Croatia Starting XI vs. Scotland (4-3-3): Livaković – Juranović, Vida, Lovren, Gvardiol – Kovačić, Modrić, Brozović – Vlašić, Perišić – Petković
Well, there it is. With their backs to the wall, Croatia come through huge in the final game of group play.
The boys came out with pace and purpose. Vlašić bagged the opener in the 1st half, which I thought would have been good enough for the victory as Scotland don’t score many goals and hadn’t scored in their games against Czech and England. The defense was wobbly in the first 45 as many lazy passes were played out; most notably from Modrić, Vida, and Gvardiol. Vida could have kicked that ball anywhere but gave it right to Callum McGregor for the equalizer right before halftime.
I’m not going to lie, I was nervous going into the 2nd half as anything could have happened. A draw would have killed the tournament for both sides. But then Mr. Modrić stepped up with a ‘Goal of the Tournament’ nominee as he outside-footed a bomb from 20 yards into the side netting to make it 2-1. We really don’t deserve this guy and you could see how much this game meant to him as he didn’t want his Croatia career to end on the night. And it showed in his play. 100% Man of the Match.
Gvardiol is only 19 but he has the goods. His nerves showed in group stage and he should have done better on the break away he was given after the restart. Lovren and Vida are way past their prime. Vida’s mistake led to the Scottish goal and Lovren is an untamed stallion on the backline, as he picked up a yellow card and will not be available for the Round of 16 clash due to suspension.
Broz, Modrić, and Kovačić all played well together in the midfield with Kova being the star as he nailed all his passes and pushed forward offensively. Perišić did what Perišić does and worked the left wing while heading home an insurance goal late from a Modrić corner kick. Vlašić finally showed why he was the Russian Player of the Year with the opening goal. We will see much more from him in the future. I still don’t think he’s playing at 100% health-wise. And oh boy, Bruno Petković. He really hasn’t done much this tournament with the opportunities he has received but Croatia doesn’t have a true point-man to replace him.
With the 3-1 win over Scotland and England’s 1-0 win over Czech, Croatia finish 2nd in group and will now play the 2nd place finisher from Group E in Copenhagen on Monday. It will be Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, or Poland. We will know who in 24 hours.
I’m so relieved that we not only go the crucial win but a great performance and the fact we got second. We look organized and maintained possession. Which is something we lacked the first two games. I don’t care what anyone says, Modric is our best player and the best midfielder in the world and ever. He has scored at three consecutive major tournaments which were all big games. He was the best player and scored a screamer and also an assist. Vlasic looked really impressed me and stepped up like he did in qualifying. Plus Perisic is an absolute unit and has scored four consecutive tournaments. I know how everyone has criticized Dalic and his formation. Taking Rebic out and rearranging the formation was smart on his part. Still not sure why Lovren played…I call him donkey déjàn. The man has two yelled cards, gave away a penalty, and failed on that clearance today on the Mcgregor goal. Anyways, happy with the teams effort and the outcome. I knew the team would step up when it mattered most. Livakovic looked good, defending looked much better and we attacked and created threatening opportunities. Looks like tomorrow we will find out who they’ll play in the round of 16. It sucks where I live because game is at 12 pm Easter. Time on a Monday. If Spain draw Slovakia and Sweden either draw or beat Poland. We’ll play Slovakia as long as they don’t lose. I say we play Spain because that outcome is highly unlikely. Even though Slovakia would be an easier opponent. Don’t see Poland beating Sweden or getting a result. So proud of the team and looking forward to next week. ZDS!!!!!!
Perisic has surpassed Da Silva for goals and only 3 away from tying the great Mandzukic.
I’m impressed that both the Scottish team and the referees played a clean game. It’s been a while since we’ve had a fair playing field. I wonder if this will change when we face the traditional favourites (bribes).
Very happy with this result. I thought Kovacic, Brozo, Vlasic were very good. Modric and Perisic were outstanding! Gvardiol was good – but for the life of me I don’t see what many of you see in him. He seems far too slow. And as he is young, some of his passes under pressure and his first touch are not high quality. I am not saying he is bad – not at all. But far too early in his career to call him out as one that will be a great player for us… I think this squad is well suited to play the Slovaks, or Poland. Sweden would be next choice. I know Spain is not in form, but we are not well set up to play Spain. Our pressing is not good enough to take the ball away from Spain and Vida is too slow in the middle (thankfully Lovren is not playing)… anyways – next match will be fun! Best
I like this “new Croatia” they pulled together. Rebić and Kramarić were both effective off the bench too. Barisić looked like a liability (maybe coming on without the right mental prep), and Petković, while not completely ineffective, slows things down too much. While the win is great, I expect something different for the next round. Obviously DCC should be back in. I expect Kramarić to be back in as the lone striker. And since all subsequent games are must-win, we can keep playing the open style that suits us
Petkovic isn’t perfect, but he seems to have better chemistry with Vlasic and the rest of the team than Kramaric.
Glad to see you coming onboard.
