Here we go! Tournament time! Drop your same predictions in the comments below. You know what to do. Here are our predictions:
Ante:
-How far does Croatia go? Semifinals
-Most goals for Croatia: Majer — 3 goals
-Euro champion: France
-Best Player: Mbappe
-Dark horse and how far they get: Hungary; quarters
Markus:
-How far does Croatia go? Final
-Most goals for Croatia: Perišić, Budimir — 3 each
-Euro champion: Croatia vs. France Final (coin flip)
-Best Player: Mbappe
-Dark horse and how far they get: Ukraine; quarters
Andrew:
-How far does Croatia go? Final
-Most goals for Croatia: Kramarić — 3
-Euro champion: Croatia
-Best Player: Kane
-Dark horse and how far they get: Romania; quarters
CroatiaU14:
-How far does Croatia go? Semifinals
-Most goals for Croatia: Kramarić — 4
-Euro champion: Germany
-Best Player: Gvardiol
-Dark horse and how far they get: Austria; quarters
After today’s debacle vs Spain, they have serious work to do! Let’s hope advancing outta the group is their focus. Cmon Hrvatska!
– Group Stage
– Havertz 6
– Italy
– Pellegrini
– Hungary QF
I think France might end up winning. They show up to big games, and even if they don’t Mbappe carries the team. If Croatia have another final with France, my heart won’t be able to take a loss.
How far we go is dependent on Gvardiol I think, and also how fit is Perisic. Gvardiol plays like a winger, he will give us a lot of attacking opportunity down the left flank. Maybe we can finally score some goals instead of only scoring when the other team scores or taking things to penalty shootouts.
Didn’t France get bounced by Switzerland last tournament? Anything can happen
The Musiala almost penalty is EXACTLY a strategy we should deploy tomorrow
i.e. Kramaric and Majer cutting inside and into the box
Less than 24 hours now!
Give us Germany anytime- we’ll just replay 1998 – what a bloody beat down we put on them- even better – Serbia anywhere /anytime- good luck decki – Samo nasi
If Germany stumbles a bit, then 1st place out of our group could have a great path to the semis.
-in rd of 16, play a 3rd place team
-in QF round, play either Group A 1st place (now likely not Germany). Or group C 2nd place (Assuming England wins the group, would likely be Serbia, Denmark)
Holiga releasing his standard pre-tournament article reminding everyone that Modrić has perjury charges against him
I stumbled on this today. Not surprising considering the guys name is Chris Sutton and he’s a Limey!
GROUP B
Sutton’s pre-tournament picks: Spain (winners) and Italy (runners-up). Albania to finish third, and Croatia fourth.
Just your typical English guy that keeps a tradition of the English crapping on Croatia, Michael Owen in 2007, bring it home in 2018. They just don’t get it. He says Croatia is old. Modric is 38, but still playing at a high level. The next oldest player is 32. Big deal. Every team has guys in their 30s. Kyle Walker is 34 ffs.
They’re just bitter because we took a World Cup Finals appearance away from them.
It’s a good rivalry now between us and them. Just like our rivalry against Spain too.
This is how you know you’re in that upper echelon of teams, when the pundits for the other big teams aren’t pandering to you anymore. They’ll say anything to dismiss you because they actually see you as a threat.
And that’s also why whenever Serbia make a tournament, everyone says watch out for them. They just called them a very good team in the Germany game. Based on what, I don’t know. The only top tier team they’ve beaten since the 2010 World Cup is Portugal.
I think Donovan has Serbia confused with Croatia.
He wouldn’t be able to name a single player on the team.
I truly can’t wait for the gvardiol/yamal memes after the game tomorrow when gvardiol destroys him
How far does Croatia go? All the way.
Most goals for Croatia: Budimir/Kramarić/Majer/Modrić, 2.
Euro Champion: Croatia.
Best Player: Toni Kroos.
Best Young Player: Arda Guler.
Dark Horse: Austria, Quarterfinals.
If I’m understanding the format correctly, the winner of our group has a tougher path, vs the top third place team, and then probably through Germany and Portugal.
Meanwhile the second place team in our group would face the runner-up from Group A, which is likely Scotland or Switzerland, before England and France.
We’ve beat all of these teams in recent years, so ultimately it doesn’t matter. To be the best, you have to beat the best.
First place in our group play Germany in the quarters.
Second place play England in the quarters.
Third place will play one of Portugal or Belgium in the quarters.
This all assumes that there are no upsets in the Group phase (which there always is).
But assuming there are no upsets, finishing first or third is likely better than second.
3rd place sets up against Portugal or Belgium in the round of 16 (not the QF round).
Was just discussing this with my cousin. Group B sets up kind of nicely. Unless something very odd happens (eg – France or England advancing as a 3rd place team. Germany finishing in 2nd place and not 1st), then our round of 16 opponent looks to be on the lighter side.
Even if we implode and advance as finish 3rd place, we at least still can’t get the top 2 favorites (England and France) in the round of 16
Ah thats true.
I could see Italy finishing third, and getting lucky by being drawn against the winner of the Belgium group.
