Joško Gvardiol is back! He returned Wednesday night vs. Crystal Palace for the first time since fracturing his leg in January, playing 58 minutes and lobbing the ball into the box for a “hockey assist” on City’s second goal.
Gvardiol fractured his leg the first week of January versus Chelsea with World Cup doubts swirling. However, he defied the training process and returned much earlier than anticipated. Gvardiol will be World Cup ready which is huge news as he is arguably Croatia’s best player.
I can make a better highlight reel from Mislav Oršić ‘s 2-3 hours of total play on the NT, compared to the 12 years of Mario Kovacic NT career.
I think if you get a 3-0 lead on Spain, maybe bring him in with fresh legs to run out the clock.
From SN
Stojko in
Beljo out (TOLD ALL U MORONS HE’S NOT A NT PLAYER – TERRIBLE ATTITUDE – ALL ABOUT ME ME ME)
Dalic considering whether to drop Majer, Wedding Boy and Fruk (no mention of a CB being dropped)
Unclear if Dalic will announce 26-person list Monday (or an expanded 30-person list and then cut 4 people before June 1st)
Good call.
I don’t think Beljo provides any more than Matanovic, Musa or Budimir.
I’m not against his callup, but if it comes down to Stojko or Beljo…it’s 100% Stojkovic all the way.
Thank the heavens vuskovic stopped growing, but he’s still young so it remains a risk.
He was reported at 6’4 as a 14 or 15 year old. That had 6’7’’ written all over it. But shockingly he’s stayed 6’4’m. Maybe hajduk gave him growth blockers.
I hate to break it to you but if you’re 6’7’’ you’re just not going to be a great soccer defender. The physics don’t allow it unless you are truly some kind of unicorn that has never existed but at our firm, we bet the numbers, not 1 in a million chances.
Already on this board, vuskovics speed and ability to defend in space has been highlighted. Every additional inch would make that deficiency more glaring until he simply wouldn’t be effective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXuQ0jfTUIc
Dear Diary…..I know.
Ante – are you going to published a list in anticipation of Dalic publishing his on Monday the 18th? Suspect you will get A LOT of comments on it
The key is to call up players on an UPSWING – not players that have been flat or on a DOWNSWING
From March 2026 squad Anonymous would
Drop [ordered from strongest argument to drop to weakest]:
1) Drop one CB (don’t care which one of Sutalo, DCC, Erlic, Pong)
2) Moro (never going to play ahead of Kova, Mario, Vlasic (2nd 3 midfielders))
3) Lovro (terrible form/lack of minutes – no progress last 5 years)
4) Fruk out (looks exhausted)
Add [ordered from strongest argument to add to weakest]:
1) Stojko (better than Fruk 2026 + on an UPSWING – need his “crazy” mentality)
2) Segecic (unique profile – crazy UPSWING last 5-7 games of the season)
3) Saranic
4) Franjo (less needed if 1) and 2) added)
I think most on here have a pretty good consensus on who should be starting, but some of these guys won’t be in Dalic’s first team plans.
If you were to assemble a list of who you think Dalic starts no matter what, who do you think is on there? I’ll go first;
Ride or die;
Modric, Perisic, Gvardiol, Kramaric, Stanisic, Kovacic, P. Sucic
Borderline;
Vuskovic, Sutalo, Jakic, Baturina, Mario Pasalic, DCC, Budimir, Vlasic, Matanovic, Majer, Moro
Break glass in case of emergency;
Marco Pasalic, Pongracic, Musa, Erlic, Fruk.
This is a non exhaustive list of what I think is Dalic pecking order. Players listed in no particular order under each subheading. Again, this is not who I think should be starting, but who I think Dalic will prioritize.
Curious to hear others thoughts on their interpretation of Dalic automatic starters, interchangeable role players and end of bench guys.
I don’t think dalic will do this but… being able to sub modric out after 60 minutes for Kovacic would make Both better in terms of potential impact on a game –
And at this point I think vuskovic is ride or die , there’s no one anywhere (media, training staff, savez etc..) who would allow him to sit vuskovic and not at least try and talk him out of it..
Correct.
