You’re Croatian. So probably not.
But I’m a realist. So let me tell you how this weekend’s last round of Euro qualifying is going to go for our beloved Vatreni. It will save you the stress and scoreboard watching that usually comes with following the ‘cardiac Croatians.’
First off, let’s start by talking about Croatia’s position in Euro qualifying. Croatia recently dropped to third place in Group H, behind Italy and Norway. September was a disaster which saw the team draw Azerbaijan, lose to Norway and see manager Niko Kovač get the boot. And after all that, the worst they can do is finish third to slip into a November playoff.
For all of you that lost your minds last month and imploded on the message boards (and you know who you are), take a breath and relax. We are not Spain. We are not Germany. We are not the Netherlands.
Actually, thank God we’re not the Netherlands. You think Croatia had a bad September? Look at the Dutch. And Greece. And Serbia. They all just had a plain awful qualifying campaign.
World Cup semifinalists Netherlands don’t even control their own destiny for a playoff spot. If Turkey wins out against Iceland and Czech Republic, who have both already qualified for Euro 2016, the Dutch stay home next summer. They were beaten by Iceland twice and only snagged one point off of Turkey in two games.
Serbia? Not a European power by any means, but I know we all like to keep an eye on them throughout the qualifying campaign. Just because. And boy did they not disappoint this time around. You think Croatia has problems? Serbia was at -2 points for over half of qualifying due to the Drone-gate episode in Belgrade last October against Albania. But I digress to the biggest shock of qualifying: Greece.
I don’t know which is in worse shape at the moment: the Greek economy or their football team. Just last summer, Greece (unlike Croatia) made it out of group stage at the World Cup in Brazil. Sure they lost to Costa Rica in penalties, but that’s better than anything Croatia did in South America. So what has Greece done in Euro 2016 qualifying? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Greece lost to the Faroe Islands, not once but twice, has only scored three goals in nine matches and is slated to finish last in a group which consists of Northern Ireland, Romania, Hungary, Finland and mighty Faroe Islands.
So if you think Croatia is in bad shape. You’re wrong.
It could be better. But oh my, it can be worse.
So what will Croatia do this weekend? They will defeat Bulgaria by a slim margin. 1-0; maybe 2-0. Bulgaria can still technically overtake Croatia for third place if they win out and Croatia lose to Malta on Tuesday. Highly unlikely but they still have something to play for. Italy and Norway are still not out of the woods and I predict them to finish 1-1 Tuesday when they play each other in Rome in the final group match. Norway will look for the win knowing that if Croatia defeats Malta (knowing Croatia already beat Bulgaria, my prediction) and they don’t defeat Italy, they’re heading to the playoff instead of Croatia.
Croatia will be in France next summer. And when they are, you won’t be talking about how they qualified. We never do. All we should care about is that they’re at the big show. Because it’s fun watching them play in front of the whole world. We don’t talk about the time we drew Malta in 2005. Or the qualifying campaign where we couldn’t score against Greece. You play qualifiers to qualify and are allowed one hiccup in the process.
Croatia had theirs in September, and no matter who the coach is or the starting lineup he puts out there, this Croatia has enough talent to defeat Bulgaria and Malta with ease. And if they don’t, then there’s a much, much bigger problem at play. But I don’t think that’s the case.
Because in the end, this Croatian team wouldn’t be “Croatian” if it was easy.
Those that love JUDINE SKUDE.
Torcida and Nas Hajduk have been co-opted by Yugoslavs and Serbo-philes (Marin Brbic, Drazen Lalic, Ljubo Pavasovic).
And it needs to be said that Torcida’s old guard has nothing nor wants anything to do with the current clowns running the show.
These boys right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHjKVCd4HnA
ONLY YUGOSLAVS, SERBS and TRAITORS boycott the CROATIAN national team.
Cacic je kralj!
Relax on the bosandzero and Pasalic. Both will be on the Euro roster. The bosandzero is finally getting minutes and showing what he can do. Relax, he will have his chance very shortly. You can’t anoint their ass right away.
stop saying stupid things Iggy. You are like a positive version of Ziva
Hehe, MelbCro, i am flattered you keep quoting me and focusing on me personally, it is just lovely to see ! *blows kiss*
No Halilovic or Pasalic? Badelj and Cop are better options? Even if Croatia qualifies for the Euros they aren’t going to do very well there, not against better opponents.
