It’s official. The road to the World Cup Final is set!
Croatia would have to go through Japan🇯🇵, Brazil🇧🇷, and Argentina🇦🇷 (most likely) to return where they last left off in 2018. It’s not the toughest road in World Cup history by any means. At this point in the tournament, you’re going to play good teams. Simple as that. The Vatreni were handed a dream Round of 16 draw in Japan. You really can’t ask for much more if you’re Zlatko Dalić. If you would’ve told any Croatian before the tournament that Japan would be the first knockout round opponent, 100% of consensus would be a resounding YES.
With the draw, Croatia avoid the likes of France, England, Spain and Portugal until the Final.
But first things first. Beat Japan and then a likely showdown with 5-time winners Brazil on the horizon.
Wtf someone else using my name?
Yes, it’s you, mali usrani chetnik govno. Look at the post above where you finally say your real name and where your momma is exposed for the whore that she is. How are things in Sumadija, chetnik Vojislav?
We got this tommorow. It will be a cake walk.
Oh my God, who is this clown who uses my name?!
It’s got to be you, Ziva Istina AKA the truth AKA I’m just a sorry loser serb kid in my garage with my Commodore 64 predictions.
Sorry, there was a typo, it should say: abuse my name*
Sadly, we know Barisic will come in for Sosa. Not sure if Dalic would consider moving Gvardiol to LB and bring in an Erlic/Sutalo.
Gvardiol is very impressive moving forward and the thought of him
attacking from left side with Perisic would be interesting.
Given Japan will bunker and counter, we will need an early goal or get creative in how we attack.
Vida lovren probably he would do before he went erlic sutalo
I would love to see gvardiol on the left if we knew sutalo erlic would mesh
Remember Belgium and Japan round of 16 in 2018. Japan led 2-0 and Belgium came back to win 3-2. It will be a tough game tomorrow. Funny thing is Croatia has the same path Belgium had to get to the 2018 finals. They beat Japan, then they beat Brazil before losing to France in the semis. Probably the same potential opponents for Croatia.
Croatia going past Belgium, is beyond luck. It really makes clear, there is a god who plays sides. He happens to be of Croatian descend, and he send his son Gvardiol, born in a manager in Vukovar on one chilly night. Losing Sosa, is meant to tap down the rumors that are getting out, that the tournament is not being played fairly.
Is Sosa ruled out for sure? Why the flying fuck can’t we get luck? We lost Perisic in the game against Spain and now Sosa? This is upsetting news and now I’m even more anxious about tomorrow. Could Stanisic start? Big test for him but definitely don’t start Barisic. I’d rather a sick Sosa play than him. Can Sosa not play through this flu? Rakitic did it back in Russia. Japans starting centre back Itakura will be out with a red for tomorrow. He’s they’re best CB. Dalic needs to take note and throw big bodies upfront. Petkovic, Budimir, Pasalic. Idgaf just anyone. Just not Kramaric in the middle again like he did against Morocco. Worst case scenario we got to penalties.
I think we should go with Modric, Gvardiol, Brozovic, Vlasic, and perhaps Orsic? If we go the full distance.
We’ll get the job done tomorrow boys. Perisic or Gvardiol to score. We need our big players to step up.
ZDS
I’m getting new info that sosa not being held out for flu. Instead, he’s seeing if he can switch to the French team mid tournament. He says he loves croatia but it’s just business.
Sosa not being in for Japan is a bummer cause croatia will have mass possession against a bunker and be launching in a lot of crosses
If i had to rank biggest possible Croatian losses for the tournament it would go
Modric
Gvardiol
Brozovic
Perisic
Sosa
Kramaric
Kovacic
The rest are all guys that some would almost think are better to be replaced
Sure, the rest of the team is just fucktards with absolutely no football skills whatsoever. Not.
It’s always interesting to read your comments, seeing as they’re written by an anti-Croatian chetnik retard like yourself.
So sad to hear the Sosa News. I think Sosa and Gvardiol are my two favorite players in the world cup. Really fun to watch, different league then Strinic/Schildenfelds of the past. I been battling the flu virus this week, it does not go away easily. This may be the end of his maiden voyage. Next guy up, as they say.
