Preview: Croatia vs Faroe Islands — World Cup Qualifying, Matchday 3
Croatia returns to World Cup qualifying action on Friday, September 5th at 2:45pm EST, as the Vatreni visit the Faroe Islands in their third match of the campaign. After a blistering start in June, claiming six points and netting 12 goals across two games, Zlatko Dalić’s men look to maintain their dominance in Group L.
This fixture presents another opportunity for Croatia to demonstrate its depth and quality, especially with key absences across the lineup. With momentum on their side and expectations high, the challenge will be entirely mental — can the Vatreni maintain focus against an underdog opponent? The Faroe Islands, despite losing many of their recent fixtures, have not lost by more than one goal since June 2024.
So, how will Dalić look to lineup against apparent “minnows” in the Faroe Islands? Does he opt to give fringe players a chance to shine, or is it all business with a full-force eleven? Here’s how Croatiansports.com believes Croatia will look on Friday in Torshavn: (Note: Joško Gvardiol (injury), Mateo Kovačić (injury), Luka Sučić (suspension), Josip Stanišić (birth of child), and Luka Vušković (U21 duty) were left out of the squad).
Goalkeeper: Dominik Livaković
There’s no question between the posts — Dominik Livaković remains the undisputed No.1. After a turbulent stint in Turkey, the 30-year-old has joined Girona on loan in LaLiga, where he’ll look to recapture the form that made him a standout in the 2022 edition of the World Cup.
Dominik Kotarski is off to a flying start with Copenhagen, and continues to build a case as the future of Croatian goalkeeping. But for now, Livaković’s experience gives him the nod.
Defence: Adjustments Without Gvardiol
The absence of Joško Gvardiol forces Dalić into a reshuffle at the back. Borna Sosa has been called up to bolster left-back depth and could start by default. The new Crystal Palace signing is aiming to reignite his career in the Premier League and should be eager to impress.
Alternatively, Kristijan Jakić will likely find himself slotting into the right-back role. The FC Augsburg midfielder has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season, most recently netting a goal and an assist against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Jakić has proven himself a serviceable Swiss-army knife off the bench for the Vatreni in past matches against Portugal and Scotland, and he will likely see himself favoured over recently called-up Smolčić.
At centre-back, Duje Ćaleta-Car, newly transferred to LaLiga, is expected to continue his defensive partnership alongside Josip Šutalo. The duo has looked solid across the opening matches of qualifying and this is unlikely to change against the Faroese opposition.
Midfield: New Faces?
At age 40, Luka Modrić continues to defy logic. His move to AC Milan has been seamless, and his performances remain at an elite level, despite Milan’s rocky start.
Joining him in midfield will be Petar Sučić, who has rapidly settled in across town at Inter Milan. With Henrikh Mkhitaryan now watching from the bench, Sučić has made an immediate impression, showing flashes of brilliance and composure beyond his 21 years of age. His high energy play and confidence in possession has drawn comparisons to Marcelo Brozović (with the potential to surpass him). Check out his no-look, line-breaking assist to Marcus Thuram on his Serie A debut, linked below.
With Modrić and Sučić locking down the double pivot, the final midfield slot remains up for debate.
Who gets the nod at attacking midfield?
Andrej Kramarić (50%): The most likely option. Zlatko Dalić has a knack of fitting him into every lineup, and with the emergence of a natural right-winger in Marco Pašalić, perhaps Kramarić could operate more centrally in his preferred support-striker role. Alternatively, a rest ahead of the Montenegro match would be ideal.
Mario Pašalić (25%): A perrenial Dalić favourite, Mario Pašalić often draws mixed reactions. Not the most technical player, but he has an innate ability of creating goals in the opponent box — something Croatia might need to break down a low-block side like the Faroe Islands.
Martin Baturina (25%): The Como midfielder is still settling into life in Serie A, but this could be the perfect stage for a breakout international performance. Linking up with Modrić and former Dinamo teammate Sučić could offer a natural chemistry and confidence boost.
Toni Fruk (<1%): Still uncapped, Fruk will likely get his first minutes off the bench. While a start is unlikely, the Rijeka forward is one to watch for this international break.
Attack: New-Look Front Three?
On the wings, the situation is clear.
Ivan Perišić continues to roll back the years, enjoying a promising start in the Eredivisie. He remains first-choice on the left with his direct, precise, and lethal end product.
On the right, Marco Pašalić is making an irresistible case. While the MLS isn’t exactly the litmus test for talent, his form cannot be ignored — 14 goals and 5 assists in 33 starts, with most coming in the latter half of the season. Even more impressive, his xG hovers just under 7, meaning he’s scored more than double what the data would expect. Pašalić may not be the National Team’s saviour, but he is a natural, confident winger in good form. Not to mention, the only one on the right-hand side.