Lol I’ve always liked Petković
Best things about this game (and tournament):
1. Vlasic confirms that he is too impactful and must always start, as he continues to score those shitty (yet highly accurate) bottom corner shots into the net
2. Livakovic doesn’t have his usual ‘deer in the headlights’ look, and is looking like a very capable goalkeeper
3. Gvariol looks like a future star, and (oddly enough) he seems to be getting better every game (at this rate, he will match Ronaldo by the quarterfinals)
4. Brozovic was right to break his hand on Dalic’s face…and it turns out that his one bad game was just simply one bad game after all (he never should have been benched)
5. Kovacic has had three good games in a row…doubling his ‘good game’ career total with us…he may end up being a good future starting player for us after all
6. Juranovic can send in some good crosses and is capable (at least offensively) for us in that spot for the time being
7. Lovren got a second yellow, so he misses the next match
Bad things about this game (and tournament):
1. Lovren and Vida tandem under pressure is literally swiss cheese (and Dalic still favors them as his first choice)
2. None of Petkovic, Kramaric or Rebic have been effective up top
Croatiansports.com is filled to the brim with comments from “Frenchman” , “the truth” and other envious serb trolls. I’m just trying to understand: with all the obvious spite and envy you have for Croatia, why do you even bother to write so many comments here? Is it because your grandfather was a Turk? Because your own team half-Turkey AKA Opančari AKA Beogradski Pašaluk seldom makes it to any tournament? Is your whole fekking inbred serb nation really that mentally retarded and obsessed with Croatia, that you feel inclined to constantly write comments here? I see the same pattern on every Croatian online news portal, on youtube, Quora, you name it. Half-Turks commenting on every Croatian site. As a Croatian, I wouldn’t bother spending a single second of my life writing anything on any half-Turkish portal. Because you have absolutely nothing of interest to comment on. Maybe therein lies the problem? I’m just trying to understand it. It may be Mission Impossible.
@Kralj Zvonimir
I’m French you idiot, born in Dijon.
The reason I follow Croatia in football is that I follow all teams from majority Catholic countries (I was happy for you guys to beat Scotland), of course some I follow more than others, like when Portugal beat you guys in ’16 I was rapt Portugal won, not happy they beat my France in the Final, but a team like that deserved to finally win a title, and I was happy for them and congratulated my Portguese friends.
Now, to what I think about you, I think you’re a communist from a partizan family and for that reason you’re overcompensating when acting all nationalist on a sports site. It’s funny how a lot of Yugos like you act like nationalists now lol! Is this common in your country today?
So now you know what I think about you.
@Frenchman
Sure, moron. Sure…! No proper Frenchman would even bother to write on a small site like croatiansports.com. I’ve read your comments, and your serb angle sticks out like a sore thumb. Why don’t you and your half-Turk brother “the truth” meet and make some rump love and erotic bromance, you seem made for each other.
“Why don’t you and your half-Turk brother “the truth” meet and make some rump love and erotic bromance, you seem made for each other.”
What sort of garbage is that, that’s pathetic? Listen, I’m better than that, better things to do than get into a back and forth with some dumb Yugo kid like you.
Hard to choose a MOTM between Modrić and Brozović. The stats on the Broz were amazing. He ran the most of any player on the pitch and also completed the most passes, with 94% accuracy, driving home the point that without him, Luka is not free. I say they both get the honors! Loved seeing the dangerous crosses and surprise shots from Juranović. He definitely staked a claim to the RB position. Also loved the grit from Vlasić.
Biggest mistake by Dalic last game was not starting Vlasic and Brozovic.
Too impactful and aggressive to leave on the bench.
Tooooooooooooooooooo .. ..
Bog i Hrvati.
2nd place to play anyone in group E, in Copenhagen!!
Perišić is world class.
He looks as effective as ever.
His power will not diminish over these two years. His skill is underrated, his big game performances are starting to stack up.
Kovačić has arrived with 3 tough performances in a row.
That double pivot with Brozovic today was humming with quality.
The legend of Luka continues ..
I still would like to see Ante Budimir get a run out next match.
He would provide that Mandžukić edge in the box.
@Slavonac from Canada
“not sure why you’d think we were gonna lose?
My only worry was about us, NOT our opponent. We are a far more quality team and that was soo visible today. All respect to Scotland but there only way to beat us if we don’t show up.”
I’m know why some people thought Croatia would lose. Everyone here knows Croatia has better players than Scotland, so many may of thought Croatia wont show up (by show up you mean not ready to give 100%, because they were obviously going to “show up”). So even the people that thought Croatia would lose (and they had reason to with Mr. Kvartuc’s news) were worried about Croatia not Scotland.
I’m not sure why you thought Croatia’s efforts against both England and the Czechs were good, because I thought you guys played poorly in those games, and Scotland played well against England, better than you guys did?
@ Frenchman
Did you see me saying this anywhere?
“ I’m not sure why you thought Croatia’s efforts against both England and the Czechs were good”
They weren’t good and we looked like we couldn’t come together as a team….BUT I always felt we could do better and even though today was not great (many defensive lapses), we completely controlled the midfield…we didn’t do that in our previous games when I know we could have.
I’m not the type of person to setup a parade after a game like this. I know the reality that we could have easily been punished by a better opponent today. I was simply saying we are more quality than Scotland and we controlled our own destiny. Same thing with us against Czech’s and England. We didn’t threaten them much. We didn’t control or make them chase the ball…we were far from playing as a team and today was one step in the right direction!
