Croatia faces Slovenia in Varaždin on June 7th at 2:45 pm ET for their second pre-tournament friendly following a rusty 2-0 defeat to a mediocre Belgian side. Dalić needs to urge the boys to play with more urgency and sharper decision-making before the World Cup begins, as Tuesday’s game was one full of mistakes. Croatiansports.com believes Dalić must roll out a near-starting XI formation and get a confidence-boosting win on Sunday, with the only rotation being up front, to give even minutes to each and make final assessments before the England match.
Defence
The last-minute decision to revert to a 3-back formation is a disappointing one, but if Dalić aims to commit to it, then defensive positioning definitely needs some ironing out. Youri Tielemans‘ lucky bounce goal was unfortunate for Josip Šutalo, but it was the result of a disorganized defensive presence in our own box. Exactly the kind of stuff we want to avoid when facing the Three Lions with prolific finisher Harry Kane up top. Another issue was the pace of play down the right flank, with Josip Stanišić being somewhat limited going forward compared to Marco Pašalić. In the last 25 minutes of the match, Pašalić even made an impressively quick back-check on speedy winger Jeremy Doku — one that no other player on our squad could have done. We need his pace, and we need his work ethic. The RWB position is perfect for him, as it allows for speed and creativity on both flanks rather than filtering every play through Ivan Perišić. If Marco P does not start, Dalić is making a costly mistake. Joško Gvardiol and Luka Vušković should start as well, to further improve their chemistry and give a rusty Gvardiol reps. He misplaced many passes against Belgium and clearly needs a good 60-70 minutes to regain sharpness. Luka Vušković once again played a strong match, winning many duels and making smart interceptions. However, his significant lack of pace was exposed when Lukaku was sprung on the break in the last minute of the match (or maybe divine intervention gifted Lukakuvić humble retribution for his sacrifice in Qatar). Another reason why players like Moro should not see the pitch at this World Cup is that these kinds of turnovers could absolutely nuke us. Who knew calling up old, slow, mediocre squad players could lead to poor late-game impact over young, fast, attacking talent… anyways, Ivan Perišić will definitely make his way into starting another game (and playing significant minutes). The guy’s a horse. With him and Marco Pašalić running the wings, Croatia can have an underratedly dynamic transition game. Please, Dalić, start Marco. Please.
Midfield
Mateo Kovačić looked very sharp against Belgium. There is no denying this. However, there is also no denying that with him on the pitch, Croatia is lulled back into passive possession play, with no attacking bite. I love Kovačić, and I think some games will call for him to start, and some will earn him significant off-the-bench minutes. Especially with a tired Modrić in the second half. However, against teams like Panama (and in this case Slovenia), we need an additional attacking outlet at the CAM spot next to Martin Baturina. And that could be Luka Sučić, who no one is talking about. Yes, he’s had a tumultuous last 2 years of his career. But why not give him a shot against Slovenia and assess his performance from there? He’s got a wand of a left foot and progresses the ball well. An interesting duo could be formed next to Martin Baturina, arguably our best attacking player against Belgium. The Modrić-P. Sučić duo offers complementary profiles in the midfield, with Petar covering an enormous amount of ground on the pitch — in Brozović-esque fashion — to allow Modrić to use his magic tools.
Attack
Petar Musa was given the start against Belgium, and despite the lack of service, found himself in good spaces, pressed well, and was very hungry. He once again missed the net with a few rockets, but once that shot hits the target, he will definitely score. If it weren’t for an incorrect offside call, Musa would have found himself on a breakaway as well. Ante Budimir was subbed on and rattled a free header from 5 yards out against the crossbar. As the President of the Budimir hate club, I found he once again lacked ability with the ball at his feet, provided virtually no benefit in a possession style of play, and missed a great scoring opportunity — his only real job on the pitch. He’s slow, presses poorly (despite a strong effort), and is not very strong for a big guy. But what do I know? The guy is a consistent top scorer in LaLiga. On Sunday, it only seems logical to start Igor Matanović to see what he can bring. It’s quite unclear which one Dalić will stick with at the World Cup, and it almost seems like he will go with the hot hand — whichever one shows him the most.
Musa brings pace and link-up, Budimir brings finishing and aerial threat, and Matanović seems to be in the right place at the right time, alongside his large, strong frame. Which will it be come the England match? I think it’s a complete toss-up… even for Dalić.
How should the Vatreni approach this match? Will Dalić play the starters, or will the subs start us off? Drop your predictions below!
New Adidas aways look terrible. Looks like an Indian wheel in front.