Ideally, we would start a trio of Modric, Baturina and Sucic in central midfield.
Kovacic coming off the bench would be best (for whoever is gassed, yellow carded, or is having a bad game).
Krama should also probably only start against teams like Panama or Ghana (where we may dominate possession). But he isn’t as effective on the counter.
We have five starting caliber central midfielders and (like all other top teams) we should use them accordingly.
Agree with what we think should happen, but I think that Kramaric is an automatic starter for Dalic, even though we’re better suited with Baturina starting at this point.
I really hope you’re right about Vuskovic. Mart planted a seed of doubt in my mind that Dalic may go with a vet there for the England match.
Kovacic is a real wildcard for what our lineup will be if Dalic shoehorns him in. If he does, I can see him putting Kramaric on the RW which I’m not a fan of.
We need Vuskovic, Sucic and Baturina in the starting eleven to add speed and offensive prowess to balance out the squad.
Modric, Budimir and Perisic are the vets and we need to surround them with our talented youth.
The RW position will be interesting to see what happens (assuming we play a 4-5-1). Or maybe we go with a 4-4-2 and start Krama up top with Budimir, and push Perisic to that right side (with Baturina on the left).
I just don’t want Dalic to overload the starters with too many vets, especially Mario Pasalic (who should never start, but always finds himself in the starting eleven in the most random positions).
I can cope with Kova or Krama in the starting lineup, but I can’t watch Mario Pasalic in there anymore.
Mr. Small Feet (aka Kota Takai) only played 350 minute this season (he’s been on the bench the last 5 games getting 3′ lol)
Obviously he ain’t going to the World Cup with Japan
Anonymous Medical Assessments the best the World has ever seen – Anonymous told you his feet are too small for his height/weight and he’s going to be plague with injuries until he calls it quit – Anonymous was 100% right
Didn’t you also say Prince luka would be too tall and prone to injuries and suck;)
😛
That was Truth Pimply Analyst – every analysis he does is wrong!!!
Baturina
Agreed with others that we need to make our new dominant physical line up an advantage on set piece going both ways. Luka Sucic really has a strong kick but again he is probably not going to be on the field much of the time.
Vusko/Gvard/Musa/ Budimir/Beljo can even act as decoys opening up space on the perimeter as well.
We are going to have to go through England/Spain if Croatian wins our division, or Spain/France if we come 2nd in our division.
We can actually match up okay with Spain, playing young, tall, fast and still control the middle of the field, if possible, with Modric orchestrating the show.
There are always surprises. Maybe Japan knocks off another heavy hitter this year, I think we match up with them well.
https://www.footyheadlines.com/2025/08/croatia-2026-home-kit.html
I assume pants will have the seemly mandatory 3 stripes trademark. Croatia is a traditional retro country so makes sense on a certain level. Glagolitic script is a new innovative touch that could be worked into the pants on the sides somehow. I will withhold my final opinion until I see the bottom half.
Generally, Adidas designs scream AYSO circa 1950-70s, but whatever makes everyone happy. I am here for the game.
Meh. Stripes and checkers dont really go together.
I think white shorts with the red Adidas stripes on the sides would look excellent with this checkered top.
Pure class. simplicty is all that matters. Our home kit dating back to 1996 should be maintained in a simple way. Adidas builds on the simplicity. I wish Fifa/Uefa would allow us to go back to the blue socks with white shorts! OG! The best part of this Adidas deal will be seeing the amount of Hrvati wearing the OG track jackets with 3 stripes and GRB!!!
Probably the 2018 Away Jerseys are a cult favorite, if Adidas can mimic that good be a good thing.