One. Game. At. A. Time.
Imamu tehniku samo treba srce!!!
Ajmo dečki!!!
Napred Hrvati!!!
S’Bogom!
Much needed momentum win heading into knockout round. Luka Legend comes through. Love Gvardiol, will be a stud but he got hurt. Looks like DCC will be starting Monday which is ok. It’s all about punchers chance who comes our way…let’s go Vatreni!!
Who is our next potential apponent?
If we continue to grow from this game, we can go deep!!!!!
Whomever is runner up in Group E
We could get Poland or we could get Spain
Brozovic was big. As was Lovren and Kovacic. They all answered the bell. Good performance all around. Petkovic maybe the weak link?
Petkovic is shit
I told you!
Good games Lovren and Kovacic!!
Is the blessing in disguise Lovren’s, albeit unfair, yellow card? He now has to miss the next game.
I predicted we would lose. I’m an assshole. Zivjeli Hrvatska.
Jebiga…Realistically, the way we played in the last few games, its not crazy to predict we would lose. Hvala Bogu I Modriću that we finally showed up!
We were in a tough situation playing England at home. We played an in form Czech team snd got a decent result…not sure why you’d think we were gonna lose?
My only worry was about us, NOT our opponent. We are a far more quality team and that was soo visible today. All respect to Scotland but there only way to beat us if we don’t show up.
Some of you really need to chill and stop pulling the fire alarm at players you hate. It’s going too far and I honestly don’t understand it.
Kovacic did well again today…let’s start there. Brozovic was really good today…to those of you here that shit talked him, you need to reassess how you assess players!
Vida made a bad clearance…Modric had done it two games in a row. Fortunately for Modric, he’s not a centre back, otherwise those could easily have been goals against us on his mistakes.
Gvardiol was fantastic but also a little too cool at times…he scared me but I love his style! Other sites said he was shit snd im shocked!
Zivjeli Hrvati
Zivjela Hrvatska
You guys played good today, well done.
Gvardiol is a gun.
Petkovic is shit, and that’s it.
Your vid above Ante says it is post Czech game but obviously is Scotland game : )
@Horvat
Absolutely agree with your post. Playing Luka as our 10 seems to be the answer. The midfield trio woth Kova worked as it did with Rakitic.
Hvala bogu!!!
This is the time we needed to wake
up. I loved the fight of our young guys Vlasic and Gvardiol giving to the Scots and going face to face. We need that fight in the players.
Juranovic was lively. Lovren and Vida scare me…why Caleta Car is on the bench is beyond me.
Luka was playing wide right of Vlasic at times. Vlasic is the true 10
Hvala, Vatreni!!!!
We more or less saw a 4-4-2 today with Vlasic as a real number 10.
Vlasic
Kovacic Modric
Brozovic
I really think we should stick to this system. Four great player who hardly lose a ball. Every team would have a hard time beating them.
I liked Juranovic as RB too. If you play with three more or less holding midfielder who not often enter the penalty area (Modric-Brozovic-Kovacic), you need player who do the deep runs. And both Gvardiol & Juranovic did so.
Gvardiol is not a LB but I really do think he will be our leader in the future as central defender. One year playing in the Bundesliga for Leipzig will make him even 10 percent better than he already is.
I’ve already seen Livakovic do great saves but he needs to improve on long and high balls. As a line keeper, he’s as good as Jan Oblak, but he’ll need to get better on long and high balls if he wants to move to an European topclub.
Petkovic had his moments but also lost too easy the ball.
Vlasic was amazing, I hope to see him play for a team like Sevilla or Juventus next year. With his age, he could even get better and become a key player for us.
Kovacic finally found his place in this team. We should never ever doubt him again.
And Modric is God.
Bog I Hrvati!!!!!!
It also works to our advantage that everyone has been talking about how bad we are.
“If” our boys give it their all, we can go all the way.
Best coaching job by Modric- he played and led the team –
Thank you Luka for everything
Hvala Bogu!
That’s the first time since I don’t know when that our midfield trio were all on their game. Kudos to Modric, Kovacic and Brozovic. Juranovic isn’t an amazing player but at least he can get in a decent cross, unlike Vrsaljko. Gvardiol shows his age at times, but man, he’s gonna be a baller. Petkovic for me just stinks. All I hear are proclamations about his “futsal” skills and amazing touch. From my perspective, he’s mostly useless. Stop talking about some phantom “hold up play”.
Idemo do kraja!
Beautiful
The Vatreni finally showed up!
Za Dom!
Kramaric did more today than Petkovic did in all three games. I hope he swallows the bullet and does his best as our lone striker if Dalic chooses that option.
All we need is for Rebic to wake up and Modric as our #10, not playing further back on the right side like he did today.
I have said it before and will say it again, “on paper” this is a stronger team than it was in 2018. We just need our boys to wake up an give it all on the field.
He did? Kramaric is dogshit for us. The only thing Petkovic didn’t do that Kramaric is really good at for us…get subbED OFF WITH HIS TEAM LOSING.Petkovic helps us play winning soccer, Kramaric does not, sorry.
