Luka Vušković makes history by scoring Hamburg SV’s first Bundesliga goal in seven years. The 18-year-old, on loan from Tottenham for the season, found himself in the perfect spot when a failed free kick deflected right to him, allowing him to volley the ball into the back of the net.
Vušković has a history of finding the net early in his career:
- First goal for Hajduk Split: 16 years, 5 days old
- First goal for Radomiak Radom: 17 years, 9 days old
- First goal for Westerlo: 17 years, 5 months, 10 days old
- First goal for Hamburg SV: 18 years, 6 months, 27 days old
There’s no need for him to be playing for the U21s when he’s ready to contribute for the Vatreni. Now it’s up to Zlatko Dalić to call him up, and I think everyone can agree he should be playing regular minutes with the senior national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Vušković was named man of the match, finishing with a 9.2 rating. He was outstanding both offensively and defensively, making 14 clearances, 2 blocked shots, including one that would have gone in if he hadn’t been there, and winning 8 out of 10 duels.
Lazy Baturina bench
Meanwhile
Luka vs. Heidenheim comp
x.com/THFC_Mastrigt/status/1969782904575443320
Ouch
Lazy Bati remained on the bench (not even a mercy sub)
If you watched his last cameo you’d understand why – he is petrified to go into duels and they were nutmegging past him
Meanwhile
Petar Sucic played the full 90 minutes, got an assist on the 1st goal and high profile Inter fans demanding Inter build the future team around him
x.com/nimatavrood/status/1969860323000864824?s=46
Jose Mourinho on Franjo Ivanović:
“He played excellently. With his finish, he confirmed the calmness and boldness that a young player needs.”
Phew, we can all rest easy now that Jose likes Franjo.
His finish was very clever
The defender assumed Franjo would shoot the ball in with his “stronger” left foot (reasonable assumption) so he committed for the block
But Franjo read this and let the ball roll across his body – which created space – and then finished with this “weaker” right foot
Really clever
https://tbrfootball.com/german-media-issue-luka-vuskovic-caveat-despite-tottenham-stars-first-bundesliga-goal/
We should not just focus on his goal..its his overall game esp his defensive attributes that matter. There are reasons why dalic didnt select his earlier..hopefully not play like david luiz
Yes, some people on here are going over the top about Vuskovic scoring against the bottom placed and worst team in Bundesliga. He made some defensive mistakes in the match and is still a long way from the starting 11 for our senior team.
Next couple of years will be critical for his development, and I would say by 2027/28 we will know if he is the real deal?
In the meantime, our U21 play Ukraine on 15 October at home, and I think that’s where Vuskovic will be and that is where he belongs at this point in his career. He is better playing for the U21 than sitting on the bench for the first team.
Completely agree with this. If I remember correctly, some people on this site were making the argument that Roko Simic should have been called up to the senior NT when he was banging in goals in the Austrian second division. Look at him now.
Vuskovic isn’t ready. His ceiling is obviously 20x higher than Simic’s but, like you said, long way to go. Anyone who’s watched him play will tell you his inexperience is still very obvious.
Objectively, the Hamburg keeper was MOTM (that’s also what HSV fans voted >50% with Vuskovic c.20%, last Anonymous checked)
He kept them in the game with many good/great saves
Heidenheim had 2.98 xG – they didn’t capitalize as the HSV keeper made many really good saves AND Heidenheim were poor in their finishing (i.e. just missing the other side of the post a couple of times)
Very fine margins – but score could have easily been different
Vuskovic dominates in the defensive and offensive box – in particular anything in the air – he has a knack of knowing/getting to wear he needs to (e.g. heading the ball out of his box, or maneuvering to space for the goal) – he was by far the best player on the pitch in the box (both offensive and defensive) and not even close
He also missed a corner in the 27 minute – and kicked the ball over the net – thereafter he punched the goal post with his bandaged right hand (in case anyone is wondering how he injured his hand in the first place – you could hear the punch sound upon impact – ouch)
He also set up their 2nd goal by smartly taking the free kick quickly (noticing Heidenheim wasn’t set up yet) which let to attack quickly and scoring – smart that he read this and moved quickly
He was also very good in possession and using both feet to move the ball around – although a couple of times he was a bit late getting his pass off and it deflected/was blocked by the opponent – he needs to be more aware – so this doesn’t happen (as one time almost lead to a clear break against/behind him)
One thing he has to keep working on is at times he gets “flat footed” while defending – meaning an attacker goes one way – but if they have fast feet and can change to another direction quickly – Luka struggles in stopping and than starting again (in new direction) – he takes a split second too long to read and react (this we also saw, when Harry got that 1/2 yard of space goal last weekend)