RW battle: Saranic vs. Marco – PK record
Ivan Saranic PK record
13 PK taken
13 goals
0 misses
***.transfermarkt.com/ivan-saranic/elfmetertore/spieler/665274/plus/0?saison_id=ges&wettbewerb_id=
Marco Pasalic PK record
Hasn’t taken one since 2016-2017 in 4th tier Germany (he scored both)
***.transfermarkt.us/marco-pasalic/elfmetertore/spieler/395928
All roads lead to Sesvete (and hence Saranic)
SN reporting Filip Pavic’s dad from Sesvete (left for Germany 40 years ago) while his mom his from Dugo Selo (left for Germany 20 years ago)
In other news, Niko Kranjcar got his pro coaching license Tuesday – he says himself, Olic, Corluka and Miki Badelj all have promising coaching careers ahead of themselves – BARF
I think Filip Pavic’s family are from Livno
From SN today
Njegova obitelj živi u Freisingu, gradiću u Bavarskoj, otac Jurica je iz Sesveta, u Njemačku je stigao prije više od četrdeset godina. Nije bio nogometaš, ali sin ima odlične sportske gene. Majka Petra otišla je iz Dugog Sela prije više od dvadeset godina, imaju i kćer koja je starija.
Maybe his grand-parents?
Yes I think so as a lot of Pavic’s are from this area and consider Livno their main city.
The teams with high quality analytics focus like England have been able to dramatically improve their set piece efficiency. I wonder if the nt has anyone pushing this stuff. With all the tech nowadays, it’s not that hard to implement. Just not sure how into it dalic is
Marc Rochon from John o groats would be your guy
We are poor when it comes to set pieces. Dario Srna scored a number of goals from free kicks but since his departure we have had no one capable of scoring regularly from free kicks.
We do not score many goals from corners either, on the contrary we have had a tendency in the past of conceding goals from set pieces and long throw-ins into our penalty box.
Modric needs to stay away from taking corners for us and we need to stop
experimenting with short corners which have in the past resulted in us conceding silly goals on the counter.
In today’s football the trend is for the corners to be inswingers into the six-yard box where you have 5 or 6 players (tall timber) standing and making it difficult for the opposing goalkeeper to get to the ball.
Arsenal in the EPL have scored so many goals from corners employing this tactic and is one of the main reasons why they will most likely win the League. We have so many tall players now that we should be doing the same. Matanovic did score in the friendly against Brazil on the far post from an in-swinging corner from Marco Pasalic.
Some people are suggesting that a new rule should be introduced banning players from being inside the six-yard box for corners.
Their argument is that you have more than a dozen players in there pushing, shoving, grabbing making it impossible for the referees to see what is going on as was the case in the recent EPL match between West Ham and Arsenal when VAR intervened to deny West Ham an equaliser for a foul on goalkeeper.
Agreed on all accounts. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think there has been a slight decline in short corners.
I also think we’ve been slightly better against corners and set pieces. I used to feel it was an automatic goal every time we gave up a free kick in a dangerous position.
I think Majer has sent in the most effective corners for the NT in recent years. The problem is he is not on the pitch often enough. He deserves more chances in the midfield. Our offence is always more dangerous when he plays in the right position.
This is the first year where Croatia can play in the same style as in 2018 and 2022 ( 2018 we had forwards but it was still possession base mostly) BUT has a massive advantage on SET PLAYS. Please No Short Corners, Please have intelligent offensive direct/indirect free kicks as NOW we have in Vuskovic and Gvardiol who are mega beasts in size and stature and are extremely skilled in positioning, anticipation and skill. I hope they spend a lot of time practicing these set plays as well as Penalty Kicks ( we have some strong takers this year for instance Musa )……
Please add to that we have forwards with physical presence as in Musa, Matanovic and some others ( from list not named yet…) The sheer size of having at least 3 huge effective players on these set plays is everything. No other team has the size we have on these potential game winning set plays we need for that “extra” goal every game……
Thank you for mentioning PK
Satanic is the BEST PK taker Croatia has ever had – this is based on Anonymous eye testing of all his penalties this season
He is the BEST based both on sheer power AND flawless technique AND variability of placement
Left field though here Anonymous….with Olic comin’ on board and Dalic retiring afterwards do you think within this potential transitional changing of the guard through this tournament (unofficially) that Dalic would allow a player to be chosen by Olic ( internally ) … Is “Satanic or other” transformational enough to warrant leaving the Seniority player off! Vuskovic not withstanding as he’s already Top 10 and if not will be after this world cup as this guy is only after Modric THAT focused on being the best from all reports.