Honestly, what game are some of you watching. Petkovic didn’t play his best game but his link up game is exactly what we need. He gets in good positions with defenders at his back, and smartly starts good attacks.
PHEW!! That was nerve-wracking, even at the end i didnt want them to get a late goal cos i knew we were set to finish 2nd, which thankfully we did. Now we wait for tomorrow’s games and hope to avoid Spain ay, but it worked out basically how we wanted before the tourney, england first and us in 2nd, can’t complain at all.
Brilliance from Luka again, that goal, just like last Euro and his Turkey goal, always has one screamer in him per tourney it seems.
Congratulations to the boys
For the next game we need to keep this up and for consistency keep the same line up
Throw in duje instead of lovren
Who have we got in the next round
I can’t work it out
We will find out tomorrow from Group E
2nd place in group E
I believe we will be playing Spain as they will beat Slovakia and Sweden will beat Poland. Plus Lovren misses with the 2nd yellow (not a disaster) but Gvardiol is doubtful
Best part about this game was scoring that third goal.
I didn’t need any heart-stopping injury time long balls in our box.
It was still heart-stopping for me cos i didnt want it finishing 3-2 and us playing Holland. I know some ppl WANT that match but i think that’s fucking lunacy, wanting to play Holland.
Modric Magic.
Kovacic with a solid game.
Perisic is a fucking dude.
Big win. Finally we bury some of chances and all three goals show what we are capable of.
Onwards and upwards momci! Ajmo!!
I said this earlier today!!!
Scotland needs to win this game as much as we do. The hype is with them and the pressure to get a result at home is also on them!
All I ask for is a valiant effort…the rest will be fine if we raise our work rate!
Guys like Perisic, Modric, and Lovren are motivated and will want to win and keep going in this tournament.
I see us in a decent situation!
Perisic usually has some influence on us hey?
Definitely does bro!!
PERISIC!!!!
Vlasic Out??? he was one of our best players!
He took some knocks. Starting 11 if he’s healthy on Monday!
Kramaric? Hmm
Gvardiol lost his position this game, Barisic never had this bad of a game
You high lol?
smoking too close to the filter
Our players are showing passion.
First Gvardiol now Vlasic with both talk backs.
its like when we score our defense goes to shit
Gvardiol is such a badass
MODRICCCCCCCC!!!!!!
MODRICCCCC
Modric has his arms up after he missed a pass.
I suppose this entire tournament has been arms up in the air
Petkovic and Gurdiaal were “talking” to each other after that chance
Still baffling that Dalic did not start Vlasic the first 2 games. And anyone who ever doubted Vlasic’s position should be banned from this site.
Still baffled Rebic has yet to play wing in this tournament
And here we are 40 mins from getting eliminated from this tournament
Lets go!
Wow, that goal sucked.. Vida passed it right to him
Lovren is a penalty or 2nd yellow waiting to happen. That was Sunday League clearance by him and Vida on the Scotland goal. It’s panic inside the box when they are anywhere near the ball.
How many times does our defense do that… very typical need few lessons from Italian defense…. never leave second chances
Bilic better retire Lovren and Vida when he comes in via Joachim Low style. Absolute trash both of them .
We should take our chances better.
Petko Needs to learn how to control the ball better
Modric great player but needs to pass the ball faster
Kovavicic needs to pass forward
Where is Caleta Car…
Nice clearance from vida
Fuck our back 2 are useless
wow
So what’s better now? Second or third in group? What are the potential match ups
Just winning
Not planning before we win is better. Awful lovren and vida on that goal.
2nd place will get the runner up of Group E
3rd place will get us either Holland or the winner of Group E
Too much Tika taka
Push forward into the available spaces
Perisic vlasic will do the rest
Kovacic has huge space going forward instead passes back leading to Lovren panic play. Crazy. Scotland is bunkering as I Predicted.
Scotland is not bunkering. They are going for it and good for them. Hopefully we can find a goal in the final 45 to push through. Our central defense is fragile to put it lightly. Need some Modric magic.
Vlaasic
Our Dalmatian prince
VLASICCCCCCCCCCCCC
GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Links anyone? Much appreciated…
Sportsbay.org
Good luck to the Vatreni
They are going to need it
Kova trap in effect.
Kova played well, but team looked like shit which is usually the case when Kova plays…so Dalic has to continue playing Kova ONLY because he made a few of his patented slalom runs. Playing Kova when we need goals is not additive, if Brozo and Modric are on the field. We only need two of them. So sit Brozo or Kova.
If Rebic were not on the Roster I would actually go with Vlasic at wing…But this moron Dalic would rather play Vlasic out of position on wing (thus reducing Vlasic’s value) than play arguably our best wing (Rebic) AT WING.
Even if it is good enough to get past a shit scotland team, Dalic will be fooled into thinking Rebic on bench was a good idea, and we will get whipped by a good team.
And if it not good enough, then Dalic will think Petko is the problem. When in fact, Rebic, Petko,Petisic, and Vlasic combo was needed.
Stupid dipshit Dalic is.
Sitting Vrsaljko is dumb too.
Let’s just win with this stupid lineup.
