Zlatko Dalić is set to make a series of puzzling changes for the match against Panama. Clearly, he has different takeaways from the England game than most fans do, so let’s break this down.
The shift back to a more natural 4-back is refreshing. But this is where the good news ends. Star young defender Luka Vušković is set to be DROPPED for the match against Panama. Is this punishment for his England performance (in which he helped cause Baturina’s goal, but also should have done better against Bellingham), or does Dalić truly think Vušković is incapable of playing in a back four? Does Dalić forget that Luka played in back fours nearly his entire career, at Hajduk, Radomiak and Westerlo? One season in a back three surely means he’s lost the ability to understand a simple footballing system. We here at Croatiansports.com are also certain that Fiorentina (relegation-threatened) defender Pongračić and soon-to-be Real Sociedad reject Ćaleta-Car are better suited to this style than 70M-euro Vušković! Not to mention, an out-of-form Šutalo being higher in the pecking order than Luka.
This change is really puzzling when the main issue against England was not personnel. It was tactics. Why are we playing a high line with a 3-back against one of the best and fastest teams in the world? It was a miracle we only got punished for this in the second half, as there were enormous gaps any time England countered the ball. Luckily, we play Panama, which should not be the same quality as England. Pongračić and DCC should be fine here. But also, this could trick Dalić into a false sense of security, causing him to continue starting them into the knockout rounds, where a more talented team will punish us.
The issue with the England match was Dalić trying to go toe-to-toe with a team of superior overall quality. These chaotic fixtures never work out in our favour; think 2021/2024 Spain and 2022 Argentina. Croatia needs to set the tempo, defend deep, and lull the opposition into a boring chess match where we win 1-0 or 2-1. Especially against big teams like England. Scrap the high line NOW!
Additionally, Dalić wants to shoehorn Kovačić back into the starting eleven, knowing that replacing Modrić and Sučić is a no-go. The result? Marco Pašalić is once again wrongfully benched. Petar Sučić is our best runner in the midfield, but Dalić would rather opt for the old legs in the pivot and isolate Petar on an island where he is out of position and touches the ball much less. What more will it take for Marco Pašalić to prove he MUST start on the wing? Must he score every time he gets subbed on for 20 minutes? Marco has hardly had a poor performance in the checkers, yet Dalić just refuses to acknowledge this. If we do not start two true wingers, this Panama match can turn into a “toothless attack” against a “low-block” type of game… which has the dangerous potential of becoming a draw.
Finally, Petar Musa is set to be benched. The first time a striker has scored for us since Matanović against Colombia, he gets benched the next match. We looked fast, and we pressed well with Musa. He is confident and motivated after scoring on his World Cup debut. What does Dalić do? Benches him for Budimir. This is a true head-scratcher.
Here’s what Croatiansports.com would prefer:
Defence
The position in which Croatia has their most talented up-and-coming superstars in Joško Gvardiol, Luka Vušković and Josip Stanišić was also their biggest Achilles’ heel against the Three Lions. Zlatko Dalić implemented a 3-back, which has notoriously failed for us in recent times, and a high line with minimal defensive instruction, which created spaces the size of the Grand Canyon in our defence. England obviously exploited these areas and punished us on the counter, specifically in the second half.
These are our four best defenders. Play a 4-back and play responsible, defence-first football. There is no need to switch any of these guys out for lesser players.
Midfield
We need legs. Petar Sučić is an 8, not a RW. Dalić should swap Modrić for Kovačić at the 55-60th minute mark. There was no problem here otherwise.
Baturina and Perišić showed their qualities against England, and they will start. As for Marco Pašalić, don’t get me started again.
Attack
Ante Budimir brings no pace, and he’s out of form. Play the hot hand; play the Moose.
What are your thoughts on Dalić’s projected lineup? What did he get right, and what did he get wrong?
I will never understand why sutalo keeps getting a game.
Must be related has to be
Hi awareness is terrible
Jakov Medic far better player with presence . Sorry ,Sutolo dont have any strong presence, just makes mistakes
and can’t remember how many goals he has cost croatia and Ajax.
Joke
100% v England was our best starting side.
Now Dalic chops and changes and of course best Panama. He Dalic will then believe he has found his new team.
Our team selection v England was fine, the formation was our downfall.
If we played more compact and closer instead of playing so open England who actually one of the favourites for this tournament would’ve been frustrated and anything could’ve happened.
They made Vuskovic the scapegoat because Gvardiol was not 100% fit and he was compensating
i agree gvardiol.is winging it if someone is fitter replace him
This shitty start to the tournament would never have happened with Majer on the field. Just saying… and joking (relax).
Maminjo beat me to the punch
There is a reason we feel so disappointed when we hear vuskovic won’t be a starter
And that reason is because with him there, we felt hope that Croatia has upped their talent level enough to still give themselves a chance of doing something special
Without him, you look at this team and compare to 2022 and say “hmmm, modric, perisic, kramaric, kovacic all older… brozovic better than p sucic…gvardiol not in form compared to 22…lovren better than sutalo…. “ and you start feeling that this teams floor may be raised but its ceiling lowered
brozovic is not better than p sucic
U need fast and strong defenders to deal with attackers from african or central american descent.
England: dealing with makuke rashford.
Ghana: semenyo etc.
