Croatia kicks off the first game of the 2022 World Cup Quarter-Finals against five-time winners Brazil on Friday, December 9th at 10am EST in Education City Stadium.
Here are some interesting stats to keep in mind before the match up:
- Brazil has a 73% chance to win Friday night in Qatar ( however, we thrive as heavy underdogs 😉 )
- Croatia have not lost in 10 straight matches
- Brazil have been the first to score in 8 of their last 9 matches
Here are some more… stats… if you value these superstitious tidbits like I do:
- Every time Croatia has progressed from the group stages of a World Cup, they’ve gone on to make at least the semi-final
- 1998: Semi-final appearance, bronze medal
- 2018: Final appearance, silver medal
- 2022: Gold medal??
- Almost every single game played at Education City Stadium this World Cup has resulted in an upset:
- Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
- Uruguay 0-0 South Korea
- Tunisia 1-0 France
- South Korea 2-1 Portugal
- Morocco 0(3)-0(0) Spain
Now, onto the important stuff. How does Zlatko Dalić line the boys up for the most difficult match of the tournament? A victory here would leave the worst in the past as Brazil possesses undoubtedly the most dangerous squad in the world.
Scenario 1: Stick To The Usual
Fine, maybe Croatia hasn’t exactly played the prettiest football so far, bar the Canada thumping. But, it’s been… working? We are in the quarter-finals, after all. This being the likeliest of the scenarios, expect Dalić to stick to the usual suspects in midfield, defense and most likely in attack as well. Brazil is in some ways a great match-up for Croatia, and in others, a nightmare. The game will be much more open: no low-block defending and counter game like against Japan and definitely no bunkering like the Moroccans. Brazil lined up with essentially five attackers against South Korea and went guns blazing. This leaves lots of room in the midfield for Kovačić to make his runs and Modrić to thrive with his creativity, as well as their defense likely leaving more gaps than the Japanese and Moroccans, giving our attackers the space to potentially create something. However, speed kills, and we’ve escaped tricky situations against Canada and Japan, who also possessed great speed, but the difference here is that although Brazil is lightning quick, they also know how to score. The chances we gave up against Canada, Belgium, or Japan, will be converted every single time when going up against Neymar, Vini Jr, and Richarlison. The Vini Jr vs Juranović match-up will be a frightening one for us fans, JJ will have to make sure he’s at peak performance for Friday. Luckily, we’ve got the best defender in the world as our star center-back. I’m talking about Lovren, of course.
Here’s what to expect if Dalić lines up according to this scenario:
Scenario 2: High Risk, High Reward
This will almost certainly NOT occur. But it’s a great what if:
The idea here is kind of a striker-less, free-flowing system. Majer has the freedom to be offensively creative and can distribute to Perišić and Kramarić. He also knows how to bang one in from time to time. We still have our midfield three (or four, if Majer drops back a bit), that will almost certainly dominate the Brazilian one. Krama can roam on the right and middle as he has cover by one of the extra midfielders or Juranović. Perišić can still track back on his left side if need be, or roam into the striker area when in possession. It allows our boys to play more freely and display their talent and creativity in what would be a shock formation and definitely not what the Brazilians expect from how we’ve been so far in this World Cup. It’s very ballsy and very boom or bust. Could work and we pull off a miraculous high scoring victory, or we get destroyed as we’re basically playing formation-less (a kind of 4-6-0), untested football.
Scenario 3: Defend, Defend, Defend Until Penalties
At this point I think it’s pretty proven that we excel in penalties. Our odds going into this match, whether it be by the oddsmakers or by anybody who’s seen just how dominant Brazil have been and how average we’ve been (by our standards), are pretty low. Would you let the result be decided by penalties? I would. We’ve got a quick keeper, smart players, and most important of all- balls. Croats don’t crack under pressure, they thrive. This formation would consist of a hyper defensive line-up with the goal of playing ugly, defensive football. Our midfield is stronger than theirs so we’d still hold a good bit of possession, however, the aim would be to not concede rather than attack and score.
