WOW. What a start to the World Cup qualifying campaign for Croatia as they smash 12 goals past Gibraltar and Czechia in their opening two matches. Croatia has taken a strong chokehold on Group L and go into the summer break on a positive note. That being said, who were the outstanding performers for Croatia and how does the Croatiansports.com team want to see the Vatreni come out against the Faroe Islands and Montenegro in September? Here are the Croatian player ratings and 2-3 sentences to sum up their performances.
Dominik Livakovic – 6.5/10
With basically no work to do over two matches, this was a tough grade to give. Liva made a nice save at the end of the game against Czechia, but it was already 5-1, so who cares. Apparently he thinks he’s the goalkeeping equivalent of Leo Messi with the body feints and dribbles he’s been pulling against pressing strikers.
Josip Juranović – 6.5/10
JJ brings pace and energy but he’s somewhat of a weak defender. I remember two or three distinct occasions in which he was beaten by a Gibraltarian winger. All in all, not a bad showing but I definitely think he’s a bench player nowadays.
Joško Gvardiol – 8/10
His presence was truly felt against the Czechs. This felt like a typical Gvardiol match in which he imposes himself as the most talented player on the pitch, both offensively and back on defence. Should’ve had a goal early in the match and provided a cheeky assist to Krama’s first goal. 10-15 more years of this stud is going to be fun.
Josip Stanišić – 7/10
Stani isn’t a flashy player but he’s got the basics mastered. He’s a good defender with decent pace, he’s good on the ball and completes our defensive unit nicely. He’s no Gvardiol but I’m glad we have him. What a stupid give away for that one Czech corner though, not sure what he was doing there…
Duje Ćaleta-Car – 7/10
For all the hate this guy gets, he’s pretty composed, he’s above average defensively, and good with the ball at his feet. Provides a good aerial presence as well. Yeah he’s nothing special, but he’s holding down the fort well until Vušković takes over.
Josip Šutalo – 8/10
Man was he good today. So calm, so composed. He has pace and an underrated ability on the ball, making a nice floating pass to create one of our first goals today.
Marin Pongračić – 6/10
He’s honestly really poor and somehow made some of the Gibraltar players look capable offensively. In no way should he ever get playtime above Luka Vušković again, and I honestly think we have better CB options in the HNL. Also, can this guy stop fouling the opposing defenders on every corner? I feel like he committed a foul every single time.
Luka Vušković – N/A
Very happy to see him get his debut but disappointed in the lack of minutes against Gibraltar. He looked good in his few minutes but not enough time on the pitch to say any more.
Luka Modrić – 8.5/10
I don’t care if he’s 40 this guy is something else. What can I even say here. What a pass for our fifth of the night, tricked every Czech defender, all the viewers, and even the cameraman (probably). Only Krama saw that coming. Surprisingly nice penalty from him too, he usually goes low every time.
Petar Sučić – 7.5/10
Very impressed by how composed he plays and he honestly had a near flawless game against Czechia. However, I think he should play with more confidence, seems like he’s playing in Modrić’s shadow a little, but that makes sense for a 20 year old. He’ll come out of his shell more and more with increasing minutes. Also, he needs to make decisions with the ball a little faster. He’s always holding the ball a split second too long before releasing. But I’m really just nitpicking because he was excellent in covering for Kovačić today.
Luka Sučić – 5.5/10
Don’t take this rating as a knock on his ability. He created some excellent chances in the match against Gibraltar but missed some incredible opportunities as well. Could’ve easily had 3-4 G/A. But the fact he came out with 0, along with his mindset during the match is why I’ve given him the worst rating. I think some players were worse (Pongračić, JJ, Majer), but I’ve given him this rating because I’m the most disappointed in the manner with which he played (compared to expectations). Luka was visibly more and more frustrated as the game progressed and he was missing his opportunities. You could see it get to his head and he was trying to play hero-ball while being rather irresponsible in his duties, causing many turnovers and wasted plays in my opinion. Anyways, I hope this was just a bad game and not a sign of mentality issues with him, because he’s definitely got an incredible amount of talent. I’m gonna say it one more time so I don’t catch heat in the comments: he had SOME very very good moments in this game, many key passes and good chance creation in his positioning and general play. But there was no reason not to produce or at least keep trying to in a positive manner, when playing such weak opposition. I just don’t like how he held himself this match, that’s all.