Kalinic is 29 years old with 24 caps for Croatia he’s had his chances don’t care if he gets more play time at his club.
“honestly norway are not very dangerous, i watched them earlier today.. hard to see them winning in italy..”
did you watch them beat us ffs. lol
No, not all. I’ve never shitted on a hrvat.
Again, why do you have to make this about me. Certainly, this is not the “za dom…..spremni lifestyle that I live for and advocate for all the time, is it?
Pizda Istina shitting on the team after bad results is expected (and sometimes deserved). Actually, him shitting on the Rena and Croatians in general is ALWAYS expected.
Anyway, Pizda’s shitting after positive results (game doesn’t matter, sub par opponent, pointing out which negatively nicknamed players didn’t have good games, claiming luck, etc.) is the part he sets up beforehand with claims like he’s making today (meaningless game)
Italy will rest their best but i think they’ll still get a draw at least
honestly norway are not very dangerous, i watched them earlier today.. hard to see them winning in italy..
Thoughts going through Kum Kovac’s mind right now………
A. I was replaced by this guy, Cacic?
B. Why did my brother marry a good looking chick and this is what I have (google it)?
C. Maybe if I had let them play cards i would still be coach?
I’m sure Italy will rest their best players, so that should be interesting.
yeha so we’d go through
Norway need an outright win.
UEFA rules are head-to-head over plus/minus.
Since we are even with Norway on head-to-head (we both beat each other) the deciding factor becomes plus/minus in our head-to-head match with them.
Since we beat them 5-1 and they beat us 2-0, we end up going through.
We’d both be on 20 if Norway draw and we win both remaining games
you might be right….i have not looked at the standings today.
laughable………….I’ve never shit on the team. Saying the team is playing bad when they are playing bad is not shitting on the team…..that is called being honest.
But, to each his own.
Why would norway need to lose? if they are equal points with us dont we go thru on head to head or better goal diff surely?
“Pizda Istina is saying the game doesn’t matter so that he can still shit on the results if they are positive”
That sums you up 100% Ziva
setting it up so you can shit on the team either way
Goal for Rakitic. Modric holding his groin – he may be subbed out of precaution.
nope……..Norway needs to lose
Italy Norway draw and we win, are we through ?
Hey…..look Rakitic showed up for Cro in a game against an inferior opponent. Now, only if we could see this against legit competition.
Hedge my bets?????? examples please.
“He always hedges his bets with (usually broad) generalities pre game so that he can claim to have been right no matter what the outcome.”
Ziva Istina is Madame Cleo!
Friends, please don’t make this another weekend about me.
All I do is comment. The guys who run this site ask me to create engagement. that is all I am doing with honest commentary.
me bitter?????? far from it……I’m hoping for a two goal win to win my parlay. I’m just saying this doesn’t have the same pressure on the team. The public is losing interest in them and it is easier to play when you are not playing for anyone. If they lose today, they are still in the playoffs, so it is not a win and go home situation.
Pizda Istina is saying the game doesn’t matter so that he can still shit on the results if they are positive; if the end result is negative… He can shit on Cro too. He always hedges his bets with (usually broad) generalities pre game so that he can claim to have been right no matter what the outcome.
Just stating the facts.
Lol, Ziva why you so bitter?
Also, Yes, this IS a pressure game, as it’s still 50/50 whether we get direct qualification or going to playoff. A Norway win in Italy is not the favored odds.
Ziva’s just covering his bases saying that a win, tie, or loss is expected and makes no difference. Lol, thanks captain obvious.
Who is the best 3rd place team?
watching this game and seeing no fans in the stands i can’t tell if this is a dinamo home game or not. No difference really, right????
Pivaric better than Pranjic, but hardly someone who will help us against the better squads.
a 10-0 win today wont change the opinion by fans.
NOPE……no chance as best 3rd place team.
because we still have third place all wrapped up……the pressure is not as big, plus playing an awful opponent.