We are not fast as these players. If u realise, many countries are deploying this tactic..playing these players as attackers
Sweden: elanga and isak
Australia: 8-0-2 formation with 2 of such attackers playing upfront while the rest defend against turkey
England: pushing makueke rashford upfront while kane went to defend.
Canada, USA all doing the same.
Nowadays modern football needs strength and pace (high intensity and pressing). Thats why u see CR7 and modric not performing.
Dont get it
Jakic sutalo gvardiol stanisic back 4 is working well for qualifier..why rock the boat? U need gvardiol as CB no matter wad.
“Pongračić and DCC should be fine here. But also, this could trick Dalić into a false sense of security, causing him to continue starting them into the knockout rounds, where a more talented team will punish us.”
This comment could not be more true.
Removing Luka Vušković just capped the ceiling of this team for the knockout rounds.
Dalić is trying to (mildly) raise the floor of this team, but he is sacrificing the ceiling to do it.
Just look at who scored on England only a few minutes after they went ahead of us on that BS penalty re-take goal.
Vušković to Baturina to Sučić (with the lažnjak) back to Baturina with the top corner shot.
These are prime Perišić-level plays these kids are making.
Yet when Kovačić comes in later in the game, and has one of our better chances to take an open shot on goal…he couldn’t have done worse with it. He pretty much passed it to Pickford.
Guys like Pongračić, Kovačić, Mario Pašalić, etc are all very experienced and will give you a solid baseline of play…but they don’t have that ex-factor in them to make a difference in the opponent’s third where you need something over and above what is expected of you.
Granted, I’ll give Mario Pašalić credit for sending the ball inside to Perišić for that second goal…but the creation was all Perišić, who still has that high-ceiling creativity and skill to create something from nothing (like he’s done many times for us at World Cups, like his amazing goal against Japan last time).
Panama and Ghana are worse that us, so we are likely to dominate possession anyway and (so long as our defenders remain somewhat disciplined) we should be able to pull off the 6 points.
But once we get into the knockouts (where we likely play Colombia or Portugal, then likely Spain), all of this will go out the window.
We won’t have possession, and our CBs will be under a different kind of pressure, and we will have reduced our creativity and skill by leaving the talent on the bench.
We could end up eliminated early, Dalić will give us a press conference telling us that we are a small country and we should be happy to even be where we are (and that these other teams are World class), and then the HNS will extend him or promote Olić.
A loss vs. Panama isn’t going to come down to Luka V being the CB over one of the other 4 options – BUT – a win vs. Panama could come down to Luka V being the CB due to his elite aerial ability for headers/finishing in the offensive box (not just headers – see scorpion kick at HSV, etc)
Dalic and the nose pickers should know this
IMO Dalic should just say Luka V is staring in a back 4 vs. Panama and end this distraction – gives Luka V time to get mentally prepared – and takes the air out of the topic from fans and pundits – otherwise it’s going to be a distraction every day right up to when the line-up is announced – Dalic should have no problem doing this as he LOVES (for some ret@rded reason) telling the media days/weeks/months in advance his formation and who he is starting – now it’s a matter of doing it 3 days in advance
It’s too bad it wasn’t Luka instead of Sutalo at the far post on the corner from Perisic in the first 2 minutes – Luka V would have volleyed that in top corner 9 out of 10 times
It’s too bad Musa (top speed 26 km/h lol) didn’t get on the end of Luka’s perfect left foot 55 yard pass at 04:30 (should have been a goal or at least red card by Pickford if Musa actually ran full speed at it instead of stopping)
It’s too bad when Luka V stripped Kane of the ball near their box early on (he shouldn’t have been tasked with following Kane all the way there, it should have been a midfielder) and starting to run into their box – he didn’t just fired a shot with his left foot (which we know he can do) instead of making a turn and trying to continue the dribble on his right foot – which was then a COMPLETE BS call that Luka V fouled Kane bc Kane just stood in front of him and flopped – and free kick England
If any/all of the above – and that’s like in the first 10 minutes – resulted in a goal – there would be no discussion about Luka V
kane is a notorius diver flopper for advantage seen him do it so many teams .
Hrgovic is fighting Itauma in the end of August. This is a tough task for El Animal. Moses is a up and coming prospect with lots to prove. Hrgovic is getting up there in age and Moses wants to be a top ranked opponent now.
only ever one punch a way from being knocked out .
Lots of people are judging Croatia for allowing four against England. We’ve actually played a solid quality team. Say what you want about England and the persistent jokes about blowing the big games (which they do) they did look fast, more structured and skilled than previous years. Then again, our mistakes did allow them to score.
The amount of blow outs that are happening is ridiculous. The quality has dropped to a new low. I’ve never seen 5-1 or 7-1 games this frequent.
Croatia will win Tuesday. Panama is fast but unorganized and dirty.
Japan and Germany look solid. I can see Japan making the semis.
Agree! Japan was my dark horse pick prior to the tournament .
I pray you are right CC.
I woke up this morning fearing a compete disaster against Panama.
If curaçao , Cape Verde and Paraguay can make miracles happen why not Panama ?
Curaçao just barely got a point with the goalie making 16 saves, a new record. Cape Verde looked better than Panama in my opinion. I watched Panama and nothing stood out. Paraguay winning was a fluke. They were on a red card and still won. Turkey is a flop this tournament. I still have nightmares from 08 in that penalty match and last second goal.
