, have been paper thin, we don’t blow anyone out, and we scrap by to qualify to the last day and game, making us more even risk averse.
The farther we move from 1998 and the fire Croatia had was expected and lots of pent up nationalism. I remember how jacked all of Croatia and diaspora was for the success and victories. Now , 2024, it seems we have lost the vatra. The war is in the rear view mirror, people move on. Unfortunately, our whole mentality as win under all cost has changed. It isn’t a version of war for us anymore. Play crappy it’s ok, coach crappy it’s ok, let a guy run 30 yards untouched , it’s ok. My dido would have taken a shovel to all these guys and reminded them what Croatia stands for. Not one step back and winning is all that counts. I miss 1998 honestly. The vatra just doesn’t burn as hot maybe
ajde brate nemoj srat. Očito nisi bio u Njemačkoj. Niti gledao ove 3 utakmice. Vatra i dalje gori. Vidjeli ste LM koji je sve osvojio i kako plače.
Da. Istina. Crotown, ne pizdi.
Weird take, The 98 team was not a rag tag team of players hopped up on national pride that made them over achieve. They were loaded with high end talent…
If anything some have these recent teams have accomplished more with less and have consistently been more than competitive in major tournaments.
Respectfully disagree. Check where those guys were playing at the club level? 98 was all about pride of a new nation- not there now but I would say that happens 30 plus years later but it was a factor in 1998 –
At the end of the day, the players did not execute and made several mistakes. We did not deserve to get out of the group the way we played. Even though there were 8 mins added, doesn’t matter. We should have held them off. We need to stop depending on a 38 year old midfielder, another one in the Saudi desert. We need to see some youth in this squad ASAP regularly. Vida taking up a cheerleader spot is insane. Instead of getting rid of Dalic we need this as well as more of a technical support cast such as assistants. Until that changes this type of performance is the best we can expect. Stop fooling ourselves with high expectations!
Should replace him with Igor Tudor, Tudor is a great coach and has great tactics
Tactics aside, there’s a reason why he typically just lasts a season or two at every coaching stop he’s had
He is definitely talented, but he’s very emotional and can’t handle politics.
He’d walk away from the National Team the second anyone in the HNS even suggests he call somebody up.
Dalić was always a good politician, keeping everyone happy. It is his strength and it’s a reason why he’s still here despite completely botching this tournament.
Dalic received plaudits when Croatia performed well (WC 2018 and WC 2022, most recent Nations League) and was criticized when they did not (both Euros, every qualifying campaign). That’s easy to understand. But if we look at the trajectory of the national team there is no way to escape the fact that the quality has been on the downward trend this whole time. I do not think that this can change under Dalic. Croatia needs to go back to emphasizing the development of quality footballers (the type of players who would not lose their concentration in the last seconds of defending a one goal lead). Return to focusing on playing together as a team, to get us back to the team form of our peak at WC 2018. This will require a new manager and the throwing out of old allegiances and loyalties. Peak Croatia has passed, and peak Dalic has passed. This will not change until after Dalic’s contract is done. See you all after WC 2026.
And who do we replace him with Kovac?
Diego Simeone lol that guy is never coming to coach Croatia. He makes 10 times more money than Dalic and will never leave his club.
But I wouldn’t mind having Bilic take another run at it.
Mistakes were made but maybe if we played others instead it could also have been worse. We will never know
The Bilić team was fun to watch but lost at Euro 2008 on a last second goal because of confusion and loss of concentration, and Bilić couldn’t get a team with a number of great players to qualify for the 2010 world cup, although the 2008 and 2012 teams were among the most fun teams to watch anywhere ever. Kovać’s team was a lot of fun to watch but lost too many games because of getting caught pressing too far up and getting hit on the counterattack. Dalić has overall dealt better with managing the game than those other managers did, but some of the same attitudes on the field have led to some of the same results year after year.
As Ante had stated, breaking up the band is never easy. Look at the Rolling Stones, they just won’t die lol.
In all honesty we should have started the push for youth 2 years ago but I think we all wanted so badly to get Luka and Ivan a trophy more then Hrvatska.
Well at least, I did. Anyway, now going forward I can see Dalic being free of betraying the old guard.
I just hope Broz, Perisic, Krama, Budimir and Vida all announce their retirement so the new guard can begin.
I also hope that we can start getting players that all play in their natural positions.