Can’t we finish with best 3rd place record also ???? Game means tons
@Ziva
Remind us again why you keep insisting there’s no pressure in this game?
Cuz I totally disagree.
New coach, coming off bad results, fans boycotting and questioning everything about the Savez… what about those things say “no pressure” to you?
Is it just because the stadium is empty?
No pressure for bulgaria? How does this game mean nothing?? We win both and automatically qualify, if Norway loses to Italy!
plus, easy to look good against bad competition playing for nothing.
LOL……you didn’t watch the Norway game, did you?????
BTW…….What do you guys think Kum Kovac is doing right now?
BEAUTIFUL deadball cross by Rakitic, too bad the goal was called back for being slightly offside.
You know if Pranjic started, he would have taken that instead of Rakitic.
Im seeing good things so far.
Modric looks like a man playing against boys out there. I don’t understand the critics.
How soon before people start claiming Cacic was a great hire???
Just started working
is espn3 working for anyone?????
Not to my dismay….just passing along what cro media is reporting. The Torcida doesnt like Srna, so I would be surprised if they would meet with him. to me it would be a shock if they did meet with him.
Told you, no pressure in this game…..means nothing.
Wow, almost scored again.
Good to see Croatia with some offense. Fucking finally.
ESPN stream in U.S. appears to be down. I see Perisic already scored assisted by Modric.
out and about…any one have a stream please?
That took long
Ziva,
Much to your dismay, a lot of Hajduci are denying that any meeting took place with Srna & Torcida.
They say that it was either just a bunch of hooligans from a faction of Split or some Orjuni who met with him.
In the name of the Father Son & Holy Ghost . Please Help Us !! Bog , Hrvati , USA , HAJDUK , i HNS !!!
23
Subašić(GK)
5
Ćorluka
11
Srna(C)
21
Vida
4
Perišić
7
Rakitić
10
Modrić
20
Kovačić
22
Pivarić
8
Pjaca
16
and N. Kalinić
well maybe
i dont think norway will win in italy so if we win our 2 games we will be auto going to euro so there’s still some pressure to win to get the automatic place
which means even less pressure for the Bulgaria match……which means you cant take much away from it, win or lose or tie.
So much for italy and Norway loosing points…2:1 italy…2 nothing for norway.
bad news, italy and norway are both definitely going to win
God bless you……..
Yes I am!!!
im not only scoreboard watching im streaming the norway game from firstrow haha
a black guy scored their goal
typical looking norwegian guy then haha
are we really scoreboard watching?????
2:1 italy
this is comical…..Srna is not going to lead a boycott. And why we would he. But, this is great theater. In what other country does this type of shit happen.
Yes!!!! Zuti!
Not sure if any of this is true but this was what’s being reported:
http://www.jutarnji.hr/tajni-sastanak-kapetana-vatrenih-i-torcide-darijo-srna-odbio-povesti-suigrace-u-bojkot-hns-a-/1435310/
Good news, Azeris scored, 1-1 atm
Bad news in the games. Italy and Norway both winning early
I know…………still meaningless games in terms of mood and atmosphere around the repka.
We have our captain meeting with fans to discuss if he should or should not lead a player boycott. Where else does that happen.
@ Ziva Istina second place in the group is still alive if we win our two games and Italy draw or defeat Norway lol.
the shit show continues my friends…….now word is coming out that Torcida leadership met with Srna last night asking him to lead a player boycott of the repka. Also, the BBB are said to be looking for a meeting with Modric and have the same demand, that he get a few players as well to boycott playing for the repka. No confirmation yet if the BBB did meet with Modric.
Just when you thought this soap opera was already a mess, it just gets even better.
We can definitely learn a bit about our team today.
Let’s see the energy the team puts forth for the Cackalica.
Also we need to redeem ourselves from our last performance against Bulgaria.
That was an embarrassing 3 points.
Modric is fine legally. The issue he might be dealing with is the aftermath of what happens to Mamic and what Mamic does (if he goes to jail) to Modric because of it.
I don’t think we learn anything from the team today. Playing a game with no fans against an inferior opponent and basically with nothing to play for as we are looking at third place. No pressure in this type of game.