I have some comments for Markus:
you said, “Dalić needs to urge the boys to play with more urgency and sharper decision-making before the World Cup begins, as Tuesday’s game was one full of mistakes”
– Dalic has openly said he is focusing on his defensive strength and part of that plan is to try to keep possession. his philosophy is “if we keep the ball (sakriti loptu) we reduce their chances for continuity”. it has been part of his philosophy for a long time and he clearly stated that when we played Brazil in the last World Cup!
you said: “lucky bounce goal was unfortunate for Josip Šutalo, but it was the result of a disorganized defensive presence in our own box”
– these things happen against us and sometimes for us. its a fast paced game when a reaction can hurt you.
you said: “Moro should not see the pitch at this World Cup is that these kinds of turnovers could absolutely nuke us”
– why the hate on Moro? the guy had a decent season with regular minutes in a very tactical league. he’s at best going to relieve some minutes for P Sucic or Kovacic…especially if the tournament is long and there are injuries
you said: “Mateo Kovačić looked very sharp against Belgium. There is no denying this. However, there is also no denying that with him on the pitch, Croatia is lulled back into passive possession play, with no attacking bite”
– who deserve’s to replace him? be straight up and honest. remember 3 things…1) Kovacic is a midfielder that transitions the ball from defense to attack 2) Dalic wants possession and Kovacic is usually very responsible, aggressive and fast defensively 3) he is NOT our solution for attack…he never was and never will be
you said: “And that could be Luka Sučić, who no one is talking about. Yes, he’s had a tumultuous last 2 years of his career. But why not give him a shot against Slovenia and assess his performance from there? ”
– let me understand this. we have the biggest tournament on the face of the earth ahead of us, you say Moro shouldn’t see the pitch, you complain about Kovacic not being offensive enough (both Modric and P Sucic are) BUT you want to take a chance on Luka Sucic who’s been reduced to limited playing time at his club? how does this make sense? is this a gut feeling?
Dalic plays a system and style that he feels best suits our team. he is first looking for responsible players, a team that can execute his game plan and he’s doing his best to create a balance between risk and reward.
choosing a lineup is not based on a reputation. these coaches monitor minutes played, responsibilities performed or not performed, average run per game, mental and physical capacity….
making a decision based on a hunch or a reputation doesn’t work.
Moro is not needed. We have enough central profiles and we desperately lack attacking bite and speed. Against a team like Slovenia (similar quality to Ghana/Panama), an extra offensive outlet like Luka Sucic could be useful. We have a friendly opportunity to try him. If it doesn’t go well, sure, he doesn’t start. Kovacic is great for possession style like you said — I predict Dalic does this against England.
Like the title says, this is Croatiansports.com ideal XI. I try to stay close to what our real lineup will be, but I don’t actually think Dalic will start L. Sucic. Like you said, a possession style is likely what will happen. Exactly what we tried against Belgium and we generated very little + lost 2-0. We clearly make too many mistakes and are not defensively solid enough (despite quality players in that area of the pitch) to recover from turnovers. This was very evident. Who knows what the solution is? Is it sharpness or lack of concentration in a friendly? Maybe.
I’m just suggesting an extra attacking outlet against a low block team… nothing crazy here. If we get stuck playing tiki taka with no chance creation, we’ll be repeating the Belgium game where a costly turnover (by someone like Moro) will cost us. Why bring 7 CBs and a million central midfielders to a WC? If we’re down 2-1 to Spain in the knockouts do you think subbing Moro on will change the game?
Baturina hasn’t always done what he needs to clearly separate himself from the pack for national team. Having seen him live and at close range, the kid is bloody fast. Just run Batty and you will do fine. Hope he plays in the WC 2026 and some meaningful minutes. We don’t have players at his speed.
It would be interesting to see if your recommended line up is close to Dalic’s ideas this time around.
There are some nice concepts to test. Slovenia usually sits back and parks the bus a bit, so what we learn is very conditional to Slovenia’s specific plan and additional limitations without Sesko.
I am glad we had a weak qualifying group, for the sake of qualifying, but it did not push our experimental strategy effort to the fullest.
The evolvement of the young players makes it a moving target as well.
It’s looking like Baturina will surpass Gvardiol in transfer value next season.
Yeah, 80M not bad . Como ain’t messing around
He really needs to start at the WC. I’ll be pissed if we have to shoehorn another Central/attacking midfielder in at the expense of Baturina.