Up front, Ante Budimir remains the starting No. 9 for high-stakes matches, but this fixture could offer a chance for rotation. Franjo Ivanović, now settling in at Benfica, has shown promise with both club and country. Starting Ivanović here and saving Budimir for Montenegro could be smart, as it allows for solid squad management and giving the youth a chance.
Finally…
With six different scorers already in the campaign and a deep talent pool, Croatia’s depth will be put to the test. Against a side like the Faroe Islands, the Vatreni need to be level-headed and clinical.
What would your lineup look like for Friday’s match? Do you agree with our projected XI, or would you make different calls if you were in Dalić’s shoes?
Croatiansports.com Prediction: Croatia 3-0 Faroe Islands
Mudra has only played 17 min
And Boban brings in Bennacer from AC Milan
Thank god Jagusic stayed at SB
Is Soldo going to play ?
Basically anyone bought before Boban arrived has been sidelined
Seems petty
Gotta feel bad for Mudražija…but he’s not a player that Boban brought in.
I have a feeling that Boban knows what he’s doing to make Dinamo a perrennial UCL qualifying team.
On the other hand, I’m hoping that Hajduk and Dinamo don’t get into a pissing match of how many foreigners each team can bring in.
I still want to see some development.
Not sure about Boban and how long he will stay at Dinamo. He had good jobs at FIFA and UEFA and left because of his high ethics. He has a high opinion of himself and thinks that he is above everyone else.
Boban has discarded the old furniture and has brought in more than 20 new players. If things don’t work out on the playing field, he could be out of there quickly.
Well, he’s now a big fish in a small pond and he can have full control.
He can become Mamic 2.0 for us
Croatia currently #9 in FIFA rank (Pot 1 for World Cup draw)
Germany down to #11 after losing a whopping 18 point today (loss to Slovakia)
x.com/fmeetsdata/status/1963717940697592075
Based on players in squad should start following against such a weak opponent.
Smolcic …………………Sutalo……………………….D-CC…………………………Sosa……………
…………………………………………………….Jakic…………………………………………………………
Marco Pasalic…………………P.Sucic…………….Majer…………………….Baturina………….
………………………………………………………Ivanovic………………………………………………
I don’t know why Dalic doesn’t give Bradaric a look in these games. Decent club player in Serie A. But I think he is guy who ups his game when playing for the NT. These two games would’ve been the perfect test for him.
Marko Pjaca to Twente. Good move for him. Let’s see what he can do in the Eredivisie.
I’d pick the same lineup as the CroatianSports guys, but with Majer, Mario Pašalić, or Fruk starting instead of Baturina. I think the other choices are all good ones for a match in which the biggest challenge will be finding openings to score and in which artificial turf will be a factor (that makes starting Marco Pašalić a no-brainer).
Wow.. write something bad about Baturina and your post gets removed… Nice…..
No one removed your post. Must’ve been flagged and removed automatically, sorry about that.
The swear filter on this site is pretty sensitive.
You just need to use very mild words or else it puts your post into moderation automatically.
As per usual im sure we’ll take zero gain out of this opportunity to blood some new younger players.
We’ll see what happens.
I wish we called up a few more youngsters to try out at the end of games. Guys like Valincic, Prpic, Vuskovic, and maybe Hrgovic.
Any combination of our veterans (Perisic, Modric, Krama, Budimir) should always start. Not necessarily all of them at the same time, but most of them should. Petar Sucic obviously starts too. Sutalo as well.
But guys like Majer, Luka Sucic, Baturina, Ivanovic, and Luka Vuskovic should be worked into the lineup (either as starters or backups) because we will likely be relying on them over the next year or two.
This is my main beef with this callup list. Luka Sucic is suspended, Luka Vuskovic is sent to the U21s, and I could see either one of Majer or Baturina not getting any time whatsoever during these two games.
Hopefully Dalic gives Ivanovic, Baturina and Majer some meaningful minutes at least.
Also, we have a bit of a gap on the flanks in our backline. We are continuing to push Gvardiol at LB and we don’t seem to have any backups for Stanisic or Gvardiol (other than the two very “defensively inept” Sosa and Juranovic, who also don’t start for their clubs).
I don’t mind the Smolcic callup, especially if he’s more defensively sound than Juranovic…but he’s also a backup at Como (and very unlikely to ever start for them as they have a starter locked in at RB over there).
A Moris Valincic callup was a missed opportunity. He starts and plays every game for Dinamo, he’s younger, and he’s having a breakout year. We really should have called him up and given him some minutes. We still have Jakic in case we need stability and familiarity at RB.
Sosa starting at LB is ‘bleh’ for me. We should never expect to start him in a tournament. Since Gvardiol is injured and we don’t have a backup, I don’t mind the Sosa callup…I’d just rather not give him the full 90 minutes for both games (which will likely happen).
