My main concern (and hole to fill) for Euro 2024 is the two winger positions. It used to be striker, however, with Budimir hot in La Liga, we can only assume the #9 role is his to lose this summer in Germany. We have to anticipate Perišić will not be ready for Euro in three months and Dalić will have to find other solutions. If Perišić is ready, great! But we are less than 90 days away and he’s not even playing HNL games for Hajduk yet. So for the sake of this conversation, let’s assume Perišić will not be dressing for Croatia at Euro 2024. So who do we put on the left and who goes on the right? And what will Dalić show us in two friendlies versus Tunisia and Egypt/New Zealand in the next week?
Left wing: Has to be Ivanušec. He’s been in decent form and the Vatreni really don’t have anyone else. Vlašić hasn’t had a good Croatia game since 2019. Ivanušec is a lock and there really is no one else to fight him in the pecking order, especially with Oršić still out with his own knee rehab. Right wing: Kramarić has to be the guy for Croatia on the right side for me. He can’t play striker but we can’t leave him on the bench either. He can also slide over behind the striker to support; where he plays best throughout the year for Hoffenheim.
Best formation with Kovačić this week minus Budimir (fever):
So that means Petko up top this week, of course. There’s no one else to start in front of him this month. But I’d love to see a bit of Marco Pašalić on the right side off the bench, even though it will most likely be Mario Pašalić. Marco has dipped in form recently for Rijeka in the HNL, but he did have two great appearances off the bench in November. Dalić should give him a go against Tunisia!
Best formation without Kovačić this week minus Budimir (fever):
Without Kovačić in the lineup, which adds extra-added firepower to the Croatian offense, Dalić can leave Kramarić on the right side and have him interchange positions with a true CAM, Lovro Majer, throughout the match. Majer has recently played right wing for Croatia so it wouldn’t be too farfetched of a plan. These are the two best strategies to see which wingers will emerge for Croatia in the lead up to Euro 2024.
But as it stands now, it has to be Ivanušec and Kramarić no matter how you look at it.
Has the writings of our usual walk through where everyone freaks out before a major tournament. Whip that ball around and play us. Stay healthy and let’s go bitches! 2 months!
—————————-Petkovic———-
——Kramaric——————————–
Ivanusec——–Modric——–Juranovic
——-Brozovic ————–Kovacic——-
Sosa———–Gvardiol————-Sutalo
lol and Livakovic goalie
We need guys who are able to hold the ball long enough for our wingbacks to join in and cause havoc… 4-3-3 can at times work as a 3-5-2 when one of our wing backs joins deep into attack while the other drops back.. I love the 3-5-2 but you need the team to be cohesive (Italy Euro2020 😘) and on par with the strategy as you can get caught out of position very quickly but for possession game it is the most dangerous option with the right players… I think we have that blend even if Perisic can’t make the cut..
For this friendly tourney we are thin on options at LB/DM/ST
Barisic was not called nor a Moro or Jakic/Sucic (Rakitic would be a great fit he can cover a lot of spots in that mid and now that Perisic is most lost likely lost his experience as well) nor a Beljo… can’t really blame Dalic as there are really no strikers standing out club wise….
————————–Petkovic——————————
——Ivanusec—————————Kramaric——
——————Modric——Kovacic———————
———————–—Brozovic——————————
Pongracic————————————Stanisic—
——————Gvardiol——Erlic————————
———————-—-Livakovic—————————
—————————Pasalic—————————-
——Pjaca———————————-—Pasalic—
———————Majer——Vlasic———————
—————————-Rakitic——————————
—Sosa——————————————Juranovic
——————-—-DCC——Vida————————
——————-——-Kotarski——————————
Who knows maybe Rakitic might get that call if Perisic ain’t fit in time….
Wow what a possession type team would we have with these players on the pitch all these guys can hold the ball well and create would be nice to see.. Kotarski would act as our 11th player as a sweeper too… would we get destroyed with