Martin Baturina – N/A
Not really enough game-time to give a proper rating. Surprisingly, he got limited minutes against Gibraltar and none against Czechia. I think Dalić has him at the bottom of the three young midfielders in him and the Sučić cousins. To be honest, I still don’t think he’s shown his best in a Croatia kit and I’d like to see more convincing performances from him moving forward.
Mario Pašalić – 7/10
Fox in the box. Quiet otherwise.
Marco Pašalić – 7.5/10
Dynamic. Direct. Speedy. Shoots at goal. Provides width. Cuts inside. Please, Dalić… play him. Please.
Lovro Majer – 6.5/10
Yeah, he finished with an assist and lots of nice passes in the final third, but I was heavily disappointed with his physicality and midfield play against such week opposition. He was kind of getting bullied on some plays. He’s got the natural talent but maybe he’s just a bit rusty coming off injury.
Ivan Perišić – 10/10
We go as Perišić goes. This guy is an absolute cyborg and the load he carries on that wing is insane at the age of 36, not to mention POST ACL INJURY. Again, POST ACL INJURY. Ridiculous.
Andrej Kramarić – 9/10
He gets so much shit, but at the end of the day, he bagged 4 goals in 2 matches. He’s uber talented, but his unique profile makes him hard to fit in the squad. He’s slow and hinders counter-attacks, he’s bad on the wing and weak as a striker. But, we see flashes of pure class with him and he seems to always produce lately. At this point I really don’t mind seeing him start behind Budimir as a false striker. Yeah, Luka Sučić and Baturina are talented, and they are the future, but they sure as hell aren’t putting up numbers like Krama is.
Franjo Ivanović – 8/10
I love his style of play. He brings pace and intensity and has more skill than I thought he did. A nice two goals against Gibraltar and showed team spirit in making the easy breakaway pass to Krama instead of going for the hattrick. I want to see more of him off the bench for Budimir.
Ante Budimir – 8.5/10
Man is he ever hard to watch. I find his style of play so ugly but he’s so damn good at it that I can’t even hate anymore. He is slow and his ability on the ball is the worst on the pitch, almost like playing with 10 men sometimes. However, he drags defenders excellently and flops around like a coked up salmon, ultimately winning us penalties and putting himself in the right positions to score and get great looks at goal. His IQ is off the charts and he finishes at a good rate. No doubt, he’s our best option at the 9 for the time being, and I’ve got no complaints considering his play as of late. FYI, the guy completed a shocking 4 out of 11 passes today (36%), but won nearly ever duel (9/12) and drew 3 fouls plus a penalty. Scrappy, but effective.
Zlatko Dalić – 9/10
What can you really say after getting 6 points and going +11 on goal differential, while beating our main group-rivals by 5 goals to 1? My one complaint is his hard-headedness in playing only 1 natural winger in Perišić (who was basically carrying the load of two, to be honest), when Marco Pašalić has looked so good off the bench. Why not give the guy a start against weak opposition to at least see how he can do? I also wanted to see more of Vušković, but we do have to be patient. I’d rather this situation than what he did with Gvardiol’s debut at the Euros. Luka’s time will come. Let’s see some Toni Fruk action next time as well. Anyways, well done Dalić.
Briefly, here is how I would lineup for the next two qualifying matches in September:
Faroe Islands: Livaković; Gvardiol – Šutalo – Vušković – JJ; Modrić – P. Sučić; Perišić – Kramarić – Marco P.; Budimir
Montenegro: Livaković; Gvardiol – DCC – Šutalo – Stanišić; Modrić – Kovačić; Perišić – Kramarić – Mario P.; Budimir
Montenegro is the stronger of the two opponents while the Faroe Islands match allows for a bit more experimentation. I expect Dalić to go with a Czechia-like lineup against the Montenegrins so I really hope we get to see more Marco P and Luka Vušković minutes against the minnows. Will Toni Fruk get his first cap as well?