Italy usually has Belgium, Ukraine and Romania’s number. I could see them beating any one of those three.
I’ll play along
-How far does Croatia go? Final
-Most goals for Croatia: Kramarić — 3
-Euro champion: Croatia (over England)
-Best Player: Bellingham
-Dark horse and how far they get: Turkey quarters (also Croatia, champion)
In the words of the Legend Super Josip Simunic……Za Dom Spremni
Hrvatska until the worlds ruin!
I got us getting 2nd in the group behind Spain, beating Hungary and then losing to England in the quarters. I can see us winning against England, but how many times can we inflict emotional damage to them, lol. And I am just waiting to see how we get screwed by the refs/VAR this tournament. Happens every tournament, just hoping it happens while we’re up 3-0 on Albania or something like that.
Unrelated but has anyone even heard of Ivan prtajin union Berlins latest Croat signing?
He bombed in Slovenia and started the year in 3rd division Germany but really took off this year …perhaps another late bloomer at 28?
Sorry.
Nobody on this Earth has heard about your cousin.
I’ll remember this when he leads us to glory in the next World Cup and I share a pivo with Ivan at our next family reunion!
Watch him blow up next season and become a leading scorer in the Bundesliga now.
not even for the best 3rd place in the group stage
because Dalic is a total shit ever
Then you don’t have to watch. You can concentrate on the Serbs and Slovenia. Crapping on Dalic isn’t aging well, especially in 2024. Three medals in 6 years. What did you think we would have done with Pep? Won two World Cups, a Euro and the Nations League? Give it up already.
This is a good point – while we obsessively worry who plays in what position (e.g. Majer can’t play on the wing) – the flip side is our opponents have difficulty planing to play against us (bc they don’t know who plays where)
It’s much easier for us to say “Nico Williams will play wing and will make runs down the wing” (it’s not like he will all of a sudden play in midfield)
It would be funny if this was always Dalic’s deliberate master-plan (by making it hard for other teams to plan against us)
– Sve najjače reprezentacije su složene po nekom principu pozicija – imaš točno posložene igrače na određenim pozicijama za koje se traže određene karakteristike. mi imamo igrače koji nemaju takve osobine, atipični su – nisu posebno jaki ‘jedan na jedan‘, ne traže dubinu, pa nisu toliko opasni za čuvanje. S druge strane protivnici ne znaju na kojim će se pozicijama neki igrači nalaziti. Mi smo nezgodni i nepredvidivi upravo zbog toga. Vrlo je teško u nekoj analizi reći kako će se čuvati Majera ili Kramarića – rekao je Jurčević
pinnacle.com:
Spain -106
Draw +243
Croatia +336
O/U: 2.25
Has anyone seen in the Croatian press (SN, VL, etc) the predicted line-up for the Spain match ?
Can’t find any predictions there (which is a good thing)
https://sportske-jutarnji-hr.translate.goog/sn/euro/skupina-b/dalic-prelomio-ovo-je-udarni-sastav-za-otvaranje-eura-cini-se-da-imamo-tri-velika-dobitnika-priprema-15471385?_x_tr_sl=hr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
***.vecernji.hr/sport/ovo-je-sastav-hrvatske-za-otvaranje-eura-protiv-spanjolske-stozerni-vatreni-gubi-mjesto-u-prvih-11-1777123
Serbs already having a meltdown b/c of Joško Jeličić comments on HRT y’day
Why are Serbs watching our TV channels (if they don’t want our opinions) ?
https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/euro/skupina-c/nevjerica-u-srbiji-nakon-emisije-na-hrt-u-brutalno-smo-izvrijedani-ima-li-ovaj-covjek-obraza-i-stida-15471442
Does anyone have a link to a tournament predictor? Where you put the result each game…
Champions
Petkovic – 4 goals
Croatia
Best player – Modric
Dark horse – England, round of 16
Ha !
English media about to have a mental breakdown being labelled as dark horses
-How far does Croatia go? R16
-Most goals for Croatia: Majer – 2
-Euro champion: Portugal
-Best Player: Wirtz
-Dark horse and how far they get: Georgia; quarters
It’s coming home, to Croatia
That’s it that’s all
Who cares who scores the most
I can die happy;)
My very non-biased opinion:
-How far does Croatia go? Finals
-Most goals for Croatia: Marko Pasalic/ Luka Sucic -3 Combo
-Euro champion: Croatia
-Best Player: Benjamin Sesko- 4 goals
-Dark horse and how far they get: Slovenia “Semis” w/ Croatia
This is almost as funny as the French guy on ESPN two years ago predicting Canada to make the WC semis. Everybody laughed at him, and after that, and how everything played out, he should never have been allowed on TV again.
Croatia Germany final. Hrvatska wins.
-How far does Croatia go? SEMIFINALS
-Most goals for Croatia: BUDIMIR — 3
-Euro champion: ENGLAND
-Best Player: JUDE BELLINGHAM
-Dark horse and how far they get: HUNGARY; quarters
My Predictions:
– QF
– Mario Pasalic 2, Budimir 2
– France
– Mbappe
– Denmark (semi final)