Thanks Don Jon
I’m really looking forward to Modric ‘s performances in the next 2 (probably 4) matches if only to see how he copes on the field with all the legal shit going on off the field.
It’s good to put that “mental midget” mindset to the test.
Hopefully it only makes him stronger.
@ Ivo First row sports or front row sports will have a few links for the game.
Can anyone suggest a stream for tonight?
Modric the Zidane of this generation?
Come on dude, you’re way off!
@Ziva
Watching HNS now is like a car wreck if that car wreck involved 4 vans full of people, all of whom were your family and friends. Tragedija.
Everyone do the right thing and boycott. Enough is enough.
Honestly, not much to get up for regarding today’s game. At least last time out we knew Kum Kovac was in trouble if his mental midgets couldn’t respond in Norway and that made it fun to watch the impending shit show. Remember, I outlines the short term pain for long term gain situation going into it that match.
Not so much today. Win or lose or tie, this game basically means nothing.
Never stop Croatian Sports Dot Com Nation, never stop……….comparing Modric to Zidane?????? Their games are not at all similar. I’m not ripping Modric, but Zidane was elite and for a short time the best player in the world. Modric is very good, but he is not on the same level as Zidane.
Zidane carried his scrubs with timely goals and chances created galore!
Modric in the checkers is like Zizou on his worst day.
I’m looking for some good overreation after today’s win. Remember, Bulgaria isn’t much any more in soccer. Comfortable win, but the circus around the repka continues.
Anyone have a good stream for today’s match ?
We were lucky to get the 3 points in Bulgaria with that 36th minute own goal by the Bulgarians.
@ Maminjo
Josip Skoblar, PRIVLAKA, Zadar!
Once again thank you for adding to the group genius of our posting community.
Speaking of talent, Halilovic would have added much to the last two matches and these two as well.
But unfortunately there is still a Balkan boneheaded basement disease that grips the people we allow in positions of power in Hrvatska.
Call me the homer of all homies, but I consider Modric the Zidane of this current generation of Vatreni. He consistently plays well for the repka despite being surrounded by slow scrubs and limited tactical awareness by our coaches.
He was dominant at Azerbajan, where he created multiple chances to score that went untaken. Getting subbed out at the 70′ was bizarre Balkan behavior.
For a small nation we are a diverse people with a rich history.
I myself believe we need to close the chapter on the Balkan BS and the Jugoslav system that kept it in place.
Time to now actualize the full Potential of our people on and off the pitch.
U boj … Za Narod Svoj.
I forgot about the Croatian Catholic Croats, they’re the best!
The Portuguese Croats are the best closely followed by Irish, Argentinian, Chilean and Mexican Croats.
Which Croats are the better Croats? Aussie Croats,American Croats, Canadian Croats, German Croats lol. Still laugh out loud how Alen Halilovic isn’t in the starting 11. If we cannot defeat Bulgaria and Malta then we have hit rock bottom and don’t even deserve to play in Euro 2016. We just need the 6 points and need to hope for Italy win or draw against Norway. Modric and Rakitic are the two that really need to stand up and show that they really care about playing for Croatia if not they will take most of the blame.
How many of this current crop of players would get a run in the 96 & 98 team, I say maybe Rakitic for Prosinecki and Perisic that’s it. This team isn’t as good as we thought and I reckon most of you like to blame Mamic and Suker for the player’s short comings. I hope they make Euro 2016, but if they don’t I wouldn’t be surprised, they’re just not that good.
Zvonimir, I know you’re just a Čedo who is posting on this site just to dismiss all things Croatian, but i’ll write back to you anyway.
The talent (that you claim is the solely there because of Mamic) has ALWAYS been in Croatia. Mamic is just shrewd and clever enough to take advantage of buffoons running other clubs and monopolized Dinamo as the only place to go for youth talent, then used his influence to get into the NT making himself the most powerful man in Cro football.
But to say that he’s the reason why this country has football talent is laughable, and typical Serb mythology.
Look at Croatia’s footballing history…
– Those Euro 96 and France 98 teams were pretty impressive. Finishing third in a World Cup is no joke.
– Croatia has qualified for 8 out of 10 World Cup & Euro tournaments (with the two misses being by only a single qualifying point each)
– There have been TWO Croats who won the Golden Boot award (Suker in ’98 and Jerkovic in ’62).