Also, positioning wise defensively, there were at least 2-3 shots, that he could have gotten in front of and blocked, so they don’t actually get to the keeper – but 2-3 times he cut off the attackers angle, but should have gone directly in path of potential shot – I think this is bc he doesn’t want to cause a deflection, but your risking the keeper actually saving it and not making a mistake (see 2.98 xG)
About the 75 (maybe 80) minute mark, he got a bit tired, moreso mentally in terms of being switched on and sharp, Anonymous could tell, he was getting a little bit sloppy (e.g. in injury time he tried to clear it by kicking it out of his box, but it wasn’t a great clearance, and he sliced it and landed to Heidenheim player, which led to their goal) – I think this might explain why at U21 we’ve seen Croatia give up late goals to Faroe Islands (?) – hopefully he builds up his “mental stamina” so he can last the full 90 and beyond
After he scored, immediately after the restart, Heidenheim kicked a long ball, and Vuskovic tried to head it back to his keeper (he bent over leaning forward – something Simunic did many times), but went off his upper back/shoulder and led to a goal scoring chance (which the keeper saved) – I think he was a bit cocky after scoring, trying to be too cute, or kind of switched off for a second – can be easily fixed
All in all – he played very well – but there are definitely areas that still need focus/work (obviously he’s 18) – this is feedback with in mind that he has the potential to be one of the best in the world – so these details/fixes matter – hopefully Gvardiol (and I guess Mario) are watching his matches and call him and give him feedback (maybe Modric too) – game by game – we need them to be guiding him and giving him this feedback (not sure if the 2nd division HSV coaches have the knowledge to make him into a world-class defender)
I think Vuskovic x Gvardiol could complement each other very well (you can’t have 2 CBs with he same profile, they need to complete each other e.g. Romero x VdV) with Vuskovic being the dominant air guy and Gvardiol being the more mobile (in the box) 1 vs 1 defender – Anonymous sees this working
Dalic announcing his squad early again tomorrow/22nd (11 days before everyone else) ? It’s a shame as Vuskovic has Union Berlin and Mainz games coming up
One other thing that needs to be addressed – is when the forward runs to the side of Vuskovic in the box – towards the by-line – Vuskovic almost always follows this attacker (which he has to) – but he is committed in this direction – the issue is that leaves space behind him (higher up in the box) – so the attacker can cut it back pass higher in the box, with a trailing attacker crashing the box and lead to a shot/chance – this isn’t Vuskovic’s fault per say (as his primary responsibility is the primary attacker) – but HSV have to have their “defensive midfielder” follow the attackers into the box and cut off this line of passing – noticed this a few times last 2 games – and it’s happened a few times – and HSV hasn’t cleaned this up yet – they will get burned by this when they face more clinical teams who also notice this and will look to burn them – basically there is too much space in their own box between defenders and their midfielders at the tail end up facing transitions/attacks
This is a system/set-up issue (as opposed to individual defender issue) – but given Vuskovic can be a bit “flat footed” for a split-second if needs to change direction in his box it is a more pronounced “weakness” that needs to find a solution
Yes, I am also intrigued by a Gvardiol/Vuskovic partnership.
Gvardiol being more mobile could help cover the areas around Vuskovic.
I like Sutalo, but I find that (despite being pretty tall) he’s not good with headers (both offensively and defensively). He also has a lot of overlapping skills with Gvardiol.
I think having a towering Vuskovic in the back, with a Gvardiol type around him to cover those speedy forwards, would make for an awesome tandem.
We need to see what these guys can do together in this next round. Hopefully Vuskovic is called up and actually gets some minutes next to Gvardiol.
Bravo Luka!👏🏻
With the way things are going, I can see Vuskovic getting promoted to the senior NT pretty soon. And for real this time…
Nice weekend so far 🙂 Modric and Milan also won comfortably at Udinese (this team managed to surprise Inter at San Siro just a few weeks ago).
And just to add a bit more hrvatsko veselje, hehe… Bradaric played the full 90 in Verona’s 1-1 home draw with Juventus and it was thanks to his long throw-in in the 40′ that Verona were awarded a penalty (handball), from which his team equalized for the final 1-1 result.
Nice to hear about Bradaric.
I think Stanisic (when he’s back) will be our guaranteed starting LB for the World Cup. Gvardiol can play spot minutes at LB (if Stanisic is unavailable), but it’s still good to see what Bradaric can bring.
I don’t see any reason to call up Sosa anymore. He’s a net negative player.
For RB, it should be Jakic starting for us from now on.
Juranovic can still be called up, but he’s more of a RW player. I would never play him as RB (he’s too defensively weak).
I would call up Moris Valincic and see what he can do off the bench for us. He’s having a breakout year with Dinamo. Could be good bench player for us.