Croatia has their fate in their own hands as they have one foot into World Cup qualifying with just two games played. How do you see the Vatreni performing in their September matches?
So Barca wants perisic …his revival is like nothing we have seen before.
Will he get busted for PED’s is my question?
@Maminjo
Here is the FIFA doc when they mostly recently changed the formula, etc
https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/f99da4f73212220/original/edbm045h0udbwkqew35a-pdf.pdf
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Knock-out rounds of final competitions: Teams that earn negative points in the knock-out round of a final competition (e.g. as a result of losing, or even winning after PSO against a weaker team) do not lose any points:
If (W – We) < 0 then P = Pbefore
This condition was introduced in order to protect the point totals of teams that have progressed to the knock-out round.
#####
Obviously when you beat a team of Czechia’s quality 5-1 that is an outstanding result.
But does Dalic expect to pull Modric, Kramaric, Budimir, Perisic out of the retirement home to play in the 2026 World Cup? All these vets will be another year older come World Cup.
Waiting until the 78min to make the first sub when you are up 5-1is laughable. He needs to start incorporating the younger players earlier and give them real minutes not a few minutes at the end of the game.
It was the same against Gibraltar.
Hopefully we continue our win streak and qualify early.
It will force Dalić to rest veterans for the final rounds.
With goal differential a factor and 4 of those goals coming in a cluster, it looked like Dalić didn’t want to put out the fire they had going. Croatia is still 3 points behind Czechia in the group, and Dalić’s mandate right now is to qualify Croatia for the world cup. He can focus on winning it once we’ve qualified
Perisic is reborn. Who knows why. Just as noted by Kromiza-it’s a great thing .
Perisic was beyond Legendary before his knee injury but this is just absolutely insane, that he is finding a way to produce like this for the National Team, adjusting to his body and age limitations, and still having the drive.
I would be ecstatic if they made the final 16. I am living in the moment, and enjoying this final run of this generation. We could easily have 32 + goals, with a 8-0 record, when this is all said and done the way they are playing . Don’t recognize this team, w/o kovacic even.
If Perisic leads the team to final 16. we will have to start talking about koza i dva brata, Triglav – Modric/Perisic/Suker.
honestly, our group is weak, and we should not be expecting anything less than dominance. Croatia is top 10 soccer country that has allowed itself [often] to be a top 20 /30 team. We just play our game and thrash whatever is in front of us, it’s not even a question of winning our group. Did anyone see anything from Czechia that was worth watching? They looked lost out there. Come on , guys- let’s start measuring ourselves against top 5 , not top 100. It’s good to know our place and that’s measuring up against France/ Spain in Europe.
To be fair, the Czech have been in pretty good form this past year.
Even though they are just the 39th ranked team in the World, they did top a pretty tough Nations League group (with Ukraine, Georgia and Albania) and are probably a bit better than their FIFA rank suggests.
But more importantly, winning big like this gives us the indirect benefits here with seeding.
We’ve already moved up ahead of Italy and Germany to 9th place (up from 11th) after this round.
If we continue with wins throughout this group (which is very possible) we will likely climb ahead of Belgium too.
Going into the World Cup as a top-8 team is exactly what we need.
We leaped Italy to 10th but still c.9 points behind Germany 9th (1708 vs 1717) per FMD
But 💯 if we move to 9th we get into pot 1
Although not as beneficial as previous WC as 3 hosts (who would otherwise be pot 2 (USA and Mexico) or Pot 3 (Canada)
The dream would be finish top 2 of pot 2 (which would typically be a pot 1 team in any other WC save Korea/Japan) pull Canada (de facto Pot 3), another Pot 3 and Pot 4)
That group would de facto have
– 1 pot 1 team (one of 2 top teams from pot 2)
– 2x Pot 3 (Canada + another)
– 1x Pot 4
Are you sure?
The site I use is “Football-Ranking.com/fifa_rankings” and it shows us currently at 1707.51 points (just as you pointed out) but it also has Germany dropping down to 1695.94 points.
Maybe you didn’t factor in Germany’s points lost from their two losses to France and Portugal?