Croatia does well where against the ropes. I wouldn’t even say we are after the England game. Just some defending and common sense like marking the best player on corners, cutting off angles, and not conceding penalties.
Andy Bara got Newcastle and finally Liverpool to buy his client Munoz for 40m
After Madrid sold him to Osusana for 8m 12 months ago
That’s the kind of clubs a super-star agent like Andy Bara gets u to
The best part – Bara rushed the deal – and at the medical Liverpool realized Munoz is injured and won’t be back for a while – hence why Bara was rushing it (before the info came out)
Bara is the GOAT
Jaga – u reading?
If Croatia can’t beat Panama & Ghana, they won’t win the next game with 4 points, they need to win convincingly, & they will, England will most likely make the final, they got what it takes to win, TALENT, DISCIPLINE,WITH A GOOD COACH
Just watching Japan now and how well structured they are reminds me a bit of us ..
I can’t carry on
Im sad
I just want to re-post what @Guest had posted earlier in another article which only got published belatedly as it was stuck in moderation. Doing this in the vain hope that Dalic and crew gets to read it somehow…
https://croatiansports.com/player-ratings-england-4-2-croatia/#comments/528654
People criticizing Vuskovic are mistaken.
He won the ball well in a dangerous area that England tried to protect desperately, that interception gave us the first goal and back into the game out of nothing. Šutalo, Erlic, caleta are not doing this, almost no one on our bench are. It’s all just tactics, he had the most defensive contributions for us and he played 30 less minutes, he should had stayed on and took off sutalo. Dalic is forcing him to defend large gaps and slotting a CB who is also slow and doesn’t support him (Šutalo). We don’t have any fast Cb’s other than Gvardiol, stanisic and kinda Pongracic, fielding any other Cb instead of Vuskovic ruins our build up, reading of game, clearances, our offensive set pieces which Dalic should invest in an prepare plays with Vuskovic, etc.
The Faroe islands own goal was not his fault, it was Mario pasalic losing the ball in the worst possible area, Vuskovic had an amazing game that day too and was amongst our highest rated. 2nd goal vs Belgium was Dalic forcing Vuskovic to defend giant gaps again especially late game with Moro losing the ball in a horrible area although it was probably a foul not called, system issue don’t do that, Gvardiol there with stanisic staying back a bit fixes it. 3rd goal vs England was also Mario pasalic and sutalo being slow too, and Gvardiol and stanisic being forced into going wingback attacking too far up the pitch again, if Gvardiol is back beside Vuskovic in cb, then Gvardiol is stopping that Bellingham goal, but he was too far forward. Dalić’s system forcing Gvardiol to be attacking when he’s our best player defensively, man city figured it out at the start of the season and thrived, hope dalić agrees now. Also notice how when Vušković came off vs Brazil, we concede 2 goals in 8 minutes, with Šutalo and Pongračić proving they’re not dependable enough as our CB partners.
Erlic, Šutalo and Čaleta are all slower than Vuskovic but offer less in other areas. The problem was systemic, not Vuskovic. All of those players would have done worse vs England than Vušković, some of yall are searching for a type of Cb we do not have, like Khusanov or Van De Ven with 37 km/h top speed or more. We don’t have that, so we must play a more compact 442 in defensive transitions, 4231 in attack, possible 31213 diamond shape when building up, many options in possession for build up with such versatile profiles covering us.
England deliberately abused the giant gaps and wouldn’t cross or play in the air near Vuskovic. The corners all avoided Vuskovic and went to the back post where sutalo was. Why did sutalo dodge the ball and flinch away from Kanes 2nd goal? Block it! As for the marking error it’s still not on Vuskovic, his man didn’t beat him, he covered his guy, he didn’t lose any aerial duel, he just didn’t have any on the corners since they avoided him and didn’t cross to his marker. As for open play they never crossed near Vuskovic once. Just sutalo at back post and he struggled. Bench sutalo so Vuskovic can play in the RCB spot that sutalo takes from Vuskovic, put Gvardiol next to him on the left to balance it.
It doesn’t matter if we have 1 really good CB, if the opposition targets the other CB, any quality one cb has is effectively nullified as he cannot overcompensate positionally for another CB, if the other cb loses a duel, the other one would have to create a giant space to go help them, which will be exploited if they moved. Both CB’s need to hold their own.
Still don’t know how people don’t see it,
We played a back 4 with Petar Sučić RW vs England again functionally, just like vs Brazil and had the same problems vs fast wingers and midfield overload. Gvardiol and stanisic were wingbacks vs England and sutalo and Vuskovic stayed back as CB’s with Mario pasalic attempting to be the dm functionally, it is very important people recognize this, and Petar Sucic essentially our RW and stanisic always going forward; bad idea. The 3 slowest players on our team defending wide gaps, it’s the one thing they shouldnt do. We don’t have players who can effectively defend like this, it cannot be our defensive gameplan. Especially forcing our fastest defenders Gvardiol and stanisic forward leaving Vuskovic, sutalo and Mario pasalic to defend large space without the pace, bad plan.
Very simple, we bench Mario Pašalić who was doing the makeshift DM/Centre half role and put Jakić RB which fills the gaps that Šutalo and vuskovic were struggling to cover without much pace so it’s more compact anyway and our cb’s can focus on the box and have more support defensively. Don’t force Mario pasalic to do it from midfield, he doesn’t have the pace to manage midfield and defensive duties with a back 3, especially vs fast opposition. Instead of relying on Mario to track back to defend, just put Jakic but in RB who’s already gonna be back to give cover, focus on breaking up play and defend it head on instead of chase backwards; it’ll give more value to him and allow our other players to focus on their roles better, we’re just offloading a duty to a player better equipped to deal with it, plus solving the back 4 system.