This is major issue going forward, national teams already suffer from lack of cohesion so hopefully this will be rectified.
In Zlatko we trust! LOL
I don’t know why Sosa wasn’t getting any time on this team. He can cross the ball like no other. They need assistant coaches that will question the coaches decision and talk to the players who fail at their assignments.
How about this, we allow Brozovic and Kovacic to stay, on the old school stipulation they chase their own, not on frame shots, which currently is 95% of them. That will either break the bad habit, or they are going to leave. Either result is fine.
The HNS is now a Cult!
So basically expect no trophies. There’s no future.
Throw your jerseys in the garbage and walk away as Suker has walked away from the fans and the team itself.
It’s bad enough we get no breaks with refs (FIFA/UEFA). This does the fans and players no favors.
Go run a fucking beer league team you fucking clowns.
So, we had an opportunity to bring in a real coach that coached in a real league but instead decide to keep this budala.
The guy that has no clue on formation, playing guys out of position, wasting subs and play time on a useless Mario Pasalic, not using all his subs in games, achieving the dubious record of latest extra time goal against not once but twice within 5 days, not playing the kids enough leading up to the tournament, keeping brozovic in the starting lineup when he’s a fringe defensive option for late in game at best, rewarding Petkovic with a start after not just scoring on a clear chance on Spain and looking for the penalty. I could co on and on. He’s a budala and should have been kicked out the door.
Well said . 100% agree
This situation is unacceptable. Are we supposed to believe that half the teams in the current round of 16 have more talented players than Croatia? Anytime we fail to reach at least the quarter final in the Euro tournament, it’s clear that the coaching staff has made significant mistakes and should be replaced. It’s as simple as that.
@Filip
Croatia was in the group of death though, and half the teams in the round of 16 weren’t.
Lost to Spain, drew with Albania (Italy and Spain both beat Albania, ultimately that result is what cost us), and then drew with the current European Champions.
So close we were from making it out of the group of death, shit happens though, and it happened to us twice
@Keep it Real
Point taken.
The Croatia national football team has consistently proven itself to be among the top footballing nations in the world, and their tournament performances justify their status as a top-ten team.
Croatia’s World Cup performances highlight their quality. They reached the semi-finals in 1998, their first appearance after gaining independence, showcasing their ability to compete at the highest level. In 2018, they surpassed expectations by reaching the final, demonstrating their resilience and talent. Such achievements are not flukes but rather indicative of their sustained quality and competitiveness.
In terms of talent, Croatia boasts a roster filled with top-tier players who excel in various elite European leagues. Players like Modrić, Perišić, and Kovačić are integral parts of their respective club teams and provide a strong backbone for the national side. Their skills and experience in competitive leagues ensure that Croatia has the individual quality necessary to compete with the world’s best.
However, Croatia’s consistent failure to reach quarterfinals in the Euro is attributed to coaching shortcomings. Despite a strong talent pool, coaching inconsistencies have many times hindered their ability to achieve expected results.
Croatia’s inherent talent and international experience suggest they have the potential to perform even better with more effective coaching strategies. Their ability to qualify for major tournaments consistently underscores their quality, but refining coaching methods could unlock greater success and solidify their standing among football’s elite.
@ flip unfortunately, until we win the gold until we win a World Cup that’s when we’re gonna be taking seriously we are always going to be considered as an underdog and our success in Russia and Qatar was just pure luck that’s what pundits think that’s what certain people in the soccer community think. you go online and you check out YouTube and Reddit and some of these blogs and boards and all it has is negative things about us . yes we are a talented team. Yes we have skillful players. but we always crash and burn. We do it to ourselves. Our organization is dysfunctional. There’s in fighting 2010. There was no reason why we should not have been at the World Cup in 2010 . In 2014 there’s no reason why we shouldn’t not have made a run. We had talented players but it was infighting and bad management that prevented good quality players from being on the team and they were players that shouldn’t have been on the team playing . Brazil was a disaster. There was no reason why we should’ve lost to Mexico and guess what they fought for it and we didn’t. That’s the truth. until this organization has competent management that knows how to develop players and stop infighting. This is how it’s gonna be for a long time. Dalic is not a bad person . He has gotten credit for things he had nothing to do with . He is way over his head . Our people have had enough shame . Each year we regress is just fuel to the fire . Proof we are a team that got lucky . We are inconsistent. That needs to change .