Pretty sure
See Football Meets Data on X (that’s where I’m getting from)
In UNL semi and finals the loser doesn’t drop points
See Football Meets Data on X
Semi and Final NL losers don’t drop
Don’t drop points
You are totally right. We beat a 39th ranked team and before that a team of amateurs but now everyone thinks we are in top form. We still have a very aged core and other than Gvardiol no real young stars and not much speed. I love Modric but he struggles to run and penetrate these days. I wish we had a couple of young prospects had who panned out and could contribute some class and excitement, be reliable and ease the load on the old guard but that has not happened. Majer and Sucic (Sociedad) don’t impress me at all. They are just too slow. So I expect we will qualify and that is great but what can we expect at the tournament? And how many tournaments can we go to counting on the last run of the last generation? We have done that already and i can’t hope on some miracle anymore.
Don’t worry. Luka Vuskovic has arrived! 😉
We also have a nice set of young backline players in Josip Sutalo Josko Gvardiol, and Josip Stanisic (all under 25).
Petar Sucic is still very underrated and will become a starter at Inter, and I think Franjo Ivanovic will end up at Benfica (or some other decent Champions League club) to start the year.
Kova will still stick around for stability, and don’t sleep on both Luka Sucic and Baturina. They both had down years, but are very talented.
As “bad” as Luka Sucic played against Gibraltar, there was that rocket of a shot that he swung straight into goal (that didn’t count as he was ruled offside) but it was so effortless how he did that. It was like Rebic’s goal against Argentina, but not a fluke. He has that talent, but needs a full injury-free season to round into full form.
We do need wings. I definitely agree with you there.
Marco Pasalic may be a good stop-gap with his aggression and speed, but we really do need a star to develop there for us.
Might have to go Brazilian and bring in Belinho if he’s the real deal.
@Maminjo how has Baturina had a down year? Did you watch the Champions League games. He was outstanding and that was with all the injuries to the Dinamo regulars.
True.
I guess it’s largely because of Dinamo losing the title and him not really stepping up in the big derbies.
People expected him to carry the team to victory and he didn’t.
He’s still a great player.
Give credit where credit is due. It is not easy to score 12 goals in 2 games. Coach Dalic rolled up his sleeves and had his team ready. He is just a winner. Viva Zlatko!
What that a dream ?
Amazing
That’s the post 🙂
Thank you Dalic for playing Luka Vuskovic
As Anonymous previewed – this is TREMENDOUS for him going into Sp*rs pre-season – please look at X/Twitter today (search “Luka Vuskovic”) and look at all the Sp*rs ITK accounts posting screenshot of his debut and all the related comments – this is exactly the buzz he needs to get Thomas Frank (the new Ange) to take note of him
No one here gives one flying fuck about the “Sp*rs” give it a rest for once and for all molim te.
You’re lucky they still have it in your size XS 😘
shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/Europa-League-Winners-Mens-Stadium-Tottenham-Hotspur-Home-Shirt-2024-25/CMHWIN24
Spurs are the most hated team in Engerland
Amazing win.
One foot in the door for the WC.
Luka was simply amazing.
Perisic, amazing again, non stop motor. Had he been fully healthy at Euros…he completely changes our game…does it all at both ends.
Our goal differential is excellent…no way the Czechs catch us.
Hoping the Montenegrins take some point(s) off them next game in Sept, then we steam roll the Montenegrins at home days later.
Big credit to Dalic as well..has the boys balling now.
Going to talk about 3 players. First off Modric what can you say the guy is unbelievable. Yes he had a couple of misplaced passes in the first half. He also had a ridiculous assist and a great ball to perisic which Budimir should have buried. Next is Perisic never expected him to come back to such a level after his injury. He’s lost speed still tracks back though. His crossing shooting technique still at a very high level. Still our best winger. Last is Petra Sucic he was all over the field yesterday. Showed nice composure and good skill on the ball with some of those fake shots and roll overs with the ball.
Is Perisic in career best form? I mean i can remember watching him for Bruges in the day and he seemed to be scoring goals for fun every week. I realise he’s wayyy older now but he kinda seems like almost at his very best atm, it’s crazy how good he’s been these past few months.
What I remember is some people on here saying he was done. Or “washed” as the kids say. Wasn’t me. Legenda.