2 predictions:
1- we finally wear our sacred checkers (the blacks are nice, but nothing beats our grb)
2- 2-1 victory!
Rebic is all run – no finish. God love him- he tries hard but not graced with best ball skills- maybe the players have enough hate on for Dalic that they play with a bit of passion today- Modric has always been the coach even for 2018 the only difference is that Dalic actually started to believe he is the man- all he did in 2018 was pray- we could have had a priest, rabbi , monk whatever as the coach – they would have just prayed as well- I say the players called him out and that ‘s when it got nasty- I’m sure they go with Bilic but i wish we get some Italian dude who is actually skilled at tactics- our guys are all BS connected with other guys and we get a circle of brainless coaches- finally, go outside of our antiquated system
in hindsight, would you prefer a player like Kalinic or Olic.
this comment you make about Rebic is similair to what we read for years about Olic.
Rebic is a great player. I remember years ago Perisic was super uninspired and very up and down….
Rebic has sacrificed positions because we don’t have any attackers with speed, strength that can press high and challenge defenders. this says more about guys like Budimir, Krama and Petkovic than it does about Rebic!
I think Olic had more grit and could bang away garbage goals. So, I would take him upfront over Rebic. Not dissing Rebic.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read
This reminds me of 2014. The team was not playing well going into the WC. They barely qualified for the playoff. They needed an Italy injury time goal against Denmark, otherwise they wouldn’t have qualified as one of the best 2nd place teams. Then we luckily drew Iceland in the playoff and won. We weren’t expecting much at the WC, but they played OK against Brazil and got screwed by the ref (over and over again). They beat Cameroon easily, but then had to beat Mexico in the final game. I remember thinking, Mexico, we can’t lose to Mexico. And it was embarrassing. I think some of us think Scotland won’t be a problem. But Scotland is at home and playing well. They had way more chances to score against the Czechs than we did. The 2-0 score was not indicative of the game. And with the locker room issues, I don’t see a W happening today. I hope I am wrong. I see 2-1 or 3-1 Scotland.
This looks more like a 3-5-2 to me, with Juranović and Perisić as the wing-backs and Vlasić and Petković as the two strikers. I’ll be curious to see how they deploy
If Rebic isn’t starting, I would love to see him come off the bench, full of energy pressing the tired Scottish defenders.
What is going on with Rebic?
He was supposed to be our star attacker this tournament.
Very little hope if we are relying on Petkovic and anyone other than Rebic on the right wing.
Yea, I disagree with benching Rebic simply because of his performance in the first two games.
He was out of position, and now it’s hurt him.
I like both Vlasic and Ivanusec…and their technical skills are much better than Rebic’s…but RW is not where they thrive. It’s where Rebic does.
I dunno. We’ll see what happens I guess, lol.
I feel bad for Rebic. He’s taken soo much abuse for underwhelming performances and yet, he did it to sacrifice for the team while being played as a striker…although he'[s a winger. Soo many Croatians from other sites say he’s shit and I’m super baffled by those comments.
I just want the game to start. I’m soo tired of the lineup conversation. We have beat a dead horse and there’s nothing left to discuss except seeing the game playout!
I’ve played in many meaningful games throughout my life…of course none at this level…nor for Hrvatska…nevertheless, meaningful!
If Ante is telling us facts about the state of the team, I believe the guys will either be anxious to prove they can move on (win) without Dalic…or they’ll fold the tent and go home.
If Broz really did attack Dalic and he has the respect of the players, there can be a massive demonstration on the field and the incident can work to our favour. Soo many possibilities but most of all, I don’t think our guys are picke…Broz obviously cares enough to cause a stir…Modric backs Broz!
Hopefully Scotland doesn’t have a field day attacking our right side.
If Ivanusec and Juranovic are on that right side…that’s gotta be a defensive weakness right there.
Juranovic showed us in his last game that he can play offensively…but his defense was pretty bad.
Ivanusec…I’m not sure how good he is defensively as a winger, but I doubt he’s any better than Rebic is.
Sadly, Pongracic’s secondary position is RB. He would have been a good stop-gap at RB for us.
I’ve made the comment about the 2018 world cup before…there was a very clear tactic formation that worked well
It involved rebic and perisic covering huge ground running up and down the wings constantly and providing help coverage to the defense
This allowed modric and rakitic to remain a little higher on the pitch and play off mandzukic as a release valve
meanwhile brozovic was given huge responsibilities to run constantly in front of the defenese and behind modric and rakitic
the tactic was there, the will was there, and so was the fitness
it ended up looking a lot on defense like
mandzukic
modric rakitic
rebic brozovic perisic
strinic vida lovren vrsaljko
with really in the end
mandzukic
rebic modric rakitic perisic
brozovic
strinic vida lovren vrsaljko
as modric and rakitic were putting in heavy work load getting back and forth as well
on another note, u14 commented the other day that Croatia’s future is bright..
once again, it is not.. it is average.. many people still hype these youth names, but for the experienced fans, we’ve been through these cycles and have seen what’s come of it.. let’s re hash again real quick all the failed stars
alen ha “lil guy”-o-vic
tin jedvaj igra
josip bust-a-lo
mateo crotch-does-itch
ante chode-itch
marcelo BOZO-vic
bru- “NO he’s playing again” Petkovic
marko pee-ass-a
Sime Vr-suck-ljko
Add soon to be
Luk I “suck”-ic
Luka I-“van od igre” usec
So a couple obvious notes
It is crazy how much Dalic messes with the line-up. We’ve been over this before, but this is not the move of a team that knows itself
You can blame injuries all you want like Dalic does, but that’s clearly not the culprit
Secondly, it’s clear there is a big focus on how much more the Czechs ran than us. You could even see it with your own eyes and commentators talked about it during the game.