Now that Mario is out, we slot Petar Sucic beside modric where Mario vacated instead of forcing Petar at RW. This solves modrić’s problem of being exposed defensively more and fields our strongest CM’s with balance. Jakic and Petar Sucic stamina, energy and workrate supports him. No it does not overwork Petar Sucic. When it’s sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol and stanisic back 4 then yes it overworks Petar Sucic in double pivot. Šutalo, Gvardiol, Vuskovic won’t give jakić’s engine in midfield, benching sutalo and letting Gvardiol be the Cb allows Jakic to give energy on the right holding midfield areas in possession opposite to Petar Sucic on the left, so modric is surrounded and protected by hard working ball winning midfielders in transition and Gvardiol and Vuskovic finally elite and balanced cb pairing behind him, stanisic covering with pace too, with all 4 ready to make a compact back 4 to defend the box when defending our final 3rd.
Now that Petar Sučić is in midfield, the RW slot is open for Marco Pašalić who as I’ve said improves everything, he helps modric escape pressure, he helps tracks back, defend, supports wide areas, he helps Musa score more, it’s a win all across the board, not to mention his long range goal scoring ability and pace pushing defences back.
At least when it was Marco Pašalić on the right and Vušković back like vs Colombia they could carry us.
How is Vušković getting the blame and Šutalo is getting off free again, idk.
Our best CB’s are clearly Gvardiol and Vušković, doesn’t take a genius to see that, I know we don’t have any fullbacks like Gvardiol other than stanisic but I’d rather Jakić at fullback than any backup Cb we called up. Either clone Gvardiol or just put Jakic RB.
Dalić’s 4231 that he used against Slovenia, perfectly implements Gvardiol and Vušković in CB. That is what is important as he’s prepared for this, it’s clear Gvardiol and stanisic both fullbacks doesn’t do us any favours defensively nor offensively. So why force it? It lost us the game vs Spain in the euros because it forced pongracic and sutalo to anchor us when Gvardiol and stanisic were forward which they couldn’t and has screwed us many times since, Gvardiol in man city had the same problems defensively from LB, we just can’t afford him anywhere but in CB, the 4-2 result vs England should be the last straw for Dalic and realize Gvardiol CB in back 4 helps us from such sloppy defensive structure like vs England. Only Gvardiol on occasion going forward with a solid back 4 works but he’s also recovering from injury so CB is the clear and obvious choice to put him in, instead of athletically defending wide areas and tricky wingers, also why England started Madueke, Gvardiol isolated vs him screwed us.
People complaining Gvardiol isn’t the same like he used to be, well that’s because he isn’t being used in CB for Croatia like 2022. The first half of the season he was CB again for city because they realized they needed him there and they were doing amazing.
Jakić and Stanišić were brilliant vs Montenegro in qualifying, many of stanisic highest rated matches this season had been from LB, he only stopped playing there because Davies and Laimer returned.
It seems Stanišić is able to be a better playmaker on the left side too even from deep areas, good if Petar Sucic or modric goes forward. At Bayern he swapped to different sides of the back 4 mid game whenever to better influence the match, his reading of the game defensively made wherever he plays in a back 4 irrelevant in a fluid versatile back 4. The only thing you lose from stanisic going LB is he won’t cross, but we have Perisic on the left and Marco pasalic on the right for effective crossing, stanisic isn’t as effective at crossing as those 2 so I don’t see any problem, we haven’t gotten much from Stanišić right sided crosses or cutbacks anyways, especially since he can play through passes into the box even more effectively from the left side like he’s done earlier this season many times, he’s gotten most assists and key passes like this. Also considering England targeted our left side, if Gvardiol ever steps up from LCB then we’ll have stanisic to cover with pace at least, 2 fast defenders in strong positions that we’ve prepared and Dalic knows how to implement, it’s a win win.
People talking about how we should have the best defence this tournament, well duh, we’ve just haven’t used them right, they’re box defenders, Gvardiol, Vuskovic not specialized 1v1 lockup fullbacks or covers giant space with pace cb’s (although Gvardiol not too bad vs space when he stays back). Play our 4231 system that we used in the euros, qualifiers and nations league with Gvardiol and Vuskovic CB’s and we’ll be fine, not Pongracic or sutalo, it’s a straight swap.
Summary:
Jakić makes sure Petar Sučić isn’t overworked like vs England, he also has the engine and ability outwide which makes benching Mario Pašalić for jakić at Rb effective and Sučić and Modrić double pivot work. Jakić also isn’t out of position since at Augsburg he drifts wide behind a winger and drops into his teams 3421 from midfield to make it a 4 at the back constantly, so he isn’t out of position he’s extremely familiar with the role and position. Box to box, engine and ball winning midfielders have the same skill sets as normal fullbacks usually, Kimmich, Valverde, Lahm, Trent, even Szoboszlai able to slot into DM or RB no problem because of their profile.
With Petar Sucic in midfield we can put Marco Pašalić in RW, which supports modric better all around.
With Gvardiol in CB, we can drop Šutalo.