I reported on the sosa news first yesterday from my sources. Looks like further confirmation. Sources are saying things don’t look good and hopefully no one else will get
I know the obvious answer to Japan that people will say on this site. They are small. We need tall guys and headers! Start Pektkovic!
I often find this silly talk. Play your game. The height thing won’t matter that much. I remember against Mexico in the 2014 world cup people getting so excited about how smaller their center back was. Oops
Would we really move gvardiol to lb and fuck up with him not being a cb id stick with him at cb. Hooe barisic has good game
I doubt they would do that, but if we really wanted to get your best back line on the field with Sosa out I’d consider it!
I trust sutalo and erlic as well, would even consider playing stanisic on the other side and we would have our best pure defenders shut down the wings for counter attacks!
Gvardiol can play LB, more talent at CB on the bench
Oh i so want us to get payback against those dirty French. Hopefully this final If we make it through Brazil watch out Mbappe Croatia is coming !!!!
If Sosa is indeed out it’s a big drop off to Barisic. Barisic had the odd solid game for us but predominantly he has been ineffective and slow. Not what we need against a quick Japanese team.
Although switching to a 3-5-2 would be an interesting idea given our lineup, it’ll never happen.
The key going forward is to have players fresh and ready. If I have one criticism of Dalic it’s his late subs. I get you want to play your best players, but progressing needs players who aren’t spent.
Anyone know exactly what is up with Sosa?
He has a virus but it’s not COVID.
Hopefully he’ll be ready for the quarters if we progress.
Whatever we do, we’d better not play Barišić.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClwK45XsoL1/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
Here’s the Sosa info.
Sosa OUT…Barisic in, ooooooof…who know how many others get impacted by this illness, whether they play through it or not…or who it might impact later in the week should we advance.
NOT good 😞
Is he officially out?
My cousin just texted me, said he heard on HRT he is out with a fever…dont know if it’s “official” as of yet, but can’t see how they’d allow him around the rest of the squad.
This is where i wish we brought Robert ljubicic, he’s probably the best straight swap for borna sosa! Hopefully the kid can play tomorrow!
We will need fresh legs on the back line during the game, hopefully dalic maybe swaps out lovren and juranovic during the game to keep our back line fast !
And hopefully we win and lovren gets a yellow!
Sosa didn’t practice today. How is fatigue a long term issue? Unless he’s actually injured
Ya, no way much changes formation wise will Happen
Like someone said below
I bet it’s barisic for a straight swap for sosa and budimir potentially starting or getting more minutes
I do like that 3-5-2 below
Would really throw Japan off if they have been studying our group games
Im pretty sure their cbs aren’t so short. I remember everyone thinking we would just head everything in vs Mexico in ‘14
Maybe this is different and we can get a nice set piece or more I hope
We will have control and I’m sure with that some opportunities. We need to not get too cute as we have been saying and not tiki taka it into the net
Our 2 worst positions are Poland’s best World Class…if we had a Lewandowski and a Sczesny we’d be unstoppable lol
I agree
Forget about former yugo
Let’s team up with Polska we would definitely take this tourney
@ Bećar
It would be a travesty that a 192 cm La Liga forward in the form of one Ante Budimir does not get the start against Japan.
I accept Ante Rebić banishment but replace his pressing intensity and presence with someone else.
Wtf has Petković done? He runs for 5 mins and is done.
Livaja was better than Kramaric up top against Canada.
Kramaric is best suited for second half against Japan when he can come in and bang in a goal to settle the affair.
T-minus 24 hours.
Don’t tell me that Japan wants it more than us.
Quarterfinals on the line here.
Another opportunity to stamp our nogomet brand on the World stage.
ZDS
It’s Luka’s last go and I say he has his best game and the boys rally around him- I’d say Luka also calls the plays – just let Dalic sit on the bench and pray
Hey SOUL CHAMP.. I do agree that we are lucky to be here in some ways of course but that’s a part of the game and all teams more or less need it.. Gvardiol saved us big time I must agree.. I loved the picture after the game of him and Modric(oldest star and youngest star big hugs) showing gratitude toward one another! We all know that you need a little bit of luck to get through…. We do need to start utilizing our bench more too and this game due to its physical nature of being “draining” we will need players who can maintain some pressure while not sacrificing our play so much… I really do think that the players below are perfect fit and will balance our play against them!