I wish we called up a young LB to try out for the last 15-20 minutes of the game (like Hrgovic). I would have loved to see what Valincic would do at LB and (of course) what Vuskovic can do for us at CB.
Playing Pongracic, Duje, Sosa, Juranovic more than you have to, isn’t going to do anything for us in the future.
Typo.
I meant to say “I would have loved to see what Valincic would do at RB”
When Gvardiol is injured, Croatia could end up doing what we did in 2018 with the left back position, having two relatively weak defenders who are better as wingbacks take turns giving it their all. Normally though, I would expect Stanisić to fill in at LB when needed because he is already playing there as a starter for a top club. Sosa is a decent player to have as a backup at that position until Dalić gains some trust in Hrgović, who at least made the standby list once before. If you look at Stanišić as a LB option, the Smolčić callup makes sense. Smolčić is a good player who provides a lot of threat from throw-ins, which can help break the bunker that Croatia usually faces. There is still time before 2026 to shuffle around the fringe players. Most importantly, Croatia seems to have a strong lineup all around. Jakić can play more than one position well (defensive mid, CB, RB, RW). Perišić has recently been playing some as a central striker and can play on the left or right. The only player whose form I would be doubting at all is Kramarić, but he plays the position where we have the most depth, so it’s not an issue, and he’s surrounded by much better players with Croatia than with Hoffenheim.
We may finally skate through qualifiers with 24 points, and a goal differential of 24 goals to boot. Scary. time for a rough bura if the kardiac kids have anything say about it.
A bunch of kids with a tape ball can beat Faris Wheel Island
Stanisic at this stage is not available for these matches as he and his partner are expecting birth of their child. Sutalo has just returned from injury, and I would be surprised if he will start.
This match could be a potential banana skin and the biggest problem as Dalic stated is the artificial turf. Faroes won’t be easy they narrowly lost their away matches to Czechia (2-1) and Montenegro (1-0) conceding late goals.
I’m more worried about this match than the home fixture against Montenegro, that is why we should start with our strongest 11and I believe that Dalic will do that. Budimir and Kramaric need to start and I’m hoping that Perisic will supply quality crosses for them. I would also start with Lovro Majer who has a cultured left foot and is good at taking corners and free kicks.
Defensively we have to be extremely cautious at set pieces i.e. corners and free kicks. With Gvardiol and Juranovic injured and Sutalo lacking match fitness the two Cb’s should come from DCC, Pongracic and Erlic. Two fullbacks will most likely be Smolcic and Sosa.
Jakic played RB against Scotland and 2nd half of Portugal (where he was outstanding) – will be surprised if he’s not given the nod ahead of Smolcic (Dalic anyways rarely starts players the first time they are called)
I agree. It should be Jakic.
Is Erlic retarded ?
Dalic points him out as an example y’day (missing brother’s wedding, calling Iva to plan for his wedding in 2026, etc)
Today Erlic says if WC preparations start early – it’s okay – he can miss a day of preparations (for his own wedding) – as long as the coach is okay with it lol
I mean how retarded is he ? You’re telling Dalic now you might have to miss a day of preparations bc of your own wedding – plan to f-ing wedding AFTER the World Cup final (July 19, 2026) it’s not rocket science
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Dalić je spomenuo vaše vjenčanje s Nikolinom, kćeri čuvenog gitarista Rikarda Perkovića. Jeste li naši datum?
– Ha, ha, izbornik je otkrio svima da se ženim. Da, razgovarao sam s Ivom, da vidim kad kreću pripreme za SP. Naravno ako se pripreme dogode ranije nije problem da odem jedan dan na početku priprema, bitno je da sve bude u dogovoru s izbornikom.
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The backline is a bit shaky.
Borna Sosa hasn’t played any EPL games for Crystal Palace yet.
Sutalo is still working his way back into form, and is only coming off the bench for Ajax.
Stanisic, however, starts and plays for Bayern and has been playing in every game since the FIFA Club World Cup. He’s in great form.
I wish Dalic gave Moris Valincic a chance. He’s currently one of the best players in the HNL and could have played RB for us, allowing us to slide Stanisic over to LB (in case Sosa is visibly out of form).
Sosa has not been playing in the EPL games but he has started for Crystal Palace in Conference League qualifying. He started in both games against Fredrikstad in late August and played pretty well in the second game on August 28. I think his form will probably be okay.
As for Sutalo, he played over 30 minutes in his most recent Eredivisie game and he looked in very good form, well recovered from his injury.
With Gvardiol and Stanisic out, Sutalo probably should start in order to provide some stability on the backline. Left to right on the back: Sosa, DCC, Sutalo, Smolcic.
Although I like the idea of having Baturina on the field with Modric to get him some game time and build his confidence, Baturina hasn’t been playing much and it is probably better to have Majer start in place of Baturina. Majer is playing very well to start the Bundesliga season . . .