Stanišić plays better LB playmaking wise, instead of him crossing or cutting the ball across the box with his right foot, we let stanisic do more deeper or even advanced playmaking while giving us coverage defensively with pace which actually improves stanisic for us, not out of position. This lets stanisic defend more than attack, I’d rather Marco pasalic on the right attack and stanisic defend. Plus we don’t score or attack that much from stanisic right sided crosses and Marco pasalic and Perisic can do the crossing for him anyways.
Vuskovic is now supported better with Gvardiol cb and stanisic Jakic more defensive fullbacks, even Petar Sucic deeper helps with modric able to help more with him being supported more. Plus Marco pasalic can now add pace even on the right when defending. Still keep Baturina and Musa and Perisic while effectively fixing our midfield and defence.
Only other option is Pongracic but Jakic was much better in qualifiers and helps everyone more, plus Gvardiol at cb will always be best.
So I’ll list it again, if anyone can point out anymore flaws in it to iron out this lineup, I can see it only solving our defence, helping modric and keeping our great attack vs england but improving it further with Marco Pašalić.
4231
GK Livaković
LB Stanišić
LCB Gvardiol
RCB Vušković
RB Jakić
LDM Petar Sučić
RDM Modrić
CAM Baturina
LW Perisić
RW Marco Pašalić
Subs:
1. Luka Sučić -> Modrić
2. Fruk in the Majer role -> Perišić (Baturina goes LW)
3. Matanović/Budimir -> Musa
4. Kovačić/Moro – any midfielder if defending or Mario Pašalić in if chasing
5. Literally whoever for resting someone
6. (kramarić and Vlašić for penalty shootout).
It’s not too much different but Mario Pašalić and Šutalo out, Marco Pašalić and Jakić in, objectively better lineup than vs England, which solves all problems. Not even that Mario Pašalić is bad, he’s just more effective off the bench when chasing goals, it’s his specialty which supports his playstyle, and we require a different defensive profile in our back 4. Plus Šutalo overlaps too much with Vušković when fielded at the same time, it’s either or and should be Vušković starting, these mistakes have been here before him even joining us, mostly since euro 2024. In our 2 cb’s it’s either Gvardiol or Pongračić in one slot, and either Vušković, Erlić, Šutalo or Čaleta-Car in the 2nd slot. Obvious best choice is Gvardiol and Vušković and with a 4-2 loss with defensive problems, this is the time to make the tactical shift.
When Dalić uses his 4231 system like this, it’ll give us better defensive coverage.
Should also say Vušković has obviously played RCB in a back 4 before, he did this season for Hamburg for some games and obviously u21 and hajduk.
Gonna take a break from the essays lol. Hope it’s forwarded to Dalić.
Thx Bart
Sorry bart,
Lost you at trzhhddisdh then you comprehend, then…
Superb analysis, Bartolec!
The explanation of Jakic’s role at Augsburg was particularly helpful. I had him pegged as primarily a midfielder, and didn’t realize his full defensive role and responsibilities for his club team.
The Bundesliga is a physical league with good speed, and Jakic might fit in very well for both the Panama and Ghana games in particular.
That is . . . Great analysis from @Guest and thanks for reposting it Bartolec!
Yeah all credit to @Guest for bringing up Jakic’s assigned role at Augsburg, I don’t think a lot of us here watch his club games right haha. Honestly I dunno… Jakic at RB means both him and Stani are out of position but I’m really desperate to see our defense improve considerably from this point and maybe, just maybe the key to it all is moving Gvardiol to the center and pairing him up with Vuskovic.
Praying that izbornik makes all the right decisions hereafter as there is simply no room for error anymore. Btw you used a horse racing term (stepping it up in company) as an analogy for Marco P going up against a higher level of competition from HNL/MLS — that’s a really interesting description imo 🙂
This would be my ideal lineup as well. Seems so obvious, hopefully Dalic understands this as well.
Hopefully Dalić reads this
If not us, hope Japan win this tournament.
Their fans are the coolest mo-fos ever
@Markus –
It’s nice to see your evolution and you become more confident in your opinions
Keep at it – you’re doing very good
Anonymous particularly enjoyed your assessment of Luka V CB alternatives
@Mart –
Pasting in my response on this thread so u see it…
The thing is – people need to remember
It’s not a decision made in isolation/on an absolute basis
It’s made RELATIVE to other CBs available
Brighton are preparing to make a FORTH BID for Luka V (above 52m)
None of the the other CBs (excluding Josko) have ever (or will ever) be worth anywhere close
If we had prime Lovren available – then of course he would start over Luka V – but that’s not what we have available
We have Sutalo (Ajax is selling this summer – and you wont find one Ajax fan that speaks well of his last season – although I thought he was decent vs. England but that’s also bc Stanisic was outstanding (2nd fastest player at the WC – wow!) and shut down Gordon before he was trouble, Duje (who Sociedad didn’t buy for 3 million buy-out and returned to his parent club), Erlic (who Bologna sold to his Danish club after one year at a loss bc he wasn’t good enough for Serie A) and Pongracic
At best – these are “average” CBs options – people acting like Luka V would be taking a spot from Gabriel, Saliba or Virgil lol (who by the way ALL made at least one error in the first match – leading to a goal – as e.g. look at Gabriel for Morroco goal – terrible positioning/terrible read/wrong decision making and slow run back – and he’s a decade older than Luka V – and starts for Arsen@l the PL champions and CL finalists!)