Apparently this wc it is Asia 5 – 4 Europe
and Asia vs South America is 1-1-1 also
surprising
@ bećar
Tooooooooooooooooo
Your 3-5-2 line up is iLLmatic. That is exactly the vision we need against Japan.
I thought squad depth would be our strength.
Now we are here against an energetic Japan.
This is the time to inject our athletes.
Budimir is a stud.
Oršić is a gazelle.
Both of them up top ran over Spain in 5 minutes at Euro 2020 (‘21)
Why can’t we go 60/30 like every other energetic side.
We are lucky to be here and you know it.
It would be a travesty to walk out the same tired side against Belgium.
Canada sucks.
Who cares who did well against them and their corny coach and scrub defense.
We got quarterfinals on the line. There is no time for non runners.
Erlic is a stud as well and needs to be on that pitch.
One game.
Utilize our squad and come up with a 90+ minute strategic plan to win.
Hey Ante you little faggot bitch who doesn’t allow free speech of other Croats you deserve to be blood eagled.
—————Orsic—————Budimir——————
—————————Modric——————————
——————Kovacic—-Brozovic——————
Perisic——————————————Juranovic
———Gvardiol—–Erlic——Lovren—————
——————-—–Livakovic——————————
Sosa is getting a rest and I do not think he will start.. I think we will need to play a team who can move the ball well throughout the pitch and limit the kamikaze counters and press as much as possible….we will need aggressive attackers to start this and must maintain this play by making changes to our attackers when called upon as so are mids/wingbacks in this game as that’s where we must possess the ball most of the time… if we can do that we have a chance.. but if we consistently lose balls in our build up we are doomed!
If we would play like this these are the players I feel suit this match best
Kramaric-Orsic/ Budimir-Vlasic/ Perisic-Sosa/ Juranovic-Stanisic/ Modric-Majer/ Kovacic-Sucic/ Brozovic-Jakic/ Sutalo-Erlic/ Lovren-Vida
I don’t see Livaja or Petkovic to start here at all.. Livaja seems to be always picking a spot and allowing others to do the dirty work while Petkovic has improved and can hold the ball better then Livaja will be gassed very quickly here.. maybe deeper into the game they could be usefull..
I believe we need some pace and possession here to do any damage.. all our guys in this game should be a potential threat in any set play.. that’s where I think we can hurt them the most.. we have to be organized as they will be and they will be literally “nippin” away at any chance they get.. hey they did it better then the Germans and that’s the style play that Spaniards despise.. does not surprise me they are here at all.. we must be aware!!!!! Let’s hope our boys finish above “the rising sun”
MALO NAS JE AL NAS IMA
=U=BOJ=ZA NAROD SVOJ
CANAK LIKA 91’ We will always remember!
We won’t be starting with 3 at the back. Barisic will come in for Sosa and the only dilemma is who’s going to start as our No. 9? It has to be Petkovic or Budimir because of their physical presence.
In the second half if we cannot break them down, I would play both and send in as many crosses into their box from all directions, sooner or later something has to give.
No no no dont start talking about COVID plz god
this is what arguably cost us last time with perisic being ruled out in euro 2020(2021)
please god nooooo
Magic !
https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/66025-canadian-goalkeeper-croatia
I guess there is no testing for covid
So whether it’s that or another bug I’m sure others are feeling It too
Tight quarters and despite being warm there it is cold and flu season through out most of the world…
Not as normal of an occurrence in the summer world cups I imagine
Latest news from our camp is that Sosa missed training and press conference due to exhaustion. I’m surprised that it is only him?
This is a problem with Dalic at this WC he is not using the bench enough. Last 15 minutes against Belgium we were defending desperately, and, in my opinion, I would have brought on fresh defenders i.e., Barisic for Sosa and Erlic for Lovren.
