Look, I’m not complaining. After two awful performances against England and Czech Republic to open the tournament, I’m happy that Croatia beat Scotland to get out of group stage. It was Croatia’s first win over Scotland – to finally scratch them off the list – and it was also their first must-win ‘last match of group play’ victory in history.
But in the grand scheme of things, the insurance goal scored by Ivan Perišić definitely made things harder for the Vatreni. If the Vatreni win 2-1, Czech finishes 2nd and Croatia 3rd, meaning Luka Modrić and company would be heading to Budapest, Hungary where they would face the Dutch in the Round of 16. That would basically be a home game for Croatia as Budapest is only a 200-mile drive from Zagreb.
OK, that didn’t happen and hindsight is 20/20. As we all know, Croatia have been placed on the far more difficult side of the EURO draw. Even though I love the Spain matchup in the Round of 16, if we get by them, France certainly awaits us in the quarterfinals, which would be a rematch of the World Cup Final three summers ago.
I wanted to finish 2nd in group and I’m still happy about. You can only predict so far in a tournament up to the Round of 16. After that, you’re facing world class teams or sides that are on absolute fire with momentum, spirit, and fearlessness. Either way, you have to bring your A-game or you’re done. This is the EURO, not the World Cup. The EURO is the toughest tournament to win in the world; much tougher than the World Cup. Look at the top half of Croatia’s draw and their FIFA ranks: Belgium (1), France (2), Portugal (5), Spain (6), Italy (7), Switzerland (13), Croatia (14), Austria (23). Five of the top-7 footballing nations in the world are in Croatia’s bracket to the reach the EURO Final. THAT’S INSANE!!!
At the World Cup, the Vatreni were fortunate to get the easier road, facing Denmark and hosts Russia on their way to the semifinals. This tournament they will have to beat Spain then France (90%).
We can talk about Perišić’s goal screwing the draw, but you can never flirt with 3rd place at these tournaments; or must-win games. Imagine if it were 2-1 Croatia late and Scotland pick up a penalty to tie it up and send both nations home packing. We wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Croatia got through and that’s all I care about. The real tournament starts now. The reason I was aiming for 2nd place is for this exact scenario. Would you rather play Spain or Germany in the Round of 16? I would take Spain all day long. Forget about the quarterfinal draw. Croatia have never won a EURO knockout round game…ever! That’s hard to believe, right?
They’ve gotten close going to penalties against Turkey in 2008 and extra time vs. Portugal five years ago. So I ask you all this right now and I’d like an answer in the comments section.
Would you rather be plying Spain or Germany this week?
Also, if Croatia gets past Spain, how epic would it be to play France again? The Vatreni have never beaten them. How much more would that quarterfinal mean compared to a match against Denmark or Wales. 10000x more meaningful to every Croatian on this planet.
I agree with Vuk, Kova And Broz let Luka play offensive, isn’t that what this team needs to have a shot, it’s Luka’s call, he’s earned it, let him create, I go same formation, we need to stop being negative sissies, score goals, we’ll give some up, hopefully Livakovic makes a big stop, lets play, fook the softness, we’re not that
Kovacic was (when younger) a more aggressive attacking midfielder who once would take on and beat other midfielders/defenders. Then someone started whispering into his ear that he should try to play like Modric. And its not his game. He doesn’t have the vision. In fact, for a while, Kovacic didn’t even know where he was supposed to go on the pitch. But I have seen in him, a subtle shift in his game… I hope he continues to refine his play style back to one of aggressiveness. It suits him better.
I mean its pick your poison really isnt it? I was one of the ones who preferred finishing 2nd to having to play Holland cos the Dutch have looked great so far. The worry with Spain is i think they could really shred our D and put on a bunch of goals quickly so praying that doesnt happen ofc. At least if we lose it wont be a huge disappointment as it would have been vs Scotland anyways.
Hey Kvartuc – playing Kovacic isn’t like having only 10 men on the field.
In fact, he might have been our best player against Scotland.
The REAL issue is playing Rebic and Kramaric – that’s like playing with 9 men.
Scotland isn’t an attacking team. They scored one goal in 3 games because Vida gave the dude the ball right in front of the goal. That allowed Kova to play a more attacking role because Broz was play the CDM #6 and Scotland wasn’t much of a threat. When you play all three, Modric, Kova, Broz, against a good team, Kova basically plays another #6. Watch against Spain on Monday. He won’t have the same game as he did against Scot.
I’ve always agreed with you that playing Kovacic with Modrić was redundant, but he seems to have really turned a corner and not just against the Scots. Against both the English and the Czechs he seems to be looking to push forward every time he gets the ball instead of looking to back pass. Those dribbles forward have been creating openings elsewhere as it draws more defenders towards him. I think with this current form you have to play him. It just can’t be at the expense of Vlašić.
Kovačić doesn’t defend like Modrić or Brozović do.
When Kovačić plays in the pivot, then there is a greater reliance on our CBs to do their jobs.
Whenever you see an opposing player run at our CBs, you will see Kovačić jog next to them (applying some pressure) but you’ll never see him tackle them outside the box like Modrić or Brozović do. Kovačić kinda directs the opposing player toward our CBs, whereas Modrić and Brozović outright tackle them (almost as if they don’t trust Lovren or Vida to do it, lol).
I think once Lovren and Vida are gone (and replaced with better CBs) then Kovačić will work better in our starting eleven.
But right now, despite how good Kovačić looks, we are more vulnerable defensively when he plays… and it shows on the field.
That’s true his D isn’t as good. Hopefully DCC paired with Vida in the Spain game will anchor us and Brozović won’t have a game like he had against England. This is what pissed me off so much about Dalic not phasing Lovren/Vida out over the last 3 years when we’ve had better options coming up. They are not what they were in 2018. One play in the Scotland game I watched Vida get outrun to a ball I thought he clearly should of gotten to.
That’s a side tangent, but I’m overall encouraged by the effect of Kovačić playing with added impetus has had as it has been opening things up more offensively.
Dalic finally got the lineup I always wanted to see on the field against Scotland.
Juranovic always plays well then never gets a second chance. Vrsaljko has been out of control with awful touches.
Thank God for Perisic, sets one up and scores another
Solid effort from Vlasic.
Outside of Modric, seems our Hajduk players are our best right now
Why doesn’t Rijeka produce anything?
The only experiment he should have tried was to turn Pasalic into a striker – Rebic, Kramaric and Petkovic are not suited for, or motivated enough.
Pasalic knows how to position himself in the box, in fact, scoring 3 times for us recently.
Brozovic is losing it mentally – shame to see him going through anger issues. He and Kovacic are the only players in their prime years with talent Croatia has.
Apparently Dalić is going with the exact same lineup (subbing out Lovren with Ćaleta-Car)…
But he might start Vrsaljko this time.
Well if the scots nabbed a last minute goal
We would not be having this discussion
Let’s hope we beat Spain and France and Portugal lose their respective matches then our road will be even easier
Let’s take the Ciro approach thinking and believing we can beat all of these teams and we have the best players in the world minus our 2 centrebacks of course that’s just obvious
We have no other choice
Let’s front up Croatian style
Let’s forge ahead