A big part of that I think is likely bad formation, that causes players to run more cause everyone is constantly out of position.
But in any case, they’ve brought back iron lungs, wanna be tyson brozovic and they finally realized that vrsaljko just isn’t fit so they went with juranovic it seems like… although juranovic hasn’t played a game in a month , so lets see how that goes
at the end of the day, it’s clear Croatia has no system and it’s just stitch it together last minute every time. maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t
That’s a ton of pressure on juranovic…he’s susceptible in the air pretty much being luka’s height.
Hope he doesn’t make Dalic look foolish
Živjeli!
A little history on Croatia’s third game of tournaments. Not counting this year, they have been in 5 Euros and 5 WCs. They have 3W, 6L and 1D in final group games. For the 3 wins, they were all games in which they had already qualified for the knockout stage, and played subs in all of them. Two of the losses were also games in which they had already qualified for the knockout stage. What stands out is that in the third game in which Croatia HAD to win to progress, they have lost 4 and drawn 1, and zero wins. Hope that means they are due.
Scotland needs to win this game as much as we do. The hype is with them and the pressure to get a result at home is also on them!
All I ask for is a valiant effort…the rest will be fine if we raise our work rate!
Guys like Perisic, Modric, and Lovren are motivated and will want to win and keep going in this tournament.
I see us in a decent situation!
Do you think all this makes it easier for Sosa to jump right back in to the National team mix after this tournament?
HRVATSKA (4-3-3):
Livaković – Juranović, Vida, Lovren, Gvardiol – Kovačić, Modrić, Brozović – Vlašić, Perišić – Petković
This is what Sportske Novosti is reporting.
Going back to the 4-3-3 as we did with England, but instead we are going to sub out Krama on the wing (with Vlašić on the wing), Petković up top (instead of Rebić), and Juranović subs out Vrsaljko at RB.
I don’t like this formation played against England….and I hate that we constantly play of at least one player out of their natural position…but there’s enough talent there to win this.
Gol.hr is reporting a 4-2-3-1
Livaković – Juranović, Lovren, Vida, Gavrdiol – Brozović, Kovačić – Ivanušec, Modrić, Perišić – Petković
I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Pretty much the same thing, but swap out Vlašić with Ivanušec on the wing.
I guess Dalić doesn’t want to go with Rebić on the wing (which I thought would be good against the gritty Scots)…but his form is probably the issue.
I prefer Vlašić in the CAM role, but I can’t really argue with Modrić being there.
A concern for us will be whether or not Kovačić can play well enough defensively to account for our weakened backline with Lovren playing there (as they always had the support of Modrić there).
The Nations League really showed us what happens when you have Kovačić there without Modrić. If Modrić is truly going to be our CAM today (and not run back as much), then both Kovačić and Broz need to play a perfect game…because we cannot rely on guys like Lovren and Juranović to hold things down defensively without a lot of support.
Ok guys. Dalić has had plenty of chances to make things right. If he’s really that stupid to not start Rebić on the wing (his natural position) again but still trying to force him as some sort of forward and also starting lots of other guys OUT OF THEIR NATURAL POSITIONS….Well then we’re fucked again. I really liked Dalić during our 2018 campaign, but it seems more and more like a fluke. Now he resorts to 5 Hail Marys and the most stupid senseless tactics ever. Every interview and every press conference now he’s yapping on about bringing some surprise onto the field. Well, he sure is full of surprises. Dalić seems like that silly clueless uncle who thinks he’s funny and clever even though everyone’s laughing at him when the family gets together. Any decent coach would get this repka at least to the quarter finals without any hiccups.k
Well Dalić is gone for sure after this tournament
So we have to beat a team we’ve never beaten in 4 attempts in front of their own packed home crowd after they came off a hugely encouraging draw vs Engerand.
Sighhhhh
I’m not expecting anything, obviously hope for the best but expect the worst.
Am hoping Scotland comes down a bit after what for them on Friday was like a finals.
Play Rebic on the left wing.
Sure, or let him and Perisic switch it up at times like they did at WC 18 and during our good streak during qualifying.
Even a 70% healthy Rebic will get his crosses off from the left or the right wing, and he sends the crosses without the ball being too hot to control.
Rebic will link up play with Vrsaljko or Gvardiol.
Rebic will pressure the other teams wingback into sending a shitty long ball right to our talented midfield etc etc
Winning soccer, how can Dalic be so fucking stupid to see this style has saved his career twice!!!(both at Wc18 and during euro qualifying)
I have to say, Dalic is insane.
He is actually considering NOT starting one of the premiere wings in Europe (Rebic) at wing!?