– Suker also made the FIFA 100, a pretty good feat.
– There has been a European Golden Shoe winner that was a Croat as well (Josip Skoblar) who’s goal total still ranks top-five ever.
– Also, until recently broken by Messi and Ronaldo, Josip Skoblar held the record for most goals in a ‘Liga Petica’ team.
– There were FOUR Croats in the starting lineup in that historic “England vs The Rest Of The World” match that took place in 1955 with Bernard Vukas scoring a hat-trick.
– Even your teams (Partizan and Zvezda) their greatest ever players (Bobek and Prosinecki) were Croats, Bobek also being the greatest ever scorer for the Yugo national team too.
Crazy thing is that this is all just off the top of my head, lol. I’m sure there are more achievements. All of this was there before Mamic, and it will still be there after Mamic.
Mental midget – A person with a fragile mindset and lacking the ability to deal with tough situations (Azerbaijan and Norway).
Ziva you always call the players mental midgets, do you blame Mamic and Suker that the players are mental midgets? Davor Suker wasn’t a mental midget.
failure in business?????? huh
no girl?????? huh
no nothing?????? huh
Some serious Stockholm Syndrome going on here.
^^^^^^
This is coming from Ziva a failure. Wow. Never change. Failure in business, no girl, no nothing. Sad.
^^^^^^^^^
Do you really believe what you wrote………you guys think Mamic and Puppet Suker are the solution. Damn, just when i want to give the benefit of the doubt to diaspora hrvati (even by not taking into account diaspora hrvati grammar skills when in Cro), we get statements defending the idiotic element. Never change diaspora hrvati, never change!!!
I’ve got no problem with Mamic or Suker, we just gotta give them time to fix this mess the players have created. Suker has told the players, “if you guys can’t beat Bulgaria and Malta youse can all go and get fucke*, remember I won a golden boot at the 98 World Cup for Croatia, what the fuc* have you guys ever did?!” My source told me he looked at Modric when he asked that. Suker was channeling Jeff Fenech and Tony Jewell.
Bravo zvonimir.
Which national team players ever came from any different club besides Dinamo, Hajduk and/or Rijeka since the early 90’s? Pretty weak argument.
once again, the team is a disaster despite mamic’s best efforts to provide us a national team
croatia should be favored in this game?! ha
does anyone remember bulgaria?
one shot on goal the whole time?
and the only goal being an own goal by bulgaria
it’d be tough to expect much more
once again, all you guys hate on mamic. but his pursuit of profit has been the only thing that has been able to produce any talent out of what is becoming the wasteland known as croatia
think about it…
do any players come out of istra? any out of dalmatian clubs?
barely
all the talent is cultured and cultivated by mamic. and its only b/c of that cultivation that we have a national team that some could hope to succeed
Oh well! Ziva would’ve saw Zan Tabak play for Toronto!
Toronto’s pretty American!
Go Ziva!!! better than being an American Croat. Just goes to show that Ziva doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks of him, I mean he didn’t care that everyone thought he was an American Croat.
Ziva is a Toronto Croat. Find out somthing new everyday.
If I hated him I wouldn’t even give him the team mascot and water carrier role. I blame Modric for the current situation of the NT.
Hammer, youve always hated modric, no surprise there
he’s a valuable player for the NT and needs to play. We need him, raka and kova playing well and we’ll be fine
Where’s Crunchy?
Not dropping Modric from the starting line-up and making him team mascot and water carrier is a big mistake! Not a good start for Cacic. Hopefully Kalinic can deliver, I’ve always been a Kalinic fan.
How funny is this
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJDbkKURH4
Van Persie celebration – would have been a “nazi” salute if he was from somewhere else.
Defoe bites Mascherano – plays the rest of the game. Suarez suspended although he did have a history. Had he been British he wouldn’t have been suspended.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXBSvngRR0
Defoe bites Mascherano – plays the rest of the game.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JzXBSvngRR0
Van Persie celebration – would have been a nazi salute if he was from another country.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJDbkKURH4
Funny how depending on what country you’re from can sometimes determine if and how you’re punished. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised after finally seeing Platini, Blatter etc get pinched for corruption.