So far Dalic is only subbing midfielders and forwards.
Latest FIFA rankings according to SN have us at number 10.
I agree…you need to use your subs to have any chance of a deep run, especially after such a hectic club season. I think a lot of the top players that play in the big leagues are exhausted. Maybe that explains why there were so many upsets to teams that don’t have many players in the big 5 leagues?
Against Belgium, Dalić needed to use our best defenders, and Sosa showed that he’s a top defender. Barisić is good, but he’s better going forward than defending. He’s also taller than Sosa and has a more powerful shot, even if his passing and dribbling isn’t as good. He could be a good choice against Japan if Sosa is indeed down.
Sosa leaves practice early from feeling depleted
Be on the look out for covid or flu running through the Croatian camp
Watching vaunted, ballyhooed Argentina and Messi (who I am a huge fan of) struggle against Australia through large parts of the game today. Messi so many first-half giveaways … and then I think how hard we are on our boys on this site. AJMO!!!
Argentina look beatable. Australia just gave them everything they could handle and are extremely unlucky to not be in extra time right now.
legitmate question. Love to know the groups thoughts on the subject. How confident is everyone in our chances if it goes to a penalty shootout? Can Dom deliver in the clutch ? How good will he be in defending in the Japan game. He held up the last two. But he made mistakes . He is shaky and as Ante said Suspect
Not confident- but who said if it goes to penalties it would be Livakovic? Some teams have a goalie just for penalties who come in late – just rather not think about it- Livakovic is a mess under pressure
aus famously did this to get into the wc, they subbed their keeper just before penalties in the play off against peru and – guess what, it worked, he saved a bunch and they won
Crotown , I don’t even won think about this game going to a shoot out. Livakovic scares the shit out of me
I’ve actually been thinking about this also
we obv dont have a subasic who can save penalties
but i wondered about it also, like i guess technically our players might be better at it than japan? Not real sure, i guess we’ll see? well, i hope we dont see lol
If it comes to penalties, I would go with Ivo Grbic he is taller than Livakovic. Ivusic is also tall, but he is a bit slower in his movement on the goal line.
HI Mart, why do you suppose Ivo did not get the start ?
Everybody so hard on Livaković on here. He literally let in one goal in three games so far, and I do t blame him for that one goal. Will he block two shots in a penalty shootout? Probably not…but not many keepers can.
Livaković has been playing well and is a good shot stopper. Saving penalties is about timing and luck. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Grbić enter the match just for that, but then again, that’s a lot of pressure to put on one player…
Hey Mar, I wish the kid nothing but the best . I hope he proves me wrong. Its clear that he is shaky .I think he needed more time before they gave him this spot
Japan average height is 5,7” – a few header chances should be there- let’s see if Dalic picks up on this-
geez they are shorter than my cock
what’s the hrv average height?
Their CB’s are about 6’-2”
What is with so many shots flying over the bar? Can hardly remember a long goal in this World Cup from outside the box?
Brazil will be a tough match our boys need to play there best.
Agreed Mixed Grill re Brazil talk, bad luck.
Our midfield needs to keep the ball and make Japan run. Their whole team presses as a unit then run back when they lose the ball. They have cardio for days. It’s been their style forever and won’t change. Lesser skilled teams like Japan have to rely on physical attributes more (speed, strength, stamina etc) although their play has gotten much better. They do have more and more players playing in Germany but at the calibre of Cro if we’re being realistic.
I like the idea of crossing for headers that’s how Morata scored and Germany had chances BUT Cro is still more than capable of scoring with our usual false 9 small passing game.
Also Japan can shoot from distance. They are mostly small players with a low center of gravity. I’ve noticed them stashing shots from outside the box.
They give 100 percent and play to the final whistle which you can see in both winning goals vs Spain and Germany.
It won’t be an easy game but on paper we should win and most importantly if Cro shows up. My only concern is us not showing them enough respect while knowing Japan will go out on their shield. As much as Japan and the rest of the other tiered countries have improved, I still think both Germany and Spain didn’t take them seriously as did the other stronger countries who were also upset this tournament.
