Ante from CroatianSports.com and Lovre from @CroatiaFooty discuss what went right and wrong vs. Panama in Croatia’s 1-0 World Cup victory and how the team should prepare for Ghana.
Kova and Gvardiol are in the dog house while Baturina gives us all a preview of the next 10 yers of “flashy” Croatian football.
alright folks, first things first!
after typing on this site for the last 13 or 14 years (maybe more, I can’t remember) and while I was with my friends at Croatia House in Toronto prior to the game, I ended up meeting Branimir and Ante “Baby Face” Kvartuc…two very good guys that are very fun to be around and have a super positive influence on Croatians around the world.
Branimir and Ante have a serious following and Croatians from all corners of the earth were mobbing these two, asking for photo’s and a few minutes of their time and Ante was good to stop, say hello, chat with everyone and let their voices be heard. These guys are classy, full of energy and kind people that truly do “Unite Croatian Fans Around The World”.
also, for those of you that know and remember our member Živa Istina, I met him to. it was quite an interesting moment as he was walking through the back portion of Croatia House, the night before the game…the area was primarily occupied by a massive amount of our Vancouver based Hrvati and as I was taking a swig of my beer I looked to my right and there he was…Živa Istina probably 6’3″, a big dude, smiling while he was taking in the atmosphere and singing to “Moj Ivane” from Thompson so I decided to say hello and let me just say this…the guy is very soft spoken, mild mannered and very nice to talk to…not what you’d think from seeing his comments online. he represents Cleveland and Chicago very well…a very good Hrvat, a proud guy thats probably a lot of fun to bullsh!t with while having some pints!
Toronto was a bit of a blur…wayyyyy too many drinks and sooooo many good people. my only gripe was the cost of beer in Croatia House. maybe I shouldn’t complain but the beer was outrageously expensive at $16 per beer from a can…my wife is gonna kill me when she see’s how much I spent. we were ordering 10 -15 beer at a time…it was the only way to stay refreshed!
Does Živa Istina still post on this site? How did you know if was him?
When Eduardo De Silva went down, I thought for sure, we would never see the same Dudu or see him at all, with the pins in his leg, it was a career killer.
With Josko, I was sure we would see him again maybe at 95% or 100% since he was still not at his peak. Maybe that was too presumptuous.
All my thoughts regarding the Croatian team for 2026, had Gvardiol coming back at 90-95% of peak ability. It is unfortunate.
In this light, out of necessity, Luka Vuskovic should have an opportunity to redeem himself in this tournament and take a risk. He brings the same dynamic as the younger Josko, pre leg break.
Same thoughts on Marco, sure wish he could have shown more quality on that breakaway opportunity. To je to. We still need him, but we sure needed that assurance goal for 3rd place ranking, for final 32, if it comes down to goal differential.
I agree.
I think we need to give Vušković a second chance.
We’re not going anywhere with guys like Pongračić playing there against the likes of Colombia or Portugal.
We need to start all four of Baturina, Sučić, Perišić and Stanišić for 90 minutes. These are our only guys (along with Livaković of course) who have shown they’re ready to play the full 90.
We can start Modrić and sub in Kova for him. Start Mario Pašalić and sub Luka Sučić for him. Start Musa and sub in Budimir for him. Start Vusković and sub in one of our 8 CBs for him, etc.
It would’ve been nice to prepare better to test and call up some different players, but it is what it is.
We must start all four of Baturina, Sučić, Perišić and Stanišić. No subbing them out. It was insane that Sučić didn’t start against Panama.
We can still salvage this tournament if Dalić calms down and stops trying experiment.
Why not play Vusko with Gvardi. This is what I was asking for prior to the tournament start.
And why not play you best box to box midfielder Susic in midfield…FFS?
How good would we be if we had a qualified coach? Imagine if Ancelotti was our coach.
This is a replay of Euro 2024. If he does not make these changes we lose to Ghana 100%.