Perišić as striker allows our best goalscorer to be the main threat, while also ensuring we have a forward who will definitely track back and help out defensively. Five defenders, of course, is a good idea if playing a defensive style, but this formation has not been tested much with this group of players, so it may not be a great idea to start experimenting in a World Cup quarter-final.
How should Dalić line-up? If he goes with the most likely (99% chance) scenario 1, who does he start up top? Livaja, Petković, Kramarić or Budimir?
Discuss!!
We need to start Stanisic for this match. He completely shutdown Mbappe and regularly trains against players like Coman and Sane who are very quick so he knows how to defend against players with great speed. Juranovic has been doing an excellent job but I get the feeling he might be fatigued.
Won’t happen. You can’t just inject the kid like that. Will shit his pants.
What’s the word in Croatia on who is starting ? Looks like Dalic is going conservative plan with experience and D but it’s all rumours right now
Most reliable thing I’ve heard is:
Liva; Sosa-Gvar-Lovren-JJ; Modric-Broz-Kova; Perisic-Kramaric-Vlasic
Thanks Markus- not a lot of surprises- good luck to the boys
Guys, read this! It’s extremely inspiring from Ćiro!!
Njemačka – 1. dio
Na Europskom prvenstvu ‘96.g. protiv Njemačke, sjetiti ćete se, odigrali smo jednu od naših najboljih utakmica, još bolju od one protiv Danaca. Bili smo fantastični, ali osim protivnika s druge strane, protiv nas je igrao i švedski sudac Leif Sundella. On je prije utakmice bio odlučio da su Nijemci ti koji moraju proći dalje pa je jedva dočekao jednu napucanu loptu u ruku dosuditi kao penal, Klinsmannu nije dosudio crveni karton, a Štimcu je nepravedno dao drugi žuti i izbacio ga iz igre. Na kraju nije dosudio ni čist faul u napadu nakon kojega smo primili gol i sasvim nepravedno izgubili utakmicu te ispali sa prvenstva.
Prije te utakmice ja sam vikao kako želim dobiti Nijemce za protivnike, pa su mi mnogi to zamjerili, ali to nije bilo nikakvo pretjerivanje, izazivanje ili pokušaj motiviranja, već sam ja zbilja znao da smo bolji od njih i da ćemo ih, ukoliko dođe do međusobnog sraza, glatko pobijediti. Za sudca, međutim, nisam mogao znati!
U svlačionici stadiona u Manchesteru naš kapetan Zvone je nakon te utakmice rekao kako se nada da ćemo za dvije godine, na Svjetskom prvenstvu u Francuskoj, dobiti priliku da im se osvetimo, a upravo to se u četvrtfinalnoj utakmici na stadionu u Lyonu 04. srpnja 1998.g. i dogodilo.
——
Čitavu noć prije utakmice probdio sam razmišljajući o teoriji. Imao sam problem s Bierhoffom, jer nisam imao igrača koji bi ga mogao dobiti u zraku. Ideja mi je bila zaustaviti stoga, nabacivanja na njega. Razmišljao sam o tome kako ću igračima ispričati priču o Rommelu i Montgomeryju. Rommel je bio puno bolji u strategiji, ali nije imao goriva pa se tenkovi nisu mogli pomaknuti s mjesta i Montgomery je na kraju pobijedio. A onda, taj dan, čovjek koji je bio sa mnom rekao mi je da zove predsjednik Tuđman. I Tuđman mi kaže: ‘Ćiro, danas moraš pobijediti’. Objasnio mi je kako će na utakmici osim njega biti i Njemački Kancelar Helmut Kohl pa iako smo već do sada napravili veliku stvar, nakon ove pobjede će se u cijelom svijetu malo drukčije i malo ljepše govoriti o Hrvatskoj i hrvatskom sportu.