Cmon Korea u can do it lol
imagine if we beat japan then korea to get to a semi again lel
Please stop this Brazil talk. It can only bring bad luck.
Bad luck is when we had that 98 team come and watch the game in Russia . They need to stay home. So does Kolinda . They can meet us at the airport. Stay hungry ,stay humble . Keeping thinking we are the underdogs because that’s what we need to be . That what is going to drive us to win
Can u get each of the other coaches to say they will eff us up?
Pretty sure we will win each match then lmao
Apparently a bunch of players are sick on Brazil but there isn’t mandatory testing in Qatar? Saw it on Reddit so take it for what it is
South Korea can pull off the upsets of all upsets
We have proper business Monday. Focus on what we need to do
I think we all think we still haven’t played our best game yet
Pele is in Hospice. Hate to say this but don’t be surprised if FIFA gives Brazil a push because of this emotional situation. They will fuck us.
I know one step at a time, but Brazil injury news:
Brazil team doctor says Neymar return against S Korea a “possibility”
Also their backup striker Jesus is ruled out the rest of the WC along with backup LB Telles.
Good news. The Koreans will play hard. Hopefully Neymar’s ankle swells up again. Brazils back line is suspect. Their strength is offense.
I read that Brazil will get a “BOOST” with just having Neymar back in the lineup, but he is not expected to start.
My guess is that it’s too early for him to play and it may make things worse if he does?
One step at a time, boys. One step at a time.
Respect every opponent. Japan will not be easy.
Dalić trusts his players, and in Dalić we trust.
The Japan match is screaming for Budimir.
Remember is was part of that crew that ran over Spain to force extra time.
He plays in La Liga.
Sosa/Perisic are whipping in crosses that no one is even arriving in the box to connect with.
Budimir attacks the box like a Mandžukić type.
You need to have a 60/30 game plan vs Japan anyway with a lot of our guys.
Majer has to start on that right wing as we need his slick quick movement.
Stanisic to start as you will need JJ to come in the second half to provide energy to see us through.
We have to utilize our squad.
With our core you are able to tweak line ups to increase tactical set ups against various opponents.
Erlic for Lovren is a must as well.
Gvardiol is our best player and we need to support him with a better partnership. He covers for Lovren like Van Dijk used to cover for him at Liverpool.
He also may be tired a bit?
Livakovic has been solid and must feel confidence with Gvardiol in front of him. One time he didn’t charge a ball that was his and showed how much he relies on him.
Don’t take our midfield for granted as they have collectively played at an elite level. Brozovic and Kovačić have to continue to support Modric.
I see a sub for Modrić in the second half on Monday to ensure we keep the necessary energy and we have him healthy going forward.
Ideally we need to bang in a couple goals in the first half and make some substitutions early to conserve some energy for our old guys. I remember Modric gassed at the end of the England and France matches when he was 4 years younger.
I’m thinking if Croatia looks at this strategically (winning the tournament) it might be prudent to make several lineup changes against Japan and see what we got while not depleting players’ gas tanks and introducing players will full tanks. I’m not dismissing Japan by any means. Maybe Croatia hasn’t introduced their best team yet. And I’ve been pretty impressed so far, I thought Croatia outplayed all 3 group opponents. To me this team looks more technically gifted than the ’18 team but with perhaps less finishing power – we’ll see. I’m used to seeing Olic and Mandzukic run like demons at the opposition’s back line; Olic was insane, that dude had some motor. If Budimir is who you say he is, then I agree he needs to see the pitch.
One good thing is Japan central defender Itakura will be missing our match due to yellow card suspension.
He’s played every match in the back for them so far and received high praise especially for his match against Germany. He works on the right side of their defense. Hopefully his replacement won’t have the same chemistry with the rest of the Japan back line.
Japan started the same 9 /11 players in the games against Germany and Spain; furthermore, against Costa Rica only 5 of those same 9 started.
I don’t know their team well, but it appears to me that they underestimated Costa Rica and rested some key players for that game?
Yes, I watched the match against Costa Rica and the Japan coach rested 6 players. During the second half he started to bring back some of the better players, but they could not break down the Costa Rican defence.