I think it’s only natural that coaches favour players that play their position – that’s why with Corluka around we have so many CBs IMO – Corluka’s position is stronger the more players on the team he has that are “his guys” – so with Olic coming in – hopefully we need Olic take 1-2 of the CBs slots and add attackers in lieu of stock-piling of all the mid-CBs
@anonymous, will you give it a rest with Saranic? I get it he is talented. Absolutely zero chance he goes to World Cup, and he doesn’t deserve to. Marco P, lovro Majer, Stojkovic, segecic, jagusic, fran topic, lisica, brajkovic, probably also krivak and soticek, Bruno durdov, ante Crnac, all these players are ahead of him for the RW spot. When he has scored 10 goals for Istra let’s discuss his potential. What is he your cousin? 😊
Oh snap!
Anonymous, you gonna take that?
Crnkovic –
U certainly thru in the kitchen sink in terms of players – but Anonymous had Truth’s pimply analyst (yes, he is a moron, but that was who was available) run some analysis – and based on # of goals in 2026 – Saranic ranks FIRST of all the names you mentioned – in fact, excluding Stojko and Sege, Saranic has scored more goals than the 11 other names you mentioned COMBINED lol
In 2026 – rank by # of goals
Saranic 11 goals
Stojko 10 goals
Sege 7 goals
Marco 2 goals
Krivak 2 goals
Brajkovic 2 goals
Jaga 1 goal
Topic 1 goal
Soticek 0 goals
Durdov 0 goals
Lisica 0 goals
Lovro 0 goals
Crnac 0 goals
The conclusion – based on the numbers/facts – is Saranic is the BEST RW available for the Croatia NT to call up for the WC 😉
Crnkovic –
U certainly thru in the kitchen sink in terms of players – but Anonymous had Truth’s pimply analyst (yes, he is a moron, but that was who was available) run some analysis – and based on # of goals in 2026 – Saranic ranks FIRST of all the names you mentioned – in fact, excluding Stojko and Sege, Saranic has scored more goals than the 11 other names you mentioned COMBINED lol
In 2026 – rank by # of goals
Saranic 11 goals (best player by far in the league – imagine how good he’d look at DZ)
Stojko 10 goals (most coming from playing as a #10 this season and on a stacked DZ team – try replicating it at Belupo like Jaga)
Sege 7 goals
Marco 2 goals
Krivak 2 goals
Brajkovic 2 goals
Jaga 1 goal (GF draining balls too much)
Topic 1 goal
Soticek 0 goals (hasn’t scored since August 2025 vs. 3rd tier side lol)
Durdov 0 goals (hasn’t scored since August 2025 and posting picture on IG of him hugging GG lol)
Lisica 0 goals (career might be over bc of the mono)
Lovro 0 goals (gets crumbs for minutes on a relegated side)
Crnac 0 goals (blew his ACL out 9 months ago and hasn’t played since)
The conclusion – based on the numbers/facts – is Saranic is the BEST RW available for the Croatia NT to call up for the WC 😉
😊. Call up Saranic!!
Dear HNS aka Nose Pickers –
Did u see Adidas is releasing a retro Yugo kit next season ?
WTF
Didn’t u put a clause in the contract with them to prevent this ?
U guys are MORONS
Get on the phone today – not tomorrow – with adidas and tell them if they don’t nix the Yugo retro kit – ur cancelling the contract
Be careful, folks what you wish for in life you just might get it. Sometimes it is nice to be grateful for the good things you have been blessed with.
I wash my hand of adidas. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say. The wonderful stripes on the arm and leg every year, year after year.
It will be Groundhog Day, in East Berlin everyday.
Hajduk yet again having issues in developing their youth talent Noa Skoko supposedly not getting any minutes.
Not sure if anyone has heard of the kid, if he has promise or not.
This seems to be the going issue with Hajduk, they just don’t seem to care about developing their youth academy the way that Dinamo does. They shouldn’t be surprised to lose yet another League title this year.
What will the excuse be this time?
This maybe the 3rd or 4th time in the past year or two that I have read about another issue like this.
They are never gonna win like this.
I understand on occasion this happens but it shouldn’t be at every turn to hear of another youth who will probably be let go in the transfer.
Yea, I remember Noa Skoko on the U19 Hajduk team that went to the Youth League finals a couple years ago.