Bio sam baš na putu u svlačionicu kada me je zvao, napetost je bila na vrhuncu, a taj hodnik je bio pun nekih ogledala. Pogledao sam se u ogledalo i vidio boju kože moga oca Mate prije nego što je umro. Bio sam prvo nekako blijed, pa žut, a onda, kako mi se učinilo, i zelen.
‘O, moj Bože…’, pomislio sam, ‘hoću li to umrijeti?’.
Takav sam otišao igračima kojima sam namjeravao iznijeti onu teoriju o kojoj sam cijelu noć razmišljao. Imao sam sve nacrtano na papiru, ali nisam počeo pričati ni o čemu. Izašao sam pred njih i šutio. Nisam mogao ništa izustiti jer sam razmišljao o tome hoću li umrijeti ili ne. Prošlo je bilo već sedam minuta, a ja im ništa nisam rekao.
Ugledam tada svoje igrače, u svlačionici je bila potpuna tišina, i nakon nekoliko trenutaka vidim da su i oni iste zelene boje kao i ja. Shvatim tada da smo svi u istom emocionalnom stanju. To im je inače najteže iskomunicirat, ali sada, evo, nije bilo nikakve potrebe za tim – oni su već bili tamo gdje ih želim dobiti.
Zgužvao sam odmah papir s teorijom i bacio ga. Jebeš teoriju u ovakvom trenutku! Sve što sam im rekao bilo je: ‘Izađite na teren i poginite za hrvatsku zastavu i za sve koji su dali živote za Hrvatsku’.
‘Cijela Hrvatska stoji iza vas!’, zaključio sam svoj govor aludirajući na nevjerojatnu podršku navijača koju imamo ovdje u Francuskoj, ali i u domovini, te na činjenicu i da je predsjednik osobno došao na utakmicu.
Moji sinovi istrčali su nakon toga na teren kao da su pušteni s lanca. Vidjelo se na njima da dvije godine samo ovo čekaju. Nitko nas više, znao sam, ne može zaustaviti!
Osvetiti ćemo im se za ono od prije dvije godine…
Wow just wow Slavonac. Thanks.
My sources are telling me that kramaric is going to return to the center striker role and Vlasic will come back on the wing.
I can see a bit of what Dalic is going for. He knows Croatia will have to be more defensive against Brazil and doesn’t trust the industry of Kramaric to run up and down the wing constantly. He needs someone with a more traditional engine like Vlasic.
These are the types of moments you think of a rebic and what he did last world cup and the distance covered
Unfortunately, Marko Pjaca was taken from us way too soon, even with the help of modern knee doctors.
Just re-watched cro/arg. and we do miss that running and pressure from Rebic.
We were much faster and more athletic then.
Livaja sending the hookers to Brazil hotel as we speak
Ajmoooooooo
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qbiNCbWuisA
Scenario 3 would be best!!
If someone wanted to feel good about Croatia’s odds, they would say Croatia’s performance since Euro 2021 is one of the best in the world. 13 wins, 6 ties and most importantly only 1 loss. You can put that record up against the best in the world and it hasn’t been against easy competition. Unfortunately, right up there for best record since the last Euro/Copa America is Brazil and Croatia’s likely next opponent with a miracle…Argentina
team win tie loss
argentina 16 3 1
brazil 15 3 1
croatia 13 6 1
germany 11 6 2
england 10 6 3
france 11 4 4
spain 12 3 5
belgium 9 4 6
10:30 PM in Qatar right now.
Time for the boys to go to sleep and get a good nights rest full of sweet dreams of beating Brazil tomorrow and making history. No rubbing one out tonight, need to save up the mojo for Brazil.
Get some good rest and tomorrow – maybe wake up 7:00AM, light breakfast, go to mass, light lunch, meditation, then ready to face Brazil.
Final preparation for battle while Brazil practices dance moves all night long.