For sure Marco Pasalic should play, I would play with Modric, Kovacic, Sucic in the middle and as an AM Baturina. Perisic and Pasalic on the flanks and up front Igor Matanovic. In the back Gvardiol, Vuskovic and Stanisic. This is the best formation.
Just finished first half Belgium
U guys are way too critical of Sutalo on the goal
First, deflects off Stanisic and changes direction – sure it unluckily bobbles off Sutalo foot – BUT Vuskovic is also late to react and Gvardiol is also shuffling the wrong direction – and Lika is sleeping too
So all 3 CBs have some culpability
I also think u MORONS don’t understand what “baiting the press” is (google it) – that’s why Croatia CBs were so deep in the build-up and Kova and Modric dropping back – it’s deliberate – they were trying to bait Belgium who was crazy pressing high up the pitch and committing 4-5 players – and once u have so many Belgium players forward – u move the ball to the second phase (which we didn’t see) and ur off
Maminjo mentioned something interesting about playing possum – it’s a fair comment – why would Croatia show it’s cards in a friendly ? So England can prepare better ? Genius ! Maybe Croatia is trying to lull England into thinking “oh we need to press them high up !” but Dalic has something else in mind
Also telling Vuskovic didn’t head the ball even once in the 1st half
Learn football. Do better.
Mexico bukkake’d Serbia 5-1 lol
Yikes.
I don’t care if they’re rebuilding their team. Losing 8:1 against teams who aren’t even in the top 20 can’t be great for morale.
Good lineup, more attacking and will be better vs weaker teams that are hard to break down.
Only thing I’d say is maybe Musa would take more advantage over the chances with his finishing, movement and pace while still pressing defenders hard.
Matanović will definitely get value on the pitch if Kovacic isn’t on he can retain the ball well too in his absence. This lineup relies on Luka Sucic to score however, let’s hope he’s in top attacking form, this is certainly his game to prove himself vs Slovenia.
Vs more difficult midfields Kovačić in a midfield 3 instead of Luka Sučić and Musa over Matanović for bigger goal chance might be better. Budimir better vs low blocks and receiving crosses tho but that’s an off the bench thing if we wanna just lob crosses like crazy, although Musa and Matanovic still quite good choices. Matanović better on the ball in case our striker like Musa is isolated too much, but Musa better goalscorer. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised Dalić tries Musa and Matanović when if he subs Luka Sucic off later, but that’s a crazy late game experiment more than anything, wouldn’t start that imo.
This back 3 must play and Marco and Perisic must be our wide outlets. Modric and Petar Sucic will be defending more in this set up and more of our attacking prowess relied on Luka Sucic rather than spreading the tasks apart when Kovacic is on with Gvardiol, Petar Sucic and modric being the rotational attacking options in terms of our rest defence 6 players letting 1 or 2 players attack).
I still feel our strongest possible lineup this tournament is this but Musa up front and Kovacic in midfield 3 with modric and Petar Sucic. Kova balanced our midfield more than vs Brazil where we got outnumbered and couldn’t control the match well. Vs Belgium, Croatia ran the midfield and protected the 3 back with our 3 CM’s, Šutalo was just not needed with stanisic more capable in his areas and stanisic not an effective wide presence going forward like Marco pasalic. Baturina had more freedom to attack and now Perisic and Marco will still have a lot of freedom to attack too with how defensively solid and press resistance the midfield is. Also any risk associated with the wingbacks is nullified with our rest defence back 3 and midfield 3. I’d rather have Marco desperately chasing a winger when tracking back with Stanisic comfortably anticipating, covering and doubling up with him than Stanisic having to track back and be less likely to win the duel since he’s on the back foot all while relying on sutalo to cover and protect him. Our half backs being equally capable in CB and fullback areas makes this possible unlike Šutalo, Vuskovic gets to be a sweeper and step up to win aerial duels, make tackles, poke the ball away with his reach and read a play quickly to mitigate the lack of anchor #6, having the half backs in Gvardiol and stanisic with some pace (34 km/h top speed) makes it safe for Vuskovic to do this since he’s covered unlike in a back 4 he’d create a giant gap on one side of his other CB that would exploit his lack of recovery pace and turning speed. Our best team in possession is probably looking like these 3 at late phases of play.
(This is example is if Modrić goes forward. Just swap Petar Sucic and modric if he drops deeper when Petar is box crashing or just put modric between Kova and Petar depending on what they decide at the time.)
Perišić. Musa. Marco Pašalić
Baturina Modrić
Kovačić. Petar Sučić
Gvardiol. Vušković. Stanišić
(Or if Gvardiol decides to step forward to finish a shot or be a 2nd striker like he did vs Portugal and Faroe islands or even for haaland at city many times.)