He was on the team with Vuskovic, Pukstas and Brajkovic.
Not sure how big of a talent he is, but it is strange that Hajduk went so far in that tournament and the only guy that’s received regular minutes from that silver medal team is the one they sold immediately afterward (in Vuskovic).
Skoko has not done much when given a chance to play for Hajduk seniors this season. From what I have seen of him playing for both Hajduk and Cro youth teams he does not stand out.
He can also choose to play for Australia like his father.
Fair enough, if is he doesn’t have potential it could just some background noise on Slobodna Dalmacija’s website. A lot of these news outlets do this to goo on a story.
My only concern was to hear about a similar issue again like this where a young player gets dropped. It had happened quite a bit as of late.
Bavarian Football World is stating that Tottenham are desperate to keep Vusković and that Bayern are keen to get Vusković on their squad.
I would think he is better off in Germany. Why go to a team that is gonna be relegated more than likely.
The only perceived weakness of Vuskovic (for now) is probably speed.
I would think that this would get exploited more in the EPL than anywhere else, so I’d rather he play in Bundesliga or La Liga of possible.
At the same time, the kid is such a superstar that I think he’d be fine in EPL as well.
As long as he scores/assist in one more goal, or equal, to a goals against defended on, and does not give up undue PKs at key moments, is all we can ask,………….. which is actually quite a lot.
Thursday 9am ET
Biondic starts
4 matches left – reminder 1st in Belgium get Champions League group stage
A hat-trick would improve his WC chances
Oops – it’s the Cup final vs. Anderlecht
Biondic’s RW Zenelli is going to the World Cup with Sweden
Croatia keeps finishing dead last at the Mitropa Cup
Can’t Croatia find some other players to send then these MORONS
#####
The jubilee fiftieth edition of the Mitropa Cup in Austria ended badly for both of our senior, but rejuvenated national teams, which took the last places in the competition with a rating against stronger opponents.
Men: 1. Italy 16, 2. France 14, 3. Switzerland 11, 4. – 5. Slovenia, Hungary 10, 6. – 8. Czech Republic, Germany, Austria 7, 9. Slovakia 6, 10. Croatia 2.
Women: 1. Ukraine 16, 2. Switzerland 14, 3. Italy 12, 4th – 6th Slovenia, Slovakia, Germany 9, 7th Czech Republic 7, 8th France 6, 9th – 10th Austria, Croatia 4.
#####
Olic squad for U21 friendlies
It’s nice to see 5 players from the “2nd Croatian division crap” including Bartol Kardum from Sesvete (who last played for the NT in 2023 at U18 level)
If a Sesvete player (and 4 other “2nd Croatian division crap”) is good enough for the uber-important U21 matches – then it follows that Saranic (also a Sesvete player) is also good enough/ready to be included by Dalic in the World Cup squad
P.S. don’t ask why nose picker Olic – who is assisting Dalic at the World Cup – is announcing the U21 squad before Dalic announces his squad on May 18th – obviously makes zero sense
P.P.S. Why isn’t Pavic called up for U21s already (or at least U19s) and still stuck with Croatia U17s? I thought he’s already got minutes for Bayern in the CL this year
#####
Toni Silić (Hajduk), Anthony Pavlešić (Rudeš), Jozo Vukman (Hrvace), Luka Savatović (Lokomotiva), Branimir Mlačić (Udinese), Dominik Prpić (Porto), Matia Barzić (Cultural Leonesa), Sven Lesjak (Varaždin), Moreno Živković (Vukovar 1991), David Vujević (Zürich), Šimun Hrgović (Hajduk), Filip Krušelj (Slaven Belupo), Domagoj Bukvić (Osijek), Noel Bodetić (Rijeka), Lovro Zvonarek (Grasshoppers), Luka Vrbančić (Osijek), Ante Kavelj (Gorica), Vito Čaić (Vukovar 1991), Adriano Jagušić (Panathinaikos), Ivan Canjuga (Varaždin), Branko Pavić (Rijeka), Filip Mažar (Slaven Belupo), Adrian Segečić (Portsmouth), Roko Brajković (Hajduk), Mirko Sušak (Lokomotiva), Marin Šotiček (Basel 1893), Antonio Ilic (Zrinjski), Stjepan Davidovic (Kielce), Duje Korač (Rudeš), Fran Topic (Dinamo), Bartol Kardum (Sesvete).