I like Ivanusec as a poor man’s Vlasic and at the CAM, but we will never go far in a tournament again with tiny guys like Ivanusec playing wing.
As i have said from the start of the tournament there is a clear and obvious choice, and if Dalic doesn’t do it I will be pissed:
Perisic-Petko-Rebic
Vlasic
Modric-Brozo (Kova if Brozo has lost his mind)
Gvardiol-Vida-Car-Vrsaljko
So freakin obvious, we have only won 6 of our last 15 games, since we saved our qualifying campaign with lineup above (for the most part)
Why Dalic didnt go back to the well with those front 6 is fucking insane!
All this talk about Brekalo, Ivanusec at wing, Orsic, and Budimir is just people with little understanding of soccer (or at least winning Croatian soccer)
I can care less if this offends some people, it’s just that Dalic has tried injecting youth into the lineup to horrendous results in these past 15 games. By now you should know, you don’t win games with random injection of tiny kids who impressed you in an hnl game.
You win with a systematic approach to play to our National strengths…big strong athletes with superb technical skills.
Perisic and Rebic on wings defending, hustling, and easily getting crosses off with Petkovic and Vlasic skilled enough to receive the benefits of Perisic and Rebic’s labor is a thing of beauty.
Ps- some good odds for Croatia now. I bet a healthy amount, in hopes Dalic comes to his senses and starts the lineup above.
You’re hired!
save your ass – by not starting Petkovic!+
Budimir is a true man there } for CF -0
Rebic is a PREMIER winger? Says who? I like him and all, he’s certaintly above average, but I wouldn’t classify him as ‘premier’
@ZDS Lifestyle…. coz mr Bozović is i clown and that’s that. If our boys don’t advance from this group, then it will be a long time until we see a quality repka again. Ajmo, dečki. Za dom…!
8 guys had to hold back a guy that weighs 130lbs?
Why doesn’t the fucken guy play with that intensity on the pitch?
I believe in this team and we have quality to move on. It will be an utter shame if we go out like nancy boys against Scotland. There’s still a glimmer of hope to finish second in the group. It might be the last time we see Zlatko Dalic as the manager and Luka Modric in the chequered jersey. They need to step up for him and that goes both for the experienced players and youth. He’s going to be 36 in the fall and has contributed so much to Croatia’s success. Don’t let him retire after a loss and not progressing past the group stage. I’m not going to comment or speak on behalf of the lineup selection. That’s irrelevant to me and shouldn’t dictate the outcome. We have the skill to win but not the effort after the last two matches. It’s now or never. They know it’s the last chance to make a statement and show the quality they possess. Just come out with a bang in the opening minutes and play with some urgency and intensity. I’m hopeful for tomorrow and expecting a result. I hate getting my expectations this high because it hurts when the outcome isn’t what you anticipated. Last time I felt his nervous was when we needed a win against Ukraine in Kiev to make the playoffs for the last World Cup. I didn’t sleep that night and my eyes were glued to the screen. That was Dalic’s first game as Croatia’s coach. ZDS brothers and pray for a victory tomorrow. PLEASE WIN HRVATSKA!!!
Index (and their army of hacks) are going to publish this very shortly
Well then, they can go fuck themselves in advance then.
I will delete it. They suck. Just want the few and and football savvy crew to know what’s going on. If you post this on Twitter/FB the casual fan loses their minds.
Thanks Ante
Are we wearing checkers?
The most important element nobody is talking about tomorrow…who is manning the VAR booth ?
He said 2-3 changes? I predict players who run the whole time they’re on the pitch will play. That means Budimir, Juranović, and either Orsić or Ivanuseć. Maybe I interpret this “new Croatia” wrong, but I think the implication is that walking around the pitch will no longer be tolerated, and that includes Rebić, Brekalo, Petković, and possibly Vrsaljko.
It’s probably why Broz is starting.
He likes to run. Kovacic likes to jog lightly, and although skilled…he is too soft for this match.
If Broz plays like he normally does, then Scotland will struggle. He (along with an in-form Vlasic) would be killer.
I just can’t believe how many of our players are out of form right now in Vrsaljko, Vlasic, Rebic, Brozovic, Petkovic, etc.
We need fighters against Scotland.
I want Fernando Santos
Good luck with that.
You’re gonna get one of Bilic, Zuti or Biscan.
Looking forward to see “Broz before Hoes”-ović play tomorrow.
Nice…you have to say it in a Croatian accent:
“Broz before hoz”
Brozović had a few bad games, but wtf is with all the hate? He is one of our best players, and has rarely let us down. When Broz is on, he allows Modrić to work his magic. He deserves a chance, and we will be a much better team if he regains his form.
Maybe he punched Lovren for taking that fk? I’d be cool with that
I’ll be scanning everybody’s face during the National Anthem to see which one has a black eye or any facial lacerations.
I agree. An in form Brozovic is a key player. When he’s good he gives us a lot of flexibility and he usually is good. I remember we missed him for a couple of games in the last year and we looked like shit. Although we’ve looked like shit in a lot of games since 2018
HNS Long Term Planning:
Not sure if this is even possible or not :
– HNS purchases or partners up and invests in a Top 5 League team in (Ligue 1 , Bundesliga , Serie A) say Freiburg for instance or Sassualo
– Use that Top 5 team as a platform to invest in Cro players and give them quality playing minutes and develop once Dinamo Zagreb /Prva Liga gets to easy.