Perišić. Musa. Marco Pašalić
Gvardiol Baturina
Kovačić. Modrić Petar Sučić
Vušković. Stanišić
(Could even be Gvardiol still dropped back on the left, and it’s still 3 and 3 rest defence. Everyone is in spots they’re most comfortable in and we’re covered in offence and defence. Having more options like this makes Croatia more unpredictable offensively too giving us a huge advantage. Of course don’t forget Gvardiol and stanisic just staying back as 2 and Vuskovic making that sweeper run in the box for a header or shot.)
Also see the 3-2 or 2-3 rest defence, stanisic and Gvardiol helps make it possible with their versatility and ability in fullback and cb, it ensures us having wingbacks are not a risk defensively even if they don’t defend like fullbacks, they just need to work hard and track back to give a numerical advantage vs wingers which normal front 3 wingers do anyway, and pressure them which they’re both great at.
If Perisic and Marco pasalic are wingers in a 4231 they are relied on more to score which wouldn’t get as much value as this if they’re not clinical, kinda like how if Mbappe doesn’t score, he ends up messing with the teams system and balance.
Baturina is better in a front 3 and not midfield 3 since Baturina and Modric need a true #6 like Jakic, but then you lose Kova and Petar which loses a lot of midfield control and the previous midfield trio is just as solid defensively.
Jakić will be a sub anyway and make a back 4 when he comes on.
It even makes Johan Cruyffs dream team tactic with this if they want to do a midfield diamond or box midfield.
Musa
Perišić Marco Pasalic
Baturina
Kovačić. Petar Sučić
Modrić
Gvardiol. Vušković. Stanišić
Obviously Petar Sucic, modric and Kovacic rotating around freely as their football iq and chemistry see fit.
Obviously the midfield prevent turnovers by counter pressing since they can read play fast, and again they prevent transitions in the first place with elite control and press resistance.
With your set up it will probably look like this in possession
Perišić. Matanović. Marco Pašalić
Baturina. Luka Sučić
Petar Sučić. Modrić
Gvardiol. Vušković. Stanišić.
Still good, just relies on modric in deeper areas and Luka Sucic to help him by dropping in + scoring goals.
Perišić is basically more of the overlapping wingback and Marco the winger who tracks back with Baturina also giving us a good attacking presence in half space and wing. Perisic works well with Gvardiol and helps him with back post headers and aerial ability plus engages wingers well so Gvardiol can either double up or intercept any loose ball or cross leaked from Perisic. You still get a solid 3rd midfielder in Luka Sucic so it isn’t a problem like vs Brazil where they got outnumbered and struggled to control. Of course Kovacic better at controlling than Luka Sucic but you can get away with it vs weaker midfields in exchange for his offensive quality, plus we’ll see how good Luka Sucic is if they do this setup anyways, maybe he surprises us and proves himself well.
Again the Perisic left wingback defensive risk is completely nullified and mitigated with how strong Gvardiol, Vuskovic, stanisic are in a back 3 and back 4 in the rest defence and how defensively disciplined our midfield is when it’s Petar Sucic, modric kovacic; with Luka Sucic maybe less but I’m sure we’ll be fine and I think he can work hard too, he’s just a little slow when box to box like Rakitić was but he can make it work again like Rakitic did.
Luka Sučić in for Kovacic makes our midfield more like 2018, kova instead of Luka Sucic more like 2022.
Hopefully Dalić worked on some set pieces to score from with Vušković and is making some offensive plans for Baturina to link up with both wingers and striker. With this set up that’s the best thing to do, only thing we’re missing now is some names off the bench like Segečić, Jagušić, Mlačić, Majer, Stojković even Juranović who just got back into form the last 2 weeks of the season. They would have been good to change the pace of a game off the bench and add a bit of magic out of nothing and new dynamic to the team that other teams could struggle to react to.
But I guess Dalić thinks Fruk, Vlašić, Čaleta, Moro, Mario Pašalić and Pong are gonna do that for him which I personally don’t agree but you never know.
Not too late Dalić to call at least 2 of Segečić, Jagušić, Mlačić, Majer, Stojković, Juranović. I’d recommend it! Especially the attacking players.