Pre-call-up : Zvonimir Katalinić (Slaven Belupo), Ivan Cvetko (Rudeš), Šimun Butić (Vukovar 1991) and Kristijan Čabrajić (Vukovar 1991)
#####
Great news guys
At 40 y/o Sammir is playing again – this time in 4th tier US
Just in time for Dalic to call him up
Don’t let us down Zlatko
***.instagram.com/p/DXz91gnCSWe/?img_index=6
apotheosfc
1w
Born in Brazil. Forged in Croatia. Built for Atlanta. 🇭🇷🇧🇷
7x Croatian League champion. 2x Croatian Footballer of the Year. 2014 FIFA World Cup. Shared a pitch with Luka Modrić. Now he shares one with us.
Welcome to the family, Jorge Sammir. The journey continues at Apotheos FC.
#ApotheosFC #WelcomeSammir #USLLeagueTwo #AtlantaSoccer
We were desperate in 2014. He was slow as Molasses even back then.
Sammir nije damir
Oprostite, Moj loš.
Stojkovic could have scored FIVE in the cup final you nose picker morons.
First chance, just wide of post from outside the area with the goalkeeper never getting there. It looked an easy chance, which is testament to stojokovics quality. He, his teammates and me watching were surprised he didn’t score, yet it was from well outside the area and congestion in the box. So much clarity in his attacking play.
Second chance. Hits the post with trademark knuckle ball technique. Couple of outstanding elements to this strike. Firstly, the ball striking technique itself is special . Yes orsic also uses the same type of technique . But stojovic is able to generate the technique effectively from all angles of play. When he receives the ball there is not much space to move into. The defenders are close. Most players either hit it first time or accept the chance is not really there and pass it wide. Stojkovic takes a touch forward to engage the defenders, drops his shoulder to shift the angle slightly and hits it like he is sipping tea. That’s why it looks easy. It’s the subtle things he does to manoeuvre space and timing.
Third chance hits the ball surprisingly early and with great power. Ball has black magic on it, wobbles its trajectory keeper can’t quite see it. Goal
Fourth chance. Follows up beljos brilliant run and puts it away in his sleep.
Fifth chance. Similar type of chance. Touch is heavy because he is already thinking about going around the goalkeeper. Still gets it to Zajc who should score.
On another day he could have had FIVE goals. From central midfield. Think about that for a minute. Some will say it’s only Rijeka he is playing against. Ok, so how many goals did Bakrar, beljo, vidovic, hoxha, zajc get?
This!
Couple of points re what’s been said here so far.
The group/path: Belgium = England
Morocco much better than Ghana, Canada better than Panama. Our group is easier than last time not harder. However all that is on paper, nobody knows how things pan out in real time.
Best defense lineup. It’s hard to say. The most talented back four is stanisic, sutalo, vuskovic, gvardiol. But balance and experience are as important as talent so we will have to just hope Dalic gets it right. Overall the level of the squad is much higher .
Petar sucic IS the real deal. First season in the big league for huge team. He is a massive part of the inter team. They have lots of good midfielders but he has played big minutes and I’ve never seen him have a bad game ever. Every match he has played for the national team he has been excellent. AND, he is a responsible selfless player who always puts the team before his own highlights real. Effectively the Petar sucic we have seen is a Petar sucic playing in 3rd gear only, to make sure he doesn’t run the lights. When he is given the full green light he will explode into one of the top 5 midfielders in the world. He is definitely the real deal
Stojko 😜
Crnkovic- Great analysis.
My comment on P Sucic was because he’s really only come into the fold regularly since maybe January on. Definitely he’s been a huge part of that Inter team since then. My only point is he’s still young, and has been very high-level for only 5 months. Time will tell if that is sustainable or not.
Regardless, right now he is a step below still compared to 2018 Brozovic, though definitely a step above compared to 2022 Brozovic. But I’m super excited about him.