Croatia simply makes too much “noise” for such a small country. Any other major European country gets away with murder. I am not saying we don’t do stupid things but there clearly is a bias.
*Suarez also has a history of biting and Defoe doesn’t, understandable, but Defoe still should have been suspended at the time. Not fair but that’s life I guess.
What are everyone’s thoughts on the starting lineup? Vida/Corluka at CB, Pivaric/Srna on each side. Perisic, Pjaca, Kovacic, Modric, Rakitic in Mid and Kalinic up top.
QEW, I didn’t know you are from The GTA Ziva unless you were visiting.
It may seem like the obvious comment but the only thing the NT can control is winning the next 2 games and that should be the only focus. Although it is fun to speculate the different possibilities
Ziva, you forgot G. The amount of cuntishness in Ziva, which wins hands down
I hope we avoid the danes just cos my mum was a Dane so i like them and want them to do well and dont want to knock them out haha
I must admit, i kinda want the playoffs.. i know that’s masochistic but i kinda want us to play extra games. Silly, i know, but there it is. Turkey is no easybeat but smashing the jews would be pretty fun. Just need dudu back to do what he did last time we played that pack of accountant gold-farmers
Sounds like Srna has future HNS manager potential!
trivia questions……………
What is or will be the bigger number:
A. The ammount of STDs Corluka has passed along in his career
B. The ammount of people who will boycott the Cro-Bulgaria tomorrow on TV
C. The amount of ATP players Dona Vekic will be with by the time her career comes to an end
D. The amount of commies in the SDP
E. The amount of commies in the HDZ
F. The amount of dad grammar by diaspora hrvati during a given week in late July while on the coast trying to order food or drinks
So, what say you Croatian Sports Dot Com Nation>
Easy to say to say they are going to boycott these two upcoming meaningless games. We are still in the playoffs.
Question is will they not watch the two playoff games.
People can say they will boycott all they want, but I don’t think they will in big numbers. The repka right now is like a bad car accident you see on the highway. Everyone is afraid to look when you see blood and body parts all over the highway (shootout to the accident I saw last month on the QEW, it was a good one), but guess what, they still look because we enjoy watching a bloody mess. Same thing here. The repka is a bloody mess thanks to what Mamic has done to it.
Torcida just called for the official boycott of the repka.
Anything that comes out of Srna’s mouth should not be taken at face value. He tried playing the concerend captain role prior to the game in Split as he questioned why there was such an issue with the relationship between the savez and hajduk. Get lost Srna.
Srna is the same guy who was working with Stimac and his brother when they stole money from hajduk when he and Pletikosa were sold to Shaktar.
Now, if Srna is willing to talk about the art of diving and simulation, that could be a good interview.
Ante, good stuff. Well done!
Yes, Croatia does do it the hard way almost every qualifying round.
I’m not optimistic about Bulgaria behind closed doors. Bulgaria still has a slim shot at third place and they have nothing to lose. Also, the earlier match in Sofia wasn’t a walk in the park.
I see 1-1.
Playoffs here we come! Let the circus continue for two more games.
Srna said he would talk about his future with the national team after Malta. He’s assuming that Croatia will avoid the playoffs.
but not the road game…..Who knows, maybe this is the route we have to take. Could be a short term pain for long term gain type of situation.
The home playoff game would be in an empty stadium too. That was part of the one point deduction penalty.
Actually, it might be better for us to go the playoff route instead of the 2nd place…….
Now hear me out……….We play Bulgaria without fans and the last game is meaningless match against a minnow. Because the Bulgaria is with no fans, that really doesn’t create a normal and natural soccer atmosphere, which means we could possibly go 9 months before a real match (the last one being the game in Sept. against Norway). I rather go the playoff route so we have to play two meaningful games with a new coaching staff just so we are somewhat prepared for the Euros and know what to expect with the new coach, assuming we win the playoff. The last thing I want to do is go into the Euro without a true, meaningful game.
Hopefully we don’t have to concern ourselves with playoff opponents after this weekend.