Enjoy the next 12-13 months of the vatreni decki. This is likely the last hurrah for a whole number of of the boys:
Modric
Perisic
Karma
Budimir
Kova
I do worry who will replace those big gaps. I hope HNL will stop bringing in so many foreigners and focus on the kids in the system
Look at the starting 11
Assuming kovacic is not injured,
Dalic is relying on old squad greatly still. Our midfielders and strikers.
Modric 40
Perisic 36
Budimir 34
Kramaric 34
Kovacic 31
Pasalic 30
We have this problem facing against big teams in two legs (eg against france where we lost the legs in 2nd leg).
Our WC qualifier, we do not have back to back matches against bigger teams. But we cannot afford to rely on it in world cup.
Its obvious dalic is putting his best squad and this squad is consistently the older players who is true..truly concerned on next generation. No one is stepping up yet. All inconsistent
AZ
I hear you.
It is tough for any small country to consistently produce enough talent, when you are up against countries 10, 15, or even 50 times larger.
That is just a fact.
Having said that, Croatia (and the Croatian diaspora) produces athletic and football talent far above its weight.
There are a few interesting statistical sports outliers out there, I think the Dominican produces something like 10 percent of all Major League Baseball players with a population of just around 12 million.
I hear you. . . but . . . but maybe it’s better for Croatia than you think right now….The defence core you see taking shape right now might be there for the next 2-3 world cups, and it might be the best you and I have ever seen. Sutalo was just fabulous for Ajax this year. If they hold onto him for another year that would be fine as they are in Champions League, but he is heading at some point to a top league and a major team, a City, a Real, an Inter….Gvardiol, I don’t need to say anything. Stanisic has won two straight Bundesliga titles and is rounding into a top Bundesliga defender who will be an anchor on the Bayern defence for the foreseeable future. Then Vuskovic….I watched him a fair bit this year in what is a very good Belgium League and if he can continue his progress, he could be at least as good as Gvardiol was when Gvardiol really stepped up and the world first saw him break out at the 2022 World Cup. If Vuskovic can be as good as that, and I think he can, I believe you will have commentators openly musing whether Croatia has the best, or something close to the best, back line in the entire world. And they are young, solid for 2030 and possibly 2034. So generationally you have to feel very good about what you see at defence.
Midfield more of a risk, and it depends on how they develop, but Petar Sucic has really come on in the last 18 months, and he is going to Inter which everyone feels is a great direction for him right now. I know we aren’t there yet, but the talk is a new Broz. His cousin Luka showed stretches and flashes in the Spanish league this year that show what kind of player he can be, and while Baturina’s stock might have fallen just a wee bit this year, you still have a guy there who looks to be a great talent. Those three and a healthy Majer give you a solid core of four in 2030, those three are good into 2034 . . . Other potential players like Lovro Zvonarek in Austria had disappointing seasons, but there is some talent there on the horizon that can leave you feeling pretty good about the next generation midfielders, out to say 2034. Tough to get another Modric for sure, but you might well have a Broz and a Rakitic in the making with the Sucic cousins.
Forwards a little tougher, can you find a Suker or a Mandzo? A Perisic or a Krama? This one I will leave with you AZ, and with the others, but I recall watching a game between Dinamo Youth team and Bayern Youth team (or some top German club youth team) just 6 or so months ago, and of the 22 who were on the field, there were 14-15 Croatian youth players on the field at one time if I recall right.
My point is you can probably feel great about the defence, and good about the midfield and how they project for the next generation.
Now, a bigger issue beyond that is Croatians leaving the country for opportunity and the shrinking population and the diaspora gradually moving further and further away from its roots….. That is an issue beyond this board and beyond this day. That is a big one, looking out further. Let me just say this: a proper “Croatians Come Home” campaign, combined with very low taxes, and a future that envisions economic growth related to the return of a percentage of the talented and hard-working diaspora, rather than a focus on EU integration, could have truly fantastic results.
I’m optimistic, AZ!
Bog i Hrvati!