I heard they had one last Lindo kolo practice before bed, for the Dance Off competition.
fk yeah! that would be so rad to see after a win tomorrow!!!!
The fact that we have to wait till orsic to be sick to actually talk about too bad he is not starting or playing is absurd
He has been plenty healthy the last couple of years and has barely seen the field
I feel like we need to take a similar strategy to what we used against Argentina last World Cup: turn it into a street fight. These south american teams are pussies when push comes to shove. Constant fouls will have them falling and earning their academy awards but it will frustratingly break up their play. Brazilians are the biggest bitches of them all.
I 100% agree, I would tell them to hit them hard. They are scared of being hit and have even admitted that themselves
Scenario 2 would be great. Majer had showed some great quality. And creatief some oppurtinities. And great that Sosa is back.
Brazil lost to Cameroon and struggled to beat Switzerland with a late goal – the Portuguese scored 6 against them. Croatia tied the number 2 ranked team in the World (Belgium) and tied another quarterfinal team (Morocco), and beat Japan, who beat Germany and Spain.
No way Brazil should be heavy favorites.
CROATIA need to play with no fear, confidence, & flair,
BUT AS 1 UNIT, YOU CAN BREAK 1 STICK, BUT 11, IMPOSSIBLE.
Brazil are all out for individual glory.
CROATIA enjoy your success, you’ve acheived the unbeleivable,
SECRET TO SUCCESS IS TEAM SPIRIT
@ Markus – great article!
To comment on a few things..
Budimir was subbed off knowing PKs were highly likely. Budimir is not a PK taker while Livaja would 100% be one for us – and a decent one at that. He also had a decent eye for goal even though he’s lazy.
Budimir at least pressed even though he wasn’t effective and lacks the technical skills that both Livaja and Petkovic possess. I’d start Budimir and sub him for Livaja/Petkovic later on.
Given that Orsic is now likely out for tomorrows game, I actually like the third lineup by Markus. It could actually be more of a 3-5-2 with Sosa and Juranovic playing as wingbacks. Or they can shift and play more defensive with 5 at the back. But I agree…defending typically hasn’t served us well. That being said our D is MUCH better than it’s been in the last 20 years. It could be a strength for us given our offence is our weakest area.
It will be a tough game but I have faith….ajmo!!!
🇧🇦🇧🇦🇧🇦🇧🇦🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷💪🏆
England player Sterling’s family was victimized by ARMED robbery in their home. Guns are ILLEGAL in England, so honest people aren’t allowed to defend themselves so of course ARMED robbery and worse is an epidemic in England. When I told a liberal “you will not prevent me from defending my family instead of waiting for the cops to show up AFTER my family has been victimized” his reply was “okay I get it, you’re a gun nut”. < i.e. I DESTROYED yet another dishonest rat vermin.
On a lighter fun side, they are saying this is the battle of the “Iconic kits”.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4827767/brazil-vs-croatia-world-cup-quarterfinal-a-battle-of-kits
Would like to take the moment and wish Brazil a safe and enjoyable flight this weekend back home.
It really is like I am constantly three steps ahead in this tournament
The other day I broke the Sosa news and noted how this is worrisome not simply for Sosa, but because it could indicate a virus that will spread to the team
Sure enough, here we have it. I find it hard to believe that only Sosa and Orsic are effected and you likely have a series of other players with it potentially too
Honestly I don’t know, is it a contagious virus? or some sort of reaction due to fatigue and the AC in the stadium creating artifical conditions. I’m hoping it’s the latter, where each player is having the same bad reaction but that it’s not a virus which can be passed on. You would think the entire team would have it by now, otherwise?
Normally I support your predictions
But this one is filed under a no shit Sherlock prediction
Orsic out, virus like Sosa had…
Dang, could have really used his pace and shooting in this match, knew this illness would be a problem…
Safe to say if we go through, this will continue to be an issue for the squad going forward.
https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/nogomet/sp2022/orsic-ne-igra-protiv-brazila-odaberite-sastav-koji-bi-trebao-krenuti-po-jednu-od-najvecih-pobjeda-ikad-15284261
Sad to see that news. Who is best to replace him?