A loss vs. Panama isn’t going to come down to Luka V being the CB over one of the other 4 options – BUT – a win vs. Panama could come down to Luka V being the CB due to his elite aerial ability for headers/finishing in the offensive box (also one of the players said today they discussed Panama and they LOVE to cross the ball into the box – Luka V is by far the best aerial CB we have – and it’s not even close (he’s already one of the best in the World on aerial/heading))
Dalic should just say Luka V is staring in a back 4 vs. Panama and end this daily distraction – gives Luka V time to get mentally prepared and relax – and takes the air out of the topic with the media – otherwise it’s going to be a distraction every day – Dalic should have no problem doing this as he LOVES (for some ret@rded reason) telling the media days/weeks/months in advance his formation and who he is starting – what a MORON !
T.O. croats, take care of our guests from outta town.
Croatia house apparently is sold out.
Hope more tix become available for pre-game because 2500 capacity is not enough.
Let’s go!!!!
If anyone can confirm more tix become available for croatia house would be much appreciated.
Ty
What is Croatia House exactly?
I don’t think you need tickets to take part in any of the marches taking place outside the stadium.
Z,
I’ve heard they’ve sold 3800 thus far (as of yesterday). Not sure if any more are available but initially it was supposed to be 2500 max.
I’ve got mine last week thankfully.
The atmosphere should be amazing, and it’s only a few hundred metres from BMO field which is nice. This should be basically a home game.
Looking forward to seeing them start their run with a solid win.
Thx
First of all, let’s wait until 1 hour before kickoff to see the actual lineup… Last time this website wrote “breaking news” indicating that Kovacic would start against England yet he didn’t. Second of all… Outside of the formation change, from a player perspective there are only three different players from the England starting lineup… Musa, Vuskovic, and Pasalic out with Budimir, Caleta Car and Kovacic in…
Undav started in the 4th division Germany (just like Biondic)
Then moved to USG (like Biondic) – for two seasons – then Brighton, etc
Check out his career progression
2015–2017 TSV Havelse 67 (32)
2017–2018 Braunschweig II 18 (9)
2018–2020 SV Meppen 69 (23)
2020–2022 Union SG 65 (43)
2022–2024 Brighton 22 (5)
2023–2024 Stuttgart (loan) 30 (18)
2024– VfB Stuttgart 56 (28)
International career
2024– Germany 11 (9)
tru dat
Dalic has been a fake from the beginning. We had talent so it was well shielded from his blunders. Now , it no longer is.
That might be a little harsh sir
Wow, Z. You are shielding Coach Dalic? Don’t forget that if he didn’t say his Krunica, he would be the worst coach in history. But somehow he made 2 WC semifinals. Viva Zlatko!
More good news with Ecuador tying Curacao. Surely third in that group will only have 1-2 points now.
To anyone who saw the Germany game . It’s a blue print for us if we have the skill to pull it off. Quality and skill overcame physicality. That our only strategy to over come Ghana and Panama . Both game will be physical and hostile. Like in Brazil if we beat Panama it’s going to come down to the last game . Coaching will play a huge role. Both teams are faster than us . Any player not in form is a liability.
Anyone think Jaga would be perfect for the next 2 games
I most certainly do
Stojkovic would have been great in this World Cup too.
No kidding
We have to play well Ofcourse. But you have to understand the work that goes in to getting your fast players into dangerous positions. The game is a matrix of interactions. To counter attack you first need to defend well while keeping your fast attackers in high positions. They you have to have the composure and quality to evade the press and pick the right pass to your dangerous fast players. Any of that inter and there is no counter attack. Otherwise iggy fast teams would win the World Cup. Speed in its own is nothing. Midfield control is absolutely THE most important element of the game. The biggest problems we face is the high energy press from Panama. We haven’t play through it calmly. Biggest chance for Panama and Ghana is that our players lose the ball on dangerous areas. That can’t happen
Its exactly why Kova has to start. He is our best player from defense to the middle third. His shot isn’t great but that is not why he is there.
He is not in form and I don’t believe he has the conditioning to go the distance. Sorry but he is a liability
I disagree. I don’t see anyone on the NT today that beats the press like Kova. If he can give us 60 minutes, great.
Of interest:
Speed rankings for Croatians players are as follows for top five:
1. Lisica
2. Divkovic
3. Tudor
4. Spikac
5. Bulat
Musa (9), Valincic (11) Sutalo (13) Gvardiol (14) Frigan (15) Segecic (16) Perkovic (18) and Stanisic (20) round out the top 20.
Acceleration rankings:
1. Lisica
2. Tudor
3. Sego
4. Segecic
5. Juranovic
20. Baturina
Total movement rankings, which includes speed, acceleration, agility, reactions, balance . . . .
Top 3:
1. Segecic
2. Tudor
3. Baturina.
Thanks for this! Nice to see Baturina at no. 3 and Segecic topping the total movement rankings with Segecic making the top 20 for all three categories. Also, loved reading about your memories of attending Metros Croatia games as a kid!
If we can’t beat Panama and Ghana we should give up football. I’m not saying it will be easy. But we are far better than either of those teams.
I see Algeria has filed a complaint with FIFA over the Messi foul. I can’t ever remember Croatia doing as such. We have plenty of grievances.
Good on them.