Disagree with Mario Pasalic’s grade. I give him an 8.5. 1 G 2 A against the Rock and was very effective positionally against Czechia. He was drawing fouls from the D (and not getting the calls) and had a strong case for a penalty kick that was not called. He looked sharper than he has in the past across the two qualifiers and might be getting over the hump of non-production that he’s had since becoming a starter.
Showed good pace as well in multiple attacking runs and in general.
For me like for everyone else Perisic was our most outstanding player and my rating for him is 9.
Modric had some misdirected passes at the start of the match and I would give him an 8 and I would also give Budimir, Kramaric and Sutalo an 8.
Gvardiol, Ivanovic, Petar Sucic and Mario Pasalic 7.5,
DCC, Stanisic and Liva 7.
Majer, JJ 6.5 and Luka Sucic and Pong 6
Others did not play long enough to be rated.
Dalic 8.
For the matches in September, I doubt that Vuskovic will play against Faroes and will most likely be with our U21 side. It will depend on the availability of other CB’s but if everyone is fit Vuskovic will miss out.
Kovacic had the operation on his heel last week and prognosis is that he will be out for 3 months, so he is unlikely to be fully fit for the matches in September? we will be lucky if he is fully match fit for the matches in October ?
A lot of these comments are pretty fair. These two games went about as good as they could so things feel sunny
We can enjoy it but as always stay level. We still shouldn’t expect to have a rock solid 11.. We’re not spain. We’ll always have weak points.
Many like Maminjo were consistently ready to give up on the team, but all the way back since the Euro’s I had been pointing out that they actually hadn’t been playing that bad and producing some favorable stats such as expected goals.
It is well known, that there is very little difference in player ability to convert certain shots and its all about which shots players are getting. And Croatia was doing ok, but ran into some bad luck against spain, albania AND italy in the tournament.
I’m just excited for another World Cup experience and Croatia being soccer relevant for another year.
I did love Modric for once not doing the “placing the ball low and to the side” penalty shot. I think he had enough of that also and simply said to himself, I can put this ball anywhere I want…why do I even give these goal keepers a chance to save it.
Additionally, as mentioned, that final pass was incredible. I kept watching him and saying, why isn’t he passing it to the wing… he’s looking right there and the gap is there…what is he doing….. truly an incredible fake out despite Maminjo thinking he’s now a last 20 minute sub.
It’s a fact that we’ve been very bad these past 12 months.
Only the two home games (against France and Poland) did we play well in this past year.
Every other game (including against teams like Scotland) we were very poor.
The big difference over these past few months is the improved form of our players and the positions they’re being played in.
Also, lately, we’re also not as reliant on these out-of-form types who we had started at the Euros and UNL games (like Broz, Majer, Petkovic, Pong, Jura, Vlasic, Ivanusec) and have been barely playing them or not at all.
Budimir was one of our best at the Euros, but didn’t play 90 min in any of the games. Now, he’s an undisputed starter, especially after scoring 21 La Liga goals. We’ve taking full advantage of what he has to offer.
Perisic was still getting back to form from his knee issues, and wasn’t good for us last year. He has been on a tear in the latter half of this season with PSV and Croatia.
Krama is always going to be decent for us, but he played behind Budimir in his more favored role (and we got to see some Marco Pasalic at RW).
Gvardiol has also suddenly started to play well for us (since the France series), after an up-and-down 2024 year with us, where he was making a lot of mistakes for us.
Same goes for Sutalo, who had a very shaky start to his Ajax season…then rounded into full form and winning the Ajax fans over.
Lot of these guys weren’t clicking over the past 12 months like they did today.
I am glad Coach Dalic saved his job today as someone suggested firing him if he lost. Mr. Dalic’s job is to get us to the World Cup for his last hurrah. 2 complete games so far. He will hopefully keep his sleeves rolled up and let the ‘experts’ do the talking. Looking forward to September. Viva Zlatko!
Coach DALIC reminds me of George Allen and his over the hill gang going with the older mature players that just keeps on winning man
Nice to see the team put together so many goals. That is 4 goals more than they score in an average tournament , and Czech being a decent opponent as well. Excellent penalty kicks, which huge margins of error, Piro like. Marco being in the US basement, so glad he selected for the team. Is he the first active US player to be on the National team. I don’t think Biuk was still playing for national team when they sent him to express.