Musa scored again but it was just a PK, zero chance of goalie to save. League leading 11 goals in 12 games.
Be interesting how many strikers make the final cut: Matanovic, Budimir, Musa , and Beljo all have their arguments.
Haven’t actually seen Jakic updates
How’s he been the last couple of months?
I feel he will be solid for us this summer
Haven’t seen specific updates either. But he plays regularly for a mid/upper level Bundesliga team, and has played very well for us lately on the right.
Nobody would have predicted to see Gvardiol STARTING a premiership match in only four months after that injury.
We would have all been happy if an out-of-form version could make it to the actual World Cup.
Massive boost to our World Cup chances.
Our team is better than our 2022 team… but it all comes down to the little things. You need some luck on your side and we have a much tougher group this time (and knockout round path).
So long as Dalić doesn’t just default to the vets (come hell or high water) like he did at Euro2024, then we should be fine for at least an R16 date with Spain (unless we surprise England in the first game, which is also possible).
agree that out team looks better now than in 2022. Alot will depend on whether P Sucic is the real deal or not, and some timely scoring
Don’t agree that the knockout round path is harder now though.
The “path” in 2022 out of 2nd place should have been Germany or Spain, then Brazil, then Argentina. We got a little lucky that on the final day that some weird stuff happened in Japan’s group and we got them instead of GER/ESP. Still had to deal w Brazil and Arg after that.
Chico,
We have to play Colombia first, just to get to the R16.
We didn’t have to do that last time. That won’t be easy.
Yes, we were “supposed to” play one of Germany or Spain in the R16 last time…and now we have to do it again.
But Spain this time is a heavy heavy tournament favourite.
Japan pulled the surprise on them last tournament (when Spain weren’t as good), but there will be no surprising Spain this year (unless you believe Austria can pull off the upset).
Maminjo,
I hear you. But you’re talking about the most likely theoretical path. So was I in 2022.
It’s not guaranteed we get Columbia either. Yes maybe we get Portugal instead. But also maybe some “weird shit“ happens again, and DR Congo somehow ends up second place (in which case our path would be easier). It wouldn’t be crazy to think that Congo can tie Colombia, and they both lose to Portugal, and Congo gets second place on goal differential.
The fairest comparison between 2022 and 2026 is to compare the most likely theoretical paths. I think 2022 looked harder than 2026.
The main difference, of course is the extra knockout round this time, so yes, this adds more luck to the equation. But the extra knockout round also means the fact that our group is harder doesn’t matter nearly as much, since we can advance as third place (unlike 2022).
I think that Dalic is predictable and he will stick with the experienced vets for the first match v England unless there are injuries.
That is why I do not think that Vuskovic will be in the starting 11 against England in a 4 – 2 – 3 -1 formation. We are much stronger defensively when playing 4 at the back.
The first match against England will be tough, being played in hot and humid conditions but we can beat them. It will be crucial not to concede early and to keep ball possession and having them run around. We have the players to do it but as you said you also need a bit of luck.
I agree with the back four.
However, it would be a mistake for Dalic not to put Vusković in the lineup. At this point he is proving to be better than the other options we have aside from Gavrdiol.
I do think Dalic will play four in the back. He should be playing Vušković, but Dalic does love his vets.
The heat in Dallas shouldn’t be a concern. It’s a retractable roof that will be closed and climate controlled.
First game in Dallas is indoor btw, temperature controlled, not hot and humid food
Learned a lot from you over the years here. I usually agree with your analysis.
Eight months ago I might have agreed regarding Vuskovic.
But the facts have changed dramatically.
Vuskovic’s overall stats make him one of the very best defenders in the Bundesliga, and you can even make a case to put him right at the top. Check out his stats in the various categories. In any event, over the course of a full season he is in the very top tier, one of the very best, an elite Bundesliga defender.
We can talk about veterans, we can talk about rookies, but talking just in terms of quality, Vuskovic ranks so highly now it is very difficult to see how Dalic could make the choice to start him on the bench.
Vuskovic has already faced Harry Kane as has been said by others here. I believe Sutalo and Stanisic are both underrated and under appreciated, but even giving them their due, Vuskovic ranks ahead of both Stanisic and Sutalo. And are you going to sit Vuskovic to start DCC, Pong, or Erlic?