I agree with the lineup but bench Šutalo who’s been so poor for us for years now, genuinely had defensive problems since he’s been a starter for us in the euros 2024. Ajax have the same problems as we’ve had.
If you wanna see Gvardiol carrying us like in 2022 he’s gotta be CB. Good thing is Vušković is the perfect Cb partner for him and is a natural RCB not left anyways. Gvardiol is literally the best LCB in the word and Vušković was always a RCB for Hajduk, Westerlo, U21 and like 5 or 6 matches this season at Hamburg.
All our systems require Šutalo to do things he simply cannot do, sutalo would be the first to bench to add players that would better fix our problems, like Marco pasalic who needs to start with modric and Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Perisic, Musa, Baturina, Petar Sucic, stanisic, obviously Livaković, last spot has to be someone comfortable in defence and midfield and works very hard to cover ground to help modric, I’d suggest Jakić who I hope is in form like in qualifiers, but hopefully dalić knows best from training who’s ready, jakić wasn’t given much minutes in our friendlies so idk, but judging by qualifiers he was in top form and genuinely saved us multiple times with goals and ball winning, the games vs Montenegro had Jakić and Stanišić our best players carrying the game, having both Jakic and Petar Sucic on the pitch with modric will even out everything even with Jakic in the back 4 as a right back. Hes not even really out of position since he’s goes wide from dm in a 3421 behind a winger and drops in his 3 back to make it a back 4 for his club all the time. When in top form this is our the best XI.
Tuchel identified our weaknesses expertly, hope Dalić does too and fixes it, I know the back 4 will help for familiarity.
If we wanna succeed this tournament, Dalic is gonna have to accept he messed up calling so many poor cb’s and not some fullbacks like Valinčić, Juranović or Smolčić despite their form, their profiles needed as squad depth and backup. We need to lean on Vušković and Gvardiol as CB’s for the rest of the tournament no matter who’s the opposite fullback for Stanišić. It’s more important to have a solid CB duo than a “out of position fullback”, although stanisic will be better anyways and Jakic balances it covering our giant gaps in defence and gives energy and ball winning to our midfield and defence, plus Marco pasalic at RW tracking back in front of Jakić RB will balance out anyway. Although Jakic proved himself in qualifying well anyways.
Of course cloning Gvardiol would be ideal, but Jakić will be vital to our squad balance, defensive mids/fullbacks are the engine of the team many times for squads and never get the applause for their hard work, without them you’re exposed like we were vs England, that’s what we’ve been missing vs England. Šutalo doesn’t give more coverage and isn’t hard working defensively, jakić will give that outside and Gvardiol and Vuskovic will give us the best possible box coverage and safety as CB’s.
Players like Makelele, Kimmich, Busquets, Lahm, Casemiro, so important to their teams defensively, we need jakić in even if he isn’t flashy, he proved himself at RB in the qualifiers and saved us many times. Plus let’s be real, Jakić had a better season in bundesliga than Šutalo struggling in Dutch league.
I wouldn’t blame you Markus if you edited the squad you posted and benched Šutalo and just put Vušković and Gvardiol Cb’s, Stanisic Lb, Jakic Rb.
Jakić and Stanišić was such a solid fullback duo that was able to dominate the game by themselves when Gvardiol was out and Dalic saw this and implemented them perfect, no idea why he gave up on them after the qualifiers, stanisic is so versatile he’s never “out of position” and honestly plays better at LB than RB, his best games for Croatia has been LB, same at Bayern earlier this season. He gets to be a playmaker on the left more and most of his goals and assists came from being LB, you just lose crosses from the right side on his strong foot but we have Perisic and Marco pasalic on both sides to cross who do it better anyways. We never really scored much from stanisic overlapping or crossing, he gets to be more defensive as a LB. He moves around mid game for Bayern anyways and ends up swapping g spots across the back 4 multiple times a game, I’ve seen him more effective on the left, plus he’ll support Gvardiol and that left side we struggled so much against England better, Jakic balancing the other side as long as Marco pasalic is the RW too and Modrić running the game from the centre. Obviously keep Petar Sucic in midfield not RW and Baturina at attacking mid, Musa gave us pace and was the closest thing to mandzukic in years. Perisic obviously great again like usual.
So keep the same lineup but drop sutalo, put LB Stanisic, LCB Gvardiol, RCB Vuskovic, RB Jakic.
Spot on. I don’t know why Sutalo gets so much rope. Would be a travesty for Vuskovic to get the bench in favor of some of our inferior CBs.
Yes to all except I wouldn’t lose sleep if Pong was in place of Vuskovic. No more defensive lapses. No room for mistakes.
After the qualifiers, I thought for sure Jakić would be our RB at the World Cup.
Yeah at that point in time, I thought there was a high chance Jakic will be our starting RB at the WC.
I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing a backline of Stani – Gvardi – Vusko – Jakic.
Good news with Holland smashing the Swedes. Assuming Japan beats Sweden (we want them to) they will be one of the 3rd place teams with only 3 points and a bad, bad goal diff now.
Oh i didnt realise they won their first game 5-1. Still good for us either way as they’ll be negative.
I am envisaging us potentially finishing on 3 points unfortunately..
ivory coast way better than Ghana though Germany lack aggression pavlovic getting beaten up lol.