Cold/flu has been going thru my family since thanksgiving. It is bad. Good reason not to have the world cup in the dead of Western hemisphere winter.
There is an article about Vinicius Junior and Eder Militao ordering steak s listićima zlata, for dinner last night.
They could be fattening themselves up for slaughter on arrogance and hubris, from the humble man from the selo. Reminds me of their behavior before the recent WC germany final.
To je to.
Really? At least Brazilian team came out and said they respect Croatia, and think it will be their toughest opponent yet.
They should be more appropriately having some Worcestershire and horseradish sauce with that steak. LOL, just trying to get the juices flowing. Win or lose, we will celebrate have our cevap and Ajvar.
I also read that Brazil is preparing a special “dance,” to celebrate the goals they score against Croatia….
…Meanwhile in the Croatian camp…the Vatreni are sharpening their swords preparing for battle…
For Sure, hubris will do a team in.
The Croats should dance Kolo after they score.
LOL, unlikely.
Iceland knows how to celebrate with humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHpAYlas7lA
The Slovene’s went out on a branch in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTJCiFhgbkI
The Slovenian Happy tree dance in 2010.
They should dance Kolo. You’re right on MEDO
https://slobodnadalmacija.hr/sport/domaci-nogomet/dalic-sprema-nove-promjene-za-dvoboj-s-brazilom-u-vrhu-napada-nece-biti-ni-livaja-ni-petkovic-evo-kako-bi-sastav-trebao-izgledati-1246949
According to this article, Dalic is preparing new changes. Orsic should be played in my opinion.
Right on , Mini. Said that from Game 1- need our fastest guy to push their d back and have more space for 3 midfielders- the WC has shown it’s a fast scramble game now even if we want to slow it down – we need space for our midfield- tell Orsic to challenge all over the place.
Orsic wasn’t at practice today has a fever. Let’s go 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🔥🔥🔥💪💪⚽️⚽️
Too bad- could have used him – call Rebic – standard offer for him chicks and booze – amjo!!!
Does anyone know if there is a rift between Budimir and Dalic. I thought he played well but only played 10 minutes. Why? He should be starting against Brazil
Na Dalic values Budimir
Don’t think there’s any rift. Purely performance . He wasn’t ON , Dalic saw this and changed him to avoid penalties
Not confirmed but I think he was only taken out because it was going to PKs, and Dalic thinks Livaja is better there. Although as we saw, that might not be the case
I though the same thing…maybe Livaja was subbed-in for penalties? I’m pretty sure he’s Hajduk’s main PK guy, so it wasn’t a bad idea, just didn’t work out.
One of the Spanish players took the same type of penalty shot and it was saved. I think Livaja was having an off moment, definitely a bad choice for a penalty shot. We will need to see if Livaja can move passed this and contribute the way he does for his club. I still believe he is our best option up front. I don’t believe Budimir is much better but he still a viable option if we are in need.
Belgium is a difficult team to face, Petko didn’t do the best against Japan either. Many of the pundits were writing him off, I am not because Petko has showcased himself in big moments as well, again off moments under pressure I think. We are too quick to write off over nothing, mind you Livaja had 15 mins on the field, not much time to do anything especially if everyone else around you is tired and unable to provide service in the box. I think they looked gassed out. Japan had the right approach to that game in my view.
I think this is the pressure getting to our players more than anything and not enough substitutions earlier on when they are needed. I still think that Livaja lines up well with Kramaric they just need to find a way to click alongside Perisic.
I think 60/40 is the way to go as someone mentioned before the last game. As for the backline Barisic was a substitute in Sosa’s position and now I think we see how valuable Sosa is. People are saying Stanisic over Juranovic, but Juranovic had decent moments of press so I wouldn’t write the guy off either.