Hopefully Vuskovic can follow this up with a few more solid games and leave Dalić no choice. Pongracic has played poorly and would be the easy choice to be replaced.
I see Bradaric had been getting regular time for Hellas Verona as a LWB in a 3-5-2…he was a LB originally. Looks to be a better option than Sosa – definitely has more speed.
We need some LBs and RBs as cover. Stanišić has been so injury prone. Anyone know what’s up with Juranovic and when he’s expected to be back? He’s another injury prone player.
@ A Tin U – Agree with Gvardiol back at LB…at this point I’d be very comfortable with Jakic at RB.
I wouldn’t start Luka Vuskovic right away.
We need him to develop chemistry with a CB partner first, by playing him off the bench for the final 20-ish minutes of the game.
My criticism of Dalic comes from him not doing this already. Games against Gibraltar and Montenegro were PERFECT games to really test him out in a competitive match, where we had a multi-goal cushion.
If we let these games in October and November go by (without giving him minutes off the bench) then we take the risk of just throwing him into the fire during a tournament like we foolishly did with Gvardiol at Euro2020.
Vuskovic has played 2 games in a top league. 2 only. I think he can do it though. He can play for the NT and it will only help him develop quicker. But I also think you guys are too harsh on some of our other defenders. Our defenders are good. Sometimes the defensive mix ups are down to a lack of coherent structure, not necessarily individual lack of ability. Pong, Erlic DCC are talented. Croats often late development. Just trust it
To be honest, we’ve given Pongracic, Duje and Erlic a LOT of games to assess them.
We don’t have a good record with Pongracic in the starting eleven. Duje and Erlic are okay, but nothing special. Just decent depth players.
Vuskovic played amazingly in Belgium (a top-8 league) as a 17 year-old and he’s off to a great start in the Bundesliga (as an 18 year-old).
There is nothing outlandish with simply calling him up and giving him 20 minutes off the bench.
If he were Spanish, then the #1 ranked country in the World (Spain) would have already played him in 5-10 games by now.
Great to see Vuskovic have this big game.
I believe Dalic will make the right decision now, especially with Stanisic sidelined and our back end needing reinforcements.
I believe most of us called for this and now it will happen.
I know some might disagree, but Sutalo and Vuskovic to start in the middle against Czechia would be my call. Sutalo has had a slow start to the season due to injury, but he was fantastic last year and will soon find his form. He was really impressive last season for Ajax.
Gvardiol on the left back . . . with a licence to move forward up the left side and join Peresic on the attack . . .
Who would we want as the fourth defender at right back?
Stanisic was a cinch for it before his injury . . .
Jakić at RB. Vusković into the starting lineup. He obviously can do it
I’m the biggest Vuskovic fan…but starting Sutalo and Vuskovic against the Czech Republic is too big a risk.
They haven’t played together yet. They SHOULD have played together by now, but unfortunately they have not.
I would call him up and have him ready off the bench, but we need to play a more tried and tested backline just to play it safe.
Sosa and Pongracic simply CANNOT start for us.
We’re likely going to go with Gvardiol/Duje/Sutalo/Jakic as our back four.
Ivanović and Budimir scored today too.
Both of them with a great start to the season bodes well for our World Cup.
Hoping Dalić won’t take offense to everyone calling for Vušković to be called up. We need a nice young CB option to provide cover for Gvardiol and Sutalo (in case one of them gets injured or suspended).
Awesome!
Hi guys,
Remind me again why we shouldn’t call up Vušković to the senior team?
I recall a bunch of reasons why, but I forgot what they were.
The ridiculous amount of depth in front of him? Lol.
Vušković could easily push out one of Duje, Pongračić or Erlić.
He already plays in a better league than all three of them.
…and unlike these guys, Luka Vušković is a future star who will get exponentially better over the next 12-18 months. He could even become a key reserve player for us, as soon as this 2026 World Cup.
In a 48-team tournament, this kind of talented depth could be critical for us.
This is going to be Gvardiol (Euro2021) and Petar Sucic (Euro2024) all over again, where he gets called up too late (and doesn’t have chemistry with the team) or just gets left off altogether (when we could have really used him).
I dunno Maminjo. That could happen but I don’t know if Dalic has a choice but to call him up. He cannot rely on Pongracic, Barišić, or Sosa at this stage. Many articles are calling out Sosa specifically as the weakest link. The other two are closely behind. He is going to have to call up Vusković I think. There may be no other option at this stage. He may have to experiment earlier than he would have wanted to.
Vusković is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Let’s tried to give Dalic credit to see if he learned from his previous errors.
@D.
Acting as in the “ridiculous amount of depth” in front of him is Van Dijk, Van de Ven and De Ligt. Oh, do me a favour!