Who of ever thought the Germans are not getting the calls anymore. Some very sketchy calls being made . And we thought Refs were bad with us
At half-time, Ivory Coast doing to Germany exactly what i fear Ghana doing to us, too big and strong and athletic.
I have a bad 2002-esque feeling, like we’ll win this Panama game convincingly but then lose the last one and go out (like v Ecuador in 2002).
Iggy is going to come down to Ghana game , that’s if we can beat Panama . I thought that was a goal by the Germans and thought they should have had a penalty. A lot of fouls not being called for gemany
Don’t Rapaic me
Can’t handle that right now
Iggy for goodness sake, ivory coast are a completely different level to Ghana. They have world class talents all over the pitch. It’s not about speed it’s about quality. Ivory Coast have it in abundance. They’re as good as Germany. Ghana are on a par with Panama
The problem is we are also on par with Panama :_(___
lol im kidding. But i hope you’re right. Of course we are a better team but i just hope that shines through for once.
Marco P is absolutely the X factor for us.
He will open up the entire attacking third.
He is the only RW in the squad.
He knows the MLS/Panama style and knows the Toronto Stadion.
I pray this line up is imploring the art of misdirection.
Seeing central midfielders deployed at the RW has been painful.
Don’t think Musa played that well. Took his goal well and thats about it. His pressing could’ve been better and of course that 2nd Kane goal.
I’ll believe this is the lineup when I see it. The rumoured lineup vs England was flat wrong, and I think this one is too. The proposed version is ideal.
You don’t sit a future star after a couple of mistakes in the first match vs a top team. You teach and correct him, and get him integrated vs lesser opponents, because you can’t afford that kind of talent drop off in the knockout stages.
Budimir is a fine player, but it is evident what he contributes and what he lacks. He has a good account in LaLiga, but he is a bit of a Penaldo. Musa and Matanović pressure, force more errors, move better, and are more physical. This would be less egregious than sitting Vušković, but not ideal either.
Not buying it.
I think you nailed it Markus, except, why not play Modric for the last 45 minutes, if you know beforehand, you’re not having him play 90 minutes.
Don’t underestimate how important chemistry is to a team. Players that feel disrespected is like a cancer in the locker room and will invariably affect the team’s overall performance. It’s bad karma. So Dalic needs to find a way to do what’s best for the team without losing the locker room. Playing in a World Cup is the pinnacle of most guys’ soccer careers. It only comes around every four years. Dalic needs to integrate most everyone. Modric without question needs to start because he is still a great player and our leader. That said, the trick for Dalic is to substitute early. We have a deep team full of accomplished players. Trust them to succeed. There is nothing like playing on a team where everyone contributes. That spirit is contagious. It’s what makes a team, a team. It will also bode well for the future of Croatian soccer.
100% agree with this.
The only thing to add: support from the fans at the game is also contagious. I didn’t hear much from our people in Dallas while watching on TV.
Let’s hope the old Toronto Metro Croatia crowd can kick it into a higher gear, and be the 12th man at the next game. They will be backed by a strong B.C. contingent, DannyJ, Slavonac, and the rest. Make some noise fellas.
Heck, maybe Davor will even teach some of the young Croatian diaspora fans the old chants and great songs and get them on their feet. Whatever it takes. C’mon Davor, do it! We need that stadium to be rocking in Toronto.
The reported line-up for last game ended up being wrong, how do we know this one is correct?
One thing most people aren’t taking in to consideration… Croatia have a short break between games 2 and 3 – and both are must win ( 4 points most likely needed) and both are outdoors – cycling players and starters that work for both games is vital, but it should be the vets not the kids in their early 20s
Gotta win this game, but can’t kill your veterans for the game 4 days later
Apologies to Ante I see it was Markus who posted this article. I wouldn’t start Marco as you need his legs in the second half not the first with a fresh legged Panama.
Seriously? Should France save Mbappe for the second half in their games? Your best players start the game. What a ridiculous comment.
Dalic’s biggest mistake was not going to a back 4 at halftime. He should have set us up to preserve the 2-2 instead of acting like it was 0-0 and continued to take unnecessary risks with the back 3 pushing up and leaving us exposed for the Bellingham 3rd goal. Yes I’d like to see Musa start but Musa cost us the Kane free header second goal as he missed his marking assignment. Watch the goal replay and you can see Stanisic yelling at him. Panama’s back line looks height deficient so Budimir should get a heck of a lot of chances. Kvartuc as usual you are exaggerating the problems with the lineup. I do think that Dalic is notorious for taking a long ass time to make his subs. Let’s see Marco P. sub in at the 60 min mark. In the England match he kept Perisic in way too long and should have given Jakic an appearance. Panama are not a powerhouse and we should execute a gameplan to frustrate them, make them foul and get behind the refs 8-ball. Anything less than a 2 or 3 goal win will be a Ziva Sramota.
Musa looked good
T-BAG never looks good
I have no words other than what I have been saying since forever . Dalic really does not know what he is doing .
Do you know when this guys contract is up ? He really needs to go? Enough is enough already . This campaign will end in disaster.
Careful what you wish for. Next in line is most likely Olic. If that’s the case, I’ll take Dalić.
Dalic or Olic it’s all the same when in actual fact it’s Modric running the show. Maybe one day far into the future Croatia will have an actual coach but it’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Maybe it’s time for a foreign coach
Olić would be a nightmare scenario.
But I think the HNS would hire Bilić instead.