I think it’s paying attention to who is tired and who is not. Dalic isn’t focusing on the fatigue factor enough. Maybe Juranovic is tired and needs rest, maybe Lovren is too. Maybe Kramaric, among players in our midfield as well.
We will see, I had strong opinions against players prior to certain games and they changed my way of thinking, Livakovic in specific.
So I hope that Dalic chooses well, and I don’t hink he is wrong to suggest that Switzerland picked the right approach they didn’t loose by a huge scoreline, and could have pulled something off. What’s more the possession and shots stats were fairly close, aside from the shots on goal.
It’s doable for our team definitely, but the right approach and execution here is necessary. It will be a difficult match for sure.
Na Dalic values Budimir
Don’t think there’s any rift. Purely performance .
How high were you watching that game? He was pretty bad.
Scenario 3 would be best. But Dalic will go with the usual.
Oh boy how we love it when everyone is writing us off!
Don’t these folks ever learn…NEVER underestimate a Hrvat💪
Ajmo!!!
Naša Gospa, Majka Božja Bistrička moli za nas.
Bog i Hrvati
I love how Morocco gets so much respect, but we don’t.
Budimir up top to start.
At least he had positioned himself to have a head on goal.
He plays against Brazilians all the time in La Liga.
Livaja/Petković will make everyone run for them. We can’t afford that against Brazil.
Vlašić starts at RW. He loves to attack and that penalty will give him confidence.
Defensive 4-4-1-1 to start
Budimir
Modrić
Perišić, , Kovačić, Brozovic, Vlašić
Sosa, Gvardiol, Lovren, Stanisic
Livakovic
Sub Budimir at half if he is tired or ineffective.
Pasalic, Majer, Oršić, Sučić, Kramaric at the ready.
We need to finally start strong on defense.
Every game we have looked vulnerable at the start.
Brazil is the wrong side to give cheap opportunities to as they will blow you out before you blink.
Jogo bonito moj kurac when things are going east for them.
Kovačić and Brozovic both protect the back line and then retain ball and through to the offense. Brozovic is World class and Kovačić is made for this game as he has shone in the EPL for Chelsea.
ZDS
Excellent points
The comments on here and most places are a joke. I can’t believe a player as crap as Kovacic continues to get game time. He loses the ball 3 or 4 times a game, can’t hit a long pass, is scared to possess the ball and when he shoots he usually misses the goal entirely or puts in a weak one right to the keeper. He fails the eye test dismally and if you look at his stats at both a club and national level they are horrendous. But the sheep continue to plaudid the most overrated player to ever wear the checkers.
Okay troll, dude is a ball handling point guard maestro.
A maestro doesn’t lose the ball regularly and can actually hit a long pass. But keep drinking the Kovacic koolaid.
Dalic is some what of a sreckovic. Tip my hat off he has results to back up 3 tournaments nation league semi top resume.
But his conservative approach costs us at times.
Look at santos he sat Ronaldo and his replacement scores a hattrick.
Do you think if we had better young stiker or cm whould ever sit kovacic broz or mandzukic in 2018 if we had a better striker.
I think hes too conservative and senitimental.
What ever happens tommorow good tournament the play has been ugly but we destroyed that cetnik and are in final 8 so iznad svi Hrvatska
Great point but Dalic doesn’t have the balls to do that
I feel loyalty is both Dalic’s strength and weakness. Loyalty kept Lovern, Livakovic, and Kramaric in the games, even when they struggled. Unfortunately, loyalty also left us with slow/out-of-form Livaja/Petkovic/Budimir. We need a hot striker. I’m hopeful one of them can pull it off.
This is just another friendly on our way to the trophy. Sorry Croatia. But Neymar is about to samba all over you. #brasil
If you hating why are you even here?
He’s scared. This is a coping mechanism.
As is the Samba dancing by the team! For a footballing nation of 214 million who should win it everytime, and being sent home early so often, they need a plan B show.