Peter, my matchups are based on seedings. Based on current seedings, that’s what would happen. If Denmark and Netherlands do end up third, Croatia, Netherlands and Ukraine will most assuredly be top seeds. The fourth top seed would be between Ireland, Sweden and Denmark. The two lower ranked of those three teams along with Israel and Slovenia would be the bottom seeds.
Ante Kvartuc good write up brother!
At the end of the day we should be thankful for the watered down Euros because we are going to make it because it was expanded.
@Mile, the playoffs are seeded so you would most likely avoid a side like Sweden or potentially Ireland.
Also, if Albania wins their last game they automatically qualify thus dropping Denmark to 3rd. They could also be seeded depending on how all the final results shake out.
Albania in the Euro’s, piss, let’s make it a 32 team tournament.
Great write up Kvartuc. Keep it up!
Yes…..ten games expired. Suspension Joey has no restrictions on him right now. Assuming we make it to the Euros, and we will even with ineptitude on the bench, expect the foreign media to make a big deal out of Suspension Joey being an assistant coach……..And lets jump ahead of the curve here and stop with the anti-Croat mentality. The foreign media would be doing the same if it is was another coach with another national team who used a phrase that was using by those who aligned themselves with the Nazis. It is a newsworthy story to tell.
I guess it has been more than ten competitive matches since the Iceland playoff, including World Cup & Euro qualifying.
Is Šimunić still serving the FIFA ten-match ban? How does this affect him as an assistant? I thought part of the ban was a restriction on entering stadiums in which Croatia is competing. Does it only apply to him as a player?
A lot is still up in the air regarding playoff matchups. If the third place teams are as above, Croatia would be matched up with either Turkey, Israel, Slovenia or Albania. But what if Turkey drops points and lets the Netherlands slip into third, or Albania beats Armenia, pushing Denmark to third. They Sweden and Ireland would be possible opponents. Hopefully Croatia take care of business this weekend and Italy or Norway drop some points.
Looking at the current third place teams, there are not too many that we should be afraid of playing.
Turkey can always be a tough road trip even though we handled them last time. But, a lot of that game was shaped on the early goal. Who knows what happens without the early goal.
I rather avoid Sweden. While better than them on paper, Zlatan is very capable of winning that tie on his own. Israel, Slovenia, Ukraine, Albania, Ireland all would be underdogs against us.
who am I bringing down???????????????
So, Cacic is not a career journeyman in the Cro league??????????????
You think Suspension Joey (no coaching experience) and Ante Mise (very little experience and no success coaching) are good assistant hires?????
What am I missing here?
And how can I be an UDBA agent??????? I celebrate and advocate all that is good in Croatian society. I’m not sure you even know what the UDBA is/was all about.
Criticism when justified is fine and needed.
here we go again, typical Ziva, always bring down anything Croatian, you could be a typical UDBA agent
We have nothing to fear going forward…..I mean we have a career journeyman in the Cro league as a coach and the tactical minds of his assistants: Suspension Joey and Ante Mise. What could possibly go wrong.
Pa sram je i mene kada me vrijeđaju na ulici ………. I really doubt anyone is saying anything when he walks the streets of ZG. Then again, I would really like to meet the loser who would yell something at a player in their private time walking around.
ĆORULKA ‘Nije istina da su igrači bojkotirali Kovača. Jednostavno smo bili loši’
Autor: Alen Lesički
Objavljeno: 06.10.2015
‘A što smo trebali? Nazvati svakog novinara i reći: Sorry, posipam se pepelom. Pa ne treba mi nitko reći da sam odigrao loše kada to znam i sam’
Lider ove reprezentacije, na travnjaku i izvan njega, Vedran Ćorluka, jedan je od onih tipova čije se rečenice rijetko mogu čuti u javnosti. Jednostavno, nije sklon klišej izjavama poput “mi možemo, mi hoćemo i mi budemo”. Ali, kada Čarli stane pred mikrofone onda neće birati pitanja, još manje paziti na odgovore.
Ćorluka će bez dlake na jeziku reći kako stvari zaista stoje, iako je svjestan kako njegova riječ ima težinu. Ipak je on jedan od vođa ove generacije. Čast ostalima, ali i jedini logičan izbor za nasljednika Darija Srne na kapetanskoj poziciji… Krenuli smo od Norveške i Azerbajdžana na kojima se, tvrdi Ćorluka, dogodila “crna rupa”.