To make things even worse they conceded a late goal from the only shot on goal.
It shows we need to bring our very best because you never know what kind of day the other team will have?
Pity that Swiss did not manage another goal against Serbia, it would have sent Brazil to the other side of the draw. The match against Japan will be hard, they will play a very defensive game same as against Germany and Spain. I have a feeling that this will be a similar match to Morocco. They will defend and we will struggle to break them down.
We need tall timber up front and heaps of crosses into the box.
Serbs have been doing us favors this entire tournament.
Borjan purposely lets in a goal in Canada’s final match, and that allows us to avoid Spain (playing Japan instead).
Then, Serbia’s golden generation (while finishing 28th in the World Cup) ended up injuring Neymar’s ankle for us, giving us a chance to take Brazil out in the quarters.
All we need now is for Australia’s Miloš Degenek (another Knin Serb) to injure Messi for our semifinal match with them, lol.
This World Cup gold medal is theirs, just as much as it is ours. 😉
“golden generation”
lmao, i mean i know it’s what we’ve been told to believe and i say it too so im not criticising u, i just mean lol at their team
Hey come on.
This is the greatest Serbian team of all time.
This is a fact.
28th place is very good for them. Remember, they usually don’t qualify at all, so getting into the World Cup and getting a point is really really good for them.
I wonder if they make 28th place trophies.
if they dont croatiansports.com should commission one and send it to whatever the serbian football headquarter is called/located lmao
Serbia deserves all the criticism they get. Their heartless play continues to let them down.
I said it in the other thread as well, but your FIFA ranking really does matter. Being a Pot 3 team will continue to keep them down.
But damn I’d take Mitrovic- guy just scores – we had a guy that was a natural scorer we wouldn’t be worrying about 5, 7” tall Japanese guys
Serious Q, where do i buy one of those home kits in aus?
I saw some on nike.com, unless they are sold out
TEAM HARMONY & SPIRIT,
TECHNICAL ABILITY IS THEIR, GO FOR IT & FEAR NO ONE.
AS A UNIT, YOUR UNBEATABLE
why cant get krama do dis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uszVvihUoNI
No kidding iggy
We could be the Spain of 2010. That team only conceded one goal and it was a 1-0 loss in the opening game. Grant you, they had better goalkeeping with Casillas in net. Gvardiol our brick wall in the middle is similar to Puyol. Tall, aggressive and quick for his size. Our midfield are just as good. Does anyone recall if Spain has any elite striker that tournament? Villa I know at least has 3-4 goals. Sosa is similar to Ramos, speedy, quick feet, offensively gifted. Morocco will knock Spain out in my opinion. They’ve been undermined and made a statement in Russia that they can keep up with the top European nations like Portugal and Spain prior to this tournament.
You don’t need a superstar forward to win a tournament. You do however need a consistent goalie, brick wall of defence. If we replace Jurnaovic and Lovren, it will benefit us so much. Too late to start Stanisic or Erlic.
Stop focusing on the South Korea, Brazil etc matches. One game at a time. Thus round of 16 match will be tougher than last world cup. Japan are a better side than Denmark.
I agree with the comments below. Bring size and ruthless aggression. Charge the net. Three Japanese defenders are going into the game on yellow cards. Petkovic, Pasalic, Budimir. Orsic to start at forward. Perisic on the wing and Majer on the other? Speed will be a key factor. Perhaps playing Vlasic would be a deciding factor.
I agree
I come from a hockey background and there was a time when you can’t get goals or face a good goalie
Just keep throwing shit at the net
Eventually a bounce happens
I said before the tourney we need the guy who can battle and get some trash in front
Budimir, mr right place at right time pasalic….
I’m not saying let’s just waste all opportunities and throw it all at net
We will get possession against the japs. But let’s not try to walk ir in the net
And don’t get too cute with passes in our back end. They are waiting for that
Guys, we got out of the group
In other tourneys where we missed out we could have easily gotten hotter or a bit luckier and who knows what
If luka and or Ivan get super hot on offence that right there is a possibility to take out Brazil potentially
If it did happen then confidence will be all time high
We know we could take Argentina and we know now we can take France
We still feel that inferiority to Brazil
It would be the one that would turn us into a super power
Ajmo!!!!