Markus, your 3rd option is fair but I fear we’d get killed if we play defensive. Our mentality has never been good when we try that.
Worth it!
https://www.croatiaweek.com/fifa-fines-croatian-football-federation-50000-swiss-francs/
If we play 4 – 3 – 3 we’ll get smashed. We need to play 4 – 5 – 1 like against France in the UEFA NL. We need to bunker down and keep them scoreless for as long as possible and then have a go in the second half. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care if its ugly as long as we win. I would have Budimir as the lone striker at least the guy can run and put some pressure on the opposing players. Second half bring on Majer, Vlasic and Orsic. Livaja and Petkovic are just too slow. Livaja is overweight and is more suited to playing Rugby Union.
Budmir up top is a must… Our only striker with a defensive work rate .. Also, the third lineup option, the bunker, is horrible… We are in the world cup quarter finals, with a better mid field then Brazil.. let’s go play some football
I agree, wouldn’t want to see the bunker. Just throwing it out there as a potential option.
if your the underdog – go down swinging.
Sorry but I completely disagree with the Budimir comment . Last game Budimir got subbed in and then subbed out. Do you know how unusual that is? I don’t ever remember seeing that unless the player got injured. He’s far from our answer and as much as I feel bad for not having any faith in him, I just can’t support him on the field…he’s way too ineffective.
We’ve clearly seen that we struggle up top and based on what we have seen, it’s a toss up between Livaja and Petkovic along with Krama on the right. I can’t believe I’m saying this but Krama has been decent and even good in some cases while Livaja had a good 45 minutes in the tournament and Petkovic might have had 30 good minutes. Livaja in my opinion has the ability to do well but fuck he’s lazy and often jogs or walks. Petkovic is being marked very closely so he has to move far from the goal to do anything with the ball.
I’ve seen lots of criticism towards Juranovic and I scratch my head. Ask yourself this…can anyone else we have push forward even remotely close to as much as Juranovic does? Do you realize how important it is to have our right defender force the opponent to back track? Some games I come here and see the constant call for Stanisic to start over him. I mean, he’s probably one of our best players to go forward and you want to sub him for a defensive defender? I like Stanisic but he’s really only played 1 or 2 at most good games for us. Juranovic is no superstar but give him credit, the guy has soo much lung capacity and he’s constantly forcing every opponent to back track…that’s a massive plus for us.
Lovren has been decent but if we want to take a risk then we need to play Sutalo alongside Gvardiol. Sutalo is the type of player that take’s calculated risks…he likes to read the play and jump in front of the attacker he’s marking and intercept the ball…and he’s very good at making passes with both feet. He’s one advantage that could help us but he’s also a risk if he misreads the play!
If we are healthy and not overly tired, I think we can get a result although it’ll be one of the toughest games for us ever! We lack up front and having two handicaps is really hurting us ( this is also why Juranovic and Sosa are important). We have to remain compact in the middle and block as many crosses as possible, Barisic couldn’t stop shit, he was absolutely brutal and should never be called again…Melnjak is better than him by a mile! I’d like for Livaja to give us his best ever game and bulky those Brazilian defenders. He’s tough, he can score and he’s a bastard to mark as king as he’s in the mood and motivated! We need him now more than ever!
I think we have a chance to do something folks! Discipline, follow the plan and we are capable to fuck up anyone in a one game elimination!
Idemo dalje!!
I agree, Budimir doesn’t offer anything. He can’t really “run” because, quite frankly, he’s just as slow as Petko and Livaja. No use playing him against a team like Brazil.
Glad to have you back Slavonac! 😉
Great article Markus!
6-1 Brasil
If your not a Croat or a fan of the team what are you doing on this site??
Gdje si pajdo? Reci
Hello Mattinho
You are a little bitch like your mom. Go away. 😀😀
Yea, I rather fight like Roy Jones Jr than Floyd Mayweather Jr if you catch my drift.