Completely underperformed- the Toronto Maple Leafs of soccer- bring in an Indian chief – chief Jay Bronko as coach and smoke some peace pipe
Integrate youth, better penalty taker, Gvardiol is a bigger loss to our CB than he is gain to our LB position. Him and Sutalo played CB together all qualifying.
The only time we got burnt was Livakovic running out of his net like a mad man vs Turkey and Vida playing CB vs Wales. Also last gasp tie vs Wales, our first game.
Say what you will, Lovren was a vocal CB no nonsense as was Vida. Subasic was vocal. They all controlled the back. Livakovic is a quiet guy, Sutalo, Pograncic same. Brozovic is a step behind. Most goals came from there, even Calafiori made the central run to pass to Zacagni for the goal.
Yes the Albania game wasn’t the greatest showing but he was being moved around constantly. Anyone that has played the sport at a high enough level know that you do not tinker with your CB and goalie position especially during a major tournament if you already had consistency.
Dalic had more faith in our CB pairing with Gvardiol out wide than I did. Sutalo and Pograncic make errors that Gvardiol does not and those errors can ultimately lead to goals which they did.
I think if he started at CB from the first game, we’re in the round of 16 now. Spain would have won by a smaller margin. Yes Yamal would have caused more problems down the left flank but we would have been more secure in the center.
Gvardiol was literally named to the team of the tournament, one of the best CB in 2022. Yes he’s good at LB and offers us width which we were lacking (unless Pjaca, Pasalic played) but we’re not Man City.
The Gvardiol at LB experiment for NT should end. We need him more to manage the CB then play LB.
Disagree with your comments about Gvardiol, when he starts playing as a CB regularly for his club side then I would use him in that position for the national team. That applies to all our players, they need to be playing in the same positions as for their clubs.
You say that Gvardiol does not make mistakes playing as a CB for us? here are some examples:
1. First goal v Argentina at the WC, way out of position (to high up the field) leaving a gap in the defence for a through ball. Sutalo did the same thing with the first goal against Spain at this EURO.
2. Brazil goal at the WC, Neymar exchanges a one/two – Gvardiol charges out to intercept and misses. Neymar runs into penalty box brushes aside Sosa, goes around Livakovic and scores. Go and check the reply of the match.
3. Game v Turkey in Osijek, once again playing to high up the field almost on the halfway and we get caught by a long ball over the top and they score. Yes, Liva should have stayed on his line, but the initial mistake was by Gvardiol.
4. First goal by Albania, the cross comes in where Gvardiol was supposed to be. Where was he ? check the replay and you’ll see that he got dragged out of his position by following a player towards the byline/corner flag. He should not have done that when playing as a CB, that is what fullbacks do.
As his coach at Man City stated he is yet to be convinced that Gvardiol is a CB. I agree with him, and his main problem is that he does not read the flow of the game, and as such lacks anticipation where the pass is going which leads to poor positioning. If you look at all the great stoppers of the game, they weren’t necessarily quick, but what they had was the ability to anticipate where the next pass was going and positioning.
Gvardiol’s performance as a CB against Belgium at the WC was extraordinary and he also had a good match v Morocco. He is still young and that is why you get inconsistencies in his performances. It is a pity that he did not go to Italy because that is where he would have learned the finer art of defending.
To me it does not make sense playing him as a CB. We have Sutalo, Erlic, Pongracic and even DCC who play regularly as CB’s and we should be using them. If Dalic was to start using 3 – 5 – 2 formation, which I think he should consider then I would have no problems with Gvardiol playing on the left.
Fair points, I see your logic, he does get caught out here and there I will agree. Maybe I just feel more secure with him at CB than Erlic, Pongracic or Sutalo. I can’t remember Pongracic playing well for Cro aside from these past friendlies.
Who would you go with in our back line aside from Gvardiol on the left in a 3-5-2? I would also like to see that formation personally. We have tons of mid, our strength is possession, we can incorporate youth and speed on the wings (Orsic should he come back healthy, Ivanusec, Pjaca, Pasalic) and even have the 2 strikers play as one in a supporting role which is where I think Kramaric should be playing and often plays for this club team and the other as a hold up man like Budimir.
Anyone else’s comment waiting for moderation? Maybe I am writing too much or not saving my login info.