Dalić also said he’s been putting most of their time in training and analysis how to solve why they conceded late so much since the euros but it’s obvious it’s sutalo and pongracic, they’re too slow and play high lines at the end of games and cannot read play fast enough to compensate for lack of reaction speed or pace. They just don’t fit our system well especially late game. They also don’t help Vušković lack of pace at all either so no point in starting them. Once Dalić accepts that or finds some sort of new role or strategy for them, we have to just focus on our attack in training and analysis, we were good in midfield and defence (minus the Sutalo mistake) vs Belgium, just needed that right wing player and some attacking plays made in training.
I think there will be changes and I hope that Dalic reverts back to playing 4 at the back. We have tried playing 3 at the back 4 or 5 times and seldom has it worked.
The only reason he has been experimenting with 3 at the back is to accommodate Vuskovic who has had a tremendous season with HSV playing as a central defender in their 3 at the back formation.
Why change team formation and tactics which we have used for almost ten years to accommodate one player with WC around the corner? It is more logical to get Vuskovic to adapt playing in 4 at the back formation. We should have tried this in March against Brazil and Colombia.
For Slovenia I would start with Stanisic, Vuskovic, Pongracic, Gvardiol as the back four. DCC has a back injury and was not available against Belgium and may not be full fit for Slovenia either?
Sesko for Slovenia is also not available for this match.
On Dalic’s coaching future, I’ll go out on the limb and say that this WC will be his last with the Vatreni ?? Hid body language and demeanour at recent media interviews and press conferences is different to what it was in the past years.
He looks sad, lacks enthusiasm and the fact that he has not accepted an extension to his contract with HNS tells me that in all probability he is leaving ??
Dalić is a bit of an emotional girl sometimes.
Very often he whines in the media when people criticize him.
His recent mopey behavior is probably him seeing all this as a lack of respect from the fans, HNS and the media.
My guess is he probably wants to score a bigger raise from the HNS (as the post-Modrić years might make him look bad) but they just offered an extension with a small pay bump.
Either that, or Dalić has no interest in coaching this team without Modrić and he’s waiting to see what Modrić does (and maybe he knows that Modrić is gone after this tourney).
Mart with a body language assessment – love it !
The thing is you’re attributing your body language read of him directly to Croatia NT – who knows maybe he is dealing with something non-Croatia NT related going on his life (family, death, sickness, etc) which is why he’s different
Not everything in Dalic and the players life revolve around the Vatreni even though we like to think it does
I would be also be surprised if he stays as coach after Modric retires – maybe he wants to stay to shepherd the new generation – but I can see him walking away with the medals and saying it’s time for new blood to take over coaching, just the like players have to take over after Luka leaves
The only reason why it is a question who is to play striker, is that Musa has not been given equal time to prove his superior quality because he plays in the MLS, and therefore, he can’t be considered a possibility. It is like we only wear polo shirts with alligators or ponies like the cool kids. It really is too bad. A logo don’t make the shirt folks.
We have treated Marco the same way for the same reason. Therefore we ignore what our eyes tell us, and we sense late at night in our instructive dreams, they are the best for their respective positions, but we refuse to give them a chance. We are soccer snobs.
Meanwhile the MLS Cinderella’s mop the floor, the ugly early anointed counter parts go to the ball.
Petar has always had superior performances, albeit only given a few opportunities.
Musa with Pasalic, if paired with another two Cinderella’s Stoj/Seg, and we would had a different dynamic scoring team, and a different result.
Rather, we will play it safe and Dalic will be liked by the cool Croatian kids, but we will leave the Ballroom early.
France lost to Ivory Coast 2-1 and Spain tied Iraq 1-1. Yet nobody wants to address those games. I will say we struggle to get shots on net. I’m not sure if we are struggling tactically but players like Perisic aren’t cutting it. Give Matanovic and Musa the minutes. We also have slower midfield with Modric being 40 and injured and a cold Kovacic that just got back from injury.
When I look back at the Spain game from the Euros. They made it look easy and exposed our defence. Our midfield played so high up and the defence pinched too much on that first goal. The second goal was a poor cover by Pongracic.
The goal against Albania was the same. The first goal we had no coverage in the 12 yard box on that cross. Second goal was pathetic to concede.
The Italy goal was everyone ball watching and no one saw the cross to the winger.
No goals against us are anything special. They are all from the dumbest and fixable mistakes. We need to play deeper and not have the defence play up, stop ball watching, better on crosses, and letting players walk in.
And for ffs…WE NEED TO SCORE GOALS FIRST AND NOT PLAY CATCHUP.
Let’s give Matanovic a shot. I think Budi is better off the bench and Musa would be the same. Nothing wrong with the striker being 45 minutes max . That position should be fully open for competition now . Nobody has proven anything there.