– Čak i u prvoj utakmici nismo bili loši. Nedostajao je taj gol koji bi otvorio domaćine i sve bi krenulo drugim smjerom. No nema smisla govoriti o tome što bi bilo kad bi bilo, jer to je glupo. Norveška? U Oslu smo odigrali sramotno loše – reći će Ćorluka, koji ne traži suosjećanje javnosti. Svjestan je kako nitko u reprezentaciji nije bio na svojoj razini, počevši od sebe.
– Jedino je Vida nešto odigrao, svi drugi nismo napravili normalno dodavanje. Ušli smo u neki strah i dogodila se loša utakmica. Događa se. Pa i Real izgubi 10 bodova u četiri utakmice.
Posljedica je bila smjena Nike Kovača. Netko je pitao Ćorluku jesu li pritisak i priče o smjeni u slučaju podbačaja bili razlozi lošoj igri.
– Ne. Toliko smo puta prošli te smjene i najave ostavki da nas to ne smije opterećivati. Jednostavno, bili smo loši. Svašta se pisalo, ali nije bilo narušenog odnosa s izbornikom. Istina je da su Norvežani htjeli pobjedu više od nas, a to se nije smjelo dogoditi. No, to što neko tvrdi da namjerno nismo htjeli ispunjavati zahtjeve trenera, to nije istina – naglasio je Ćorluka.
Dojam je javnosti kako je Niko Kovač podnio žrtvu loših rezultata. Netko je spočitnuo Ćorluki kako se igrači nisu baš posuli pepelom nakon fijaska.
– A što smo trebali? Nazvati svakog novinara i reći: Sorry, posipam se pepelom. Pa ne treba mi nitko reći da sam odigrao loše kada to znam i sam. Pa sram je i mene kada me vrijeđaju na ulici – tvrdi branič koji je odmahnuo rukom na tvrdnju kako je ovo posljednja prilika da ponove “vatrene”.
– Mislim da se previše uspoređujemo s njima, a trenutno nismo u poziciji da budemo s “vatrenima” u istoj rečenici. Hajdemo raditi i napraviti rezultat pa možda jednom… Trenutno trebamo biti ispod stola kada se govori o toj generaciji.
Dio javnosti poziva na bojkot reprezentacije…
– Toga ima svugdje. Dobro, ovdje nešto više, ali to je njihov izbor koji mi ne možemo mijenjati. Možemo utjecati da ih igrom i rezultatima preobratimo. Ako im smeta tko je na čelu Saveza, mi tu nemamo utjecaj. Nas zovu da igramo za Hrvatsku, i mi to činimo.
Neki kažu da to rade pod “ručnom kočnicom”. I da mnogo bolje igraju u klupskim dresovima.
– I što da vam odgovorim na to? Možda Luka i Raketa igraju bolje jer imaju kvalitetnije suigrače u klubovima? Mogu vam tako odgovoriti, a mogu i reći kako ovdje igram malo bolje jer su mi u reprezentaciji bolji suigrači.
Bugari nemaju što izgubiti u Maksimiru.
– To su najgore utakmice, ali opravdanja više nema. Iskreno, ako to ne napravimo, svi zajedno trebamo ostaviti nogomet – zaključio je Ćorluka.
Actually i retract my previous comment – i momentarily forgot about our secret weapon – Mucho Cacic !
He fills me with overflowing confidence and we’ll SMASH IT and get in EASY !
🙂
Well, there are issues, you see, you said (of us)
“And after all that, the worst they can do is finish third to slip into a November playoff.”
and then
“Bulgaria can still technically overtake Croatia for third place if they win out and Croatia lose to Malta on Tuesday.”
I honestly am not convinced we will beat the buggers with ease, as you said. Hope so but i have no confidence whatsoever in winning EITHER of these games. SO the idea of Bulgaria overtaking us for a playoff – who knows !!
But, yes, we should be right and not need playoffs. As i said in the other thread, no way Norway beats Italy in Italy. So if we hold our nerve (for a change) we should be fine ! Idemo !