We let in 6 goals in 3 games! That’s 2 goals per game. We would need 3 goals per game to win so 9 goals in 3 games. During qualifying which was 8 matches we scored 13 goals and gave up 4. Yes we played worse teams but still unacceptable and you cannot expect to progress based on those stats. We missed 2 penalties as well. We already don’t score a lot of goals.
Another thing I wanted to add was yes the yellow’s were soft which creates more added pressure and we start backing up and bunkering, we now have to be super apprehensive but we made more errors in my opinion than previous tournaments which ultimately cost us.
As mentioned in my previous post, we had no leadership aside from Modric Kovacic (guys consistently playing in top clubs, winning trophies) in the middle. Once those 2 come off, we played on emotion and adrenaline which is anyone’s game. This was the old Croatia hence why we tied 2 games at the death.
@ CroatianPerson85
Same thing here, waiting for moderation.
What was the rush from HNS side to announce this ?
I mean the “emotion” is still fresh of Euros finishing for us
Why not make a few calls – given the caliber of candidates out there (e.g. Edin Terzic) – and explore other alternatives
At least as a “sanity check” or “market check” if u will
Wouldn’t hurt
U already have Dalic locked in for two more yrs so he is the default / fall-back
Seems impetuous….
Money.
They don’t want to be paying two coaches.
It will be interesting to see if they give him an extension.
If not, then he’ll be judged by his WC2026 results they’ll have no problem letting him go.
I’m happy with this. Yes, there are other coaches who are better at tactics, and some of his decisions may have been the wrong move, but coaching at this level is also about managing egos. I’m confident Dalic can help bring the team together and make the country proud.
I think it is the right call by HNS. We could or should have ended up with 6 points and people would have been praising Dalic. However, we stuffed up big time in the last minute or seconds in the case of Italy match. You could question the tactics or player selections; however the players need to take large share of the blame for dumb schoolboy errors. Juranovic and Stanisic ball watching and not keeping an eye on the oncoming Italian player who went on to score.
It is time for new and younger players and I’m sure that is the directive that will be given to Dalic by HNS.
Hopefully they stipulated Dalic is forced to hire 1 actual coach as an assistant. Im not sure much value these former players add
absolute garbage
no future for young talents
People are gonna go nuts when they see the September callups, haha
What’s the over/under on Vida being on that list?
What about Broz starting?
He’s either going to keep the team the same (with maybe one tweak)…
Or..
he’s going to do his 2019 Nations League experiment, where he gives every random player a run (with no strategy) then still default to the old guard when the next tournament gets close.
@ Maminjo how bad do things have to get in your opinion for them to fire him ? How many losses ? I cannot see him lasting if looses begin to stack up
I think it’s just a money issue.
He’s owed money until 2026, so they’re just choosing to stick it out.
So then it would be costly to remove him . I am shocked they did not protect themselves in the contract that he can terminated if events like euro occur . I don’t think he is a person.. he is out of touch and this new generation needs so a coach who understands how the game is played now
I do think this team has a backbone of starters (or borderline starters) more so than the 2019 nations league team because of all the retirements and tired legs… it’s really the front 4 that need an infusion of youth and speed.
I also think alot of the real prospects are about 18 months of development away, but that speeds up with real playing time!
Yes . You could not be more right
Integrate youth, better penalty taker, Gvardiol is a bigger loss to our CB than he is gain to our LB position. Him and Sutalo played CB together all qualifying.
The only time we got burnt was Livakovic running out of his net like a mad man vs Turkey and Vida playing CB vs Wales. Also last gasp tie vs Wales, our first game.
Say what you will, Lovren was a vocal CB no nonsense as was Vida. Subasic was vocal. They all controlled the back. Livakovic is a quiet guy, Sutalo, Pograncic same. Brozovic is a step behind. Most goals came from there, even Calafiori made the central run to pass to Zacagni for the goal.
Yes the Albania game wasn’t the greatest showing but he was being moved around constantly. Anyone that has played the sport at a high enough level know that you do not tinker with your CB and goalie position especially during a major tournament if you already had consistency.
Dalic had more faith in our CB pairing with Gvardiol out wide than I did. Sutalo and Pograncic make errors that Gvardiol does not and those errors can ultimately lead to goals which they did.
I think if he started at CB from the first game, we’re in the round of 16 now. Spain would have won by a smaller margin. Yes Yamal would have caused more problems down the left flank but we would have been more secure in the center.
Gvardiol was literally named to the team of the tournament, one of the best CB in 2022. Yes he’s good at LB and offers us width which we were lacking (unless Pjaca, Pasalic played) but we’re not Man City.