Lastly, in 2022 Gvardiol was not a veteran. Dalic started him. Gvardiol played in the Bundesliga at the time. He was a quality Bundesliga defender, (though his stats and impact in Germany were not comparable to what we see with Vuskovic.) Dalic went with Gvardiol in WC 2022 because of the quality Gvardiol offered. There is every reason to believe he will, in a similar way, go with Vuskovic in 2026.
Marco Pasalic is back today too – pretty good day for the vatreni
Poor Pašalić will be getting some competition for that RW spot.
Since he played in the Colombia/Brazil friendlies, we’ve had Stojković and Šegečić go on a tear.
All three of them are real spark plugs of energy. It would be nice to bring all three. Stojkovic shot off the post today, reminded me of Orsic.
I think there is an argument that Pasalic has home field advantage. If Stojkovic and Segecic get selected, Pasalic might be cut. Does not seem right. Rather go with two goalies. If you do have that bad of luck that you need a third goalie, things are probably not going well anyway.
Seriously! We desperately need people on the front line. We could honestly drop a defender and a goalie. Probably Pongracic but for whatever reason Dalic won’t do this even tho we are in need in the final third.
Agreed, If we meet Spain in the round of 16, and meet Portugal or France, Brazil in the final or semi-final, we are going to need the ability to put up more goals most likely.
Our backline will surely give up points to these monsters
Even if Kramaric and Perisic play I see it for 45 minutes a game.
Ready or not, the key to our rising is the maturation of Sucic Cousins, Baturina, Pasalic, and the likes of Stoj, and Segecic, two men who did not play a role in getting us here. Kovacic is not going to cut it.
We need to cut (at least ) one of Pongracic, Erlic or Duje.
Dalic will very likely call up 9 defenders (Gvardiol, Stanisic, Vuskovic, Sutalo, Jakic, Smolcic, Duje, Erlic, Pongracic), which is way too much.
Smolcic is the new guy in the group (meaning Dalic would be most likely to cut him), but he actually provides some needed depth at RB behind Stanisic or Jakic (especially if we decide to put Stanisic at LB with Gvardiol at LCB next to Vuskovic and Jakic).
In almost any scenario, we will not need all of Sutalo, Duje, Erlic and Pongracic…especially since the scenario of NONE of them starting is a possibility (if we decide to move Gvardiol to CB, or if we decide to play three at the back).
Stojokovic could easily had a hat trick today. I agree, need to consider bringing Stojakovic and Segecic to the friendlies. I guess it might be too much to consider at this late date. If this is Dalic last rodeo, hope he decides to take some chances right up to the last minute, albeit time is running out to judge the latest options.
Most likely this time next year, Kramaric, Modric, and Perisic will all be retired so it is inevitable.
They are both in great form and can both play RW.
Dalić would be a complete idiot if he didn’t call them both up and continue to call up more unnecessary CBs or central midfielders.
They are both in great form and can both play RW.
Dalić would be a complete nimrod if he didn’t call them both up and continue to call up more unnecessary CBs or central midfielders.
Back line seems pretty clear to me:
Jakic-Vuskovic-Gvardiol-Stanisic
Looks pretty damn good. Who knows what will happen though, we’ll see.
I 2nd that notion. That may be our dual-purpose offensive line as well. Really insane reality. Vida who?
lol true dat. I will say though, for all of the grief we write about Lovren-Vida, they tended to step up during the WC. I can’t remember many glaring defensive mistakes either made in 2018 or 2022. They were both “reliable” back there for the month
Back line seems pretty clear to me:
Jakic-Vuskovic-Gvardiol-Stanisic
But who knows. The above is pretty damn good though. We’ll see.
Great news. This team seems to be evolving into a better version of the 2022 NT. Croatia will be missing Lovren and Brozovic, but we already lost Mario, and Ivan the cycle before. The other older stars are still with us, just in the twilight of their careers, at reduced speeds.
The friendly schedule is 4 quality matches great preparation. We should be ready with everyone peaking, plus some potential surprise call ups.
France, Portugal are locked and loaded