-Prioritze development of Cro players first but mix in winning to appease fans.
– Going into future tournaments: we would be less reliance on players like Vrsaljko who plays 0 matches past 4 months before he comes here for Tournaments
– Could also be used as a Stepping stone for development of Cro Coaches too
– Create the Cro pipeline with this constant flow of development.
Thoughts? Is it even possible?
Peak American soccer opinion right here.
Scotland will bunker and hope for a counter attack goal. Just watch. It makes no difference that they need to win. You already know how we fare against bunkering teams. We will work hard but struggle to score.
Scotland bunkering would probably work in our favor.
The lack of pressing from them would give our team more confidence in possession (something the Czechs didn’t allow us to have)…and it would be a big risk trying to defend a more confident, possession-dominant Croatia for long periods of time.
Also, Petković is likely starting, and he is a Futsal player who likes to work in those tight spaces.
It would probably be better for Scotland to just go balls out and try to press us and score early.
We’ve been horrible in first 25 minutes of our past two games. Scotland would probably try to capitalize on that.
Nah i dont think they will, i think they will come out at a million miles an hour with the crowd behind them (anyone see Denmark today???) whilst we will look pedestrian, at least that’s how it will go early.
From Dalic’s interview the other day:
Morat ćemo napraviti dvije, tri promjene i pronaći energičnije igrače za Škotsku. To ću napraviti sigurno. Ne mijenjam zato jer bih htio mijenjati, već jer želim najbolje. Jedini razlog da zamijenim Marcela Brozovića za Češku je taj da sam htio više igrača u ofenzivi. On se vraća sigurno u ekipu, objasnio je hrvatski izbornik.
https://sport.hrt.hr/uefa-euro-2020/zlatko-dalic-2130552
maybe Brozovic’s hand on ice isn’t an issue after all …
Word on the street is the “Headcase Broz” tried to put that fist through somebody’s face in the locker room after the Czech game.
Will be interesting to see how Dalic handles a little locker room division … let’s see how good his managing/ relationship skills are
If this blows up … good luck to him if he’s trying to get into a Top 5 League job per previous interviews … it’ll be tough.
Well it look like he just buckles lol.
Lovren was complaining, and got the start ahead of Duje.
Now you’ve got Brozović punching things, and he gets the start tomorrow.
Kovačić had played well.
His explosive dribble through the middle has been a plus. He knows British soccer.
He has to play!
Kova will never be Luka but you can see he looks like he is slowly growing a pair
He surprises people with his runs
Cause it’s like here comes another back pass and now boom;)
Remember at inter for a while how dangerous he was
We need Broz to be playing at the level he can for us. Unfortunately not only was he bad in the England game but also in the Belgium friendly. I haven’t watched much of Inter in the tail end of the year to see if this lack of form has been going on longer.
Either was I’d say we play Modric, Broz and Kova but have Modric play further forward like he did for us in the WC. It means Vlasic and Krama sit unless we play a false 9. Given how we can’t seem to find an out and out striker to fit the bill why not? Slot Vlasic in there with Perisic and Rebic out wide.
For what it’s worth, Dalic has already stated that Brozovic is starting tomorrow. I think he has to, unless there are dressing room issues that Ante has cryptically referred to that we are unaware of.
I would be shocked if Broz played vs. Scotland. Absolutely shocked. Don’t think we need a 6 in this game anyways. Dalic is on his way out anyways. He won’t be our coach in 2 weeks. That’s wheat my sources are telling me. Bilic is the frontrunner to return.
Is this Dalic choosing to leave or HNS choosing to replace him ? All top jobs in Top 5 leagues are mostly locked up right now, except Everton/Tottenham… (can’t see him landing one of those tbh
Where’s Prosinecki? He has experience and is a quality coach with sub-par teams and has ground out some suprising results with Azerbaijan and B&H. I would’ve thought he’d be ahead of Bilic.
Ante Cacic anyone lol?
I feel like finding a National Team coache is different then trying find vs Club coaches
We need a motivator , team builder, rather than a tactic fanatic …
Not sure any Croatian coach fits that bill maybe Bilic? But if we have to go outside and get a non Croatian I’d be least open to it.
Holland are gonna make mince meat of us if we play them
I like the optimism by Ivan, I’m just curious as to what will change?
No Broz hopefully. He is this year’s Nikola Kalinic. I will share more after the tournament ends.
Broz is better than Kovačić.
The Scots will play hard, and Broz is great on the counter. Kovačić won’t push forward.
I would go with Brozović, Modrić and Vlašić as our central trio.
One bad game is not enough to justify benching one of our best.
Ante Any idea what happened to Brozovic hand ? Seems all taped up / did he get in a physical fight with some one on team/staff?
https://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/news-photo/croatias-midfielder-marcelo-brozovic-with-ice-on-his-hand-news-photo/1233550112
Who’s your ‘in’ within the savez? Jure? Vlado? Milan?
😉
Zoran Stevanović from FARE