The Gvardiol at LB experiment for NT should end. We need him more to manage the CB then play LB.
Your are kidding
Dear Dalic –
First order of biz
Can we pls fix our penalty taking set up (it’s obvious which side Petko and Modric were going to shoot before they even took the first step in their run up)
1) Modric penalty
Croatia lined-up 3 players on the right-side where Modric ultimately shot the penalty (Buck Teeth Bambi Budimir, Sucic and Stanisic) all making a full-out/hard run as Modric ran up to & struck the ball (vs. 5 Italians) – on the other side we only had Gvardiol who was strolling in (vs. 5 Italians)
Donna knew what side Modric was going to shoot – based on the configuration of the other players (3 right-side vs. 1 left-side)
As an aside, Buck Teeth Bambi Budimir encroaches by two steps (so even if the penalty went in it wouldn’t have counted)
2) Petkovic penalty
Exact same thing – but in reverse – we had 3 players running full-out/hard on the left-side as Petkovic makes his up to & strikes the ball vs. only one player strolling on the right-side very late
So – all the teams/goalies are doing to scout our penalties is not even care about the shooter’s tendencies (ironically) – they just look what side we have 3 (and running hard) vs. 1 (strolling) and know the penalty is going that way
So next penalty – expect to see 1 (on the side the penalty is going) vs. 3 (on the side the penalty is not going) – and we should be able to sneak one in
Ur welcome
Ouch! I hope that is not really true. Nice catch.
Dalic a b coach ,he got lucky with the senior group that anyone could have coached, hes a parasite and theyll regret keeping him if he stays all that time.
Lucky?? Look at Modric’s face after losing in the 2016 Euros. Lucky? Go back to 2017 and see why he was hired in the first place. Lucky?? How many teams have gone to the semifinals of the last 2 World Cups? Croatia was just lucky to hire him! Viva Zlatko!
They got to the finals and semi finals because the senior players coach themselves talk to anyone who actually knows someone in the team (you dont obviously )dalic is a coach but not agreat one and definitely not an elite one.
They got to the finals and semi finals because the senior players coach themselves talk to anyone who actually knows someone in the team (you dont obviously )dalic is a coach but not agreat one and definitely not an elite one.
Yeah sure, Luka Modric did a great job coaching the last 7 years. And Kovacic sure helped. And don’t forget about Brozovic. Oops, I forgot Vida. Great job Zlatko for faking us all out. And thanks Gaz for knowing so much. And yet Coach Dalić is staying till ‘26! Viva Zlatko for his great acting ability!
you are absolutely delusional –
you are shiit _ for a dalic’s ass worsiper
Thanks for the compliment.
Didier deschamps best damned manager in the world
Mister DALIC lags behind contemporary coaches like didier deschamps
My guess is he calls up Oršić this time haha
He needs to get integrate a younger generation of player now- even if they aren’t 100% ready! Especially in the wings and attacking options….
Marco Pasalic
Vidovic
Zvonarek
Simic
Ljubicic
Sucic
Pjaca
Majer
Baturina
Ivanusec
Even if these players are on the end of the bench, let them get exposure in training (vida Petkovic musa ) don’t need to be in the squad anymore
Seriously yes at least get rid of vida that’s just such a waste…
But if you ask me also get rid of broz lol
I’m starting to think there was some biased against musa
Still insane we have a complete difference maker(albeit the injury) sitting at home
And two strong wingers who can create with pjaca and pasalic never seeing the pitch
Maybe I’m missing something but you can’t tell me playing krama or majer who aren’t either Particularly quick or powerful is better
He’s the coach so we go with it but ya….
Matanovic maybe get a shot
Zvonarek looks like he could be a thing
Vidovic maybe???
Sucic, baturina need more playing time going forward
I think the positive with Dalić staying is I think luka will stay
I hope he takes a half game role
Kova can intertwine with the youngsters more
Obviously both baturina and sucic naturally bring more natural offence
That sucic shot was legit
More legit then almost anything kova has taken for the repka
When I think I broz shots too they seem to be field goals normally
The sucic shot was world class and probably beats a lesser keeper
The back line
I actually thought pongarcic and sutalo played well overall that Italy match
Maybe pongarcic can stay on his game
I guess erlic is out of favour?
I don’t remember him being terrible for us in any games