Now is the time for Dalic to be bold. If he trots out the same lineup as Canada, Belgium, a loss to Japan won’t surprise me. Livaja was great against Canada but anonymous against Belgium. We need a bigger body to crash the box against Japan. Also I wouldn’t mind seeing Majer get a start but I’m thinking he may not have been fully fit thus far? One or two changes max will work for us. I hear people saying drop Juranovic, but all things considered he has been pretty good.
LOL i like that u mentioned us down under, thanks man
Damn that late goal by S.Korea. I wished Uruguay had pulled through instead, as they are familiar with Brazil and have a fighting chance to eliminate them in R16. Although there have been several surprise results in this WC, I think the possibility of S.Korea taking out Brazil is very remote.
Because I really hope we don’t have to meet Brazil if we can advance to the QF. Reason being, in the knockout stages, I believe we can only realistically hope to beat 2 big teams in order to win the trophy. Recall the past: in 1998, we beat the first big gun Germany but fell to the second one, France. In 2018, we beat England, but fell to France.
Even if we pulled off an upset by defeating Brazil in QF, we almost definitely still have to meet two more big teams in the SF and Final… would it be a bridge too far for us?
If Brazil lose Neymar, we have a decent chance. Their offensive play dropped off after he was injured. They rely on him alot, despite their talent.
Also, if we can just put more shots on goal, we will score more goals.
Croatia is in the bottom half of the tournament in attempted shots on goal.
But when you watch us play, you’ll see that it’s mostly from not taking a half-decent shot with the hopes of getting a wide open chance.
Our passing has been great. Our team defense has been great. Dribbling is good. Lots of clean tackles without yellow cards (our only two yellows had nothing to do with defending).
We just need to stop trying to over pass and over dribble once we’ve already penetrated the opponent’s box.
I think we’re in the top-5 in this World Cup for presence in the opposition box. But we somehow have fewer shots than everyone. Gotta just take it.
I watched the Serbia/Swiss game, and both teams just took whatever they could.
Tons of shots toward goal, bouncing around like a ping pong ball between defenders, and ended up at the feet of a scorer.
Two garbage teams produced 5 goals between them. No reason we can’t do the same with the way we have been attacking the opposition box.
That’s a great point and I share the view… we need to shoot more! Why not? I guess Sosa has tried a few from outside (which were way high), but it’s not like his (or anyone’s) crossing has been on point. And nobody is in the box most the time, anyhow.
Yeah, we have some height advantage over Japan but it’s not like we are typically dangerous in the air. Japan are going to try to get behind the ball, let’s start ripping shots more often and provide an additional attack strategy.
Although I am not sure how credible the source is (Brazil seem to be keeping things pretty quiet), the latest I heard about Neymar is that he has ligament issues in his ankle, and that he is racing to get healthy for the World Cup final in the event that Brazil gets there.
Subasic excellent goal tending was the key to winning the two tie breakers 4 years ago. Does Dominik Livakovic show any historical experience toward being able to produce stops, in an over-time shootout situation? I assume our path to the finals, might need a duplicate effort. Two of croatia results, have already ended up in a tie, and regulation goals are hard to come by on this team without confirmed dominant striker. Dominik’s issues seem to be positioning in the box during live play, rather raw reaction speed like Stipe Pletikosa in Mexico, when we recycled him as our 1st string goalie, one too many times.
Feel like our path will take us through the Orient this time.
I see South Korea taking Brazil to penals. And squeaking out a lucky win.
Then we play Argies/USA. Probably Argies.
I see USA beating Dutch who look slow and unconvincing lately.
Let’s not get too carried away
Tue morning (aus time) we have to beat blue samurai and see what happens
but, yes, it looks okay : )
Hrvati make the irish blush, with our recent blessed fortunes @ 2022 WC. So happy especially for modric, and Perisic, to see us go thru. I will enjoy their artwork one last time as they paint a masterpiece. Brazil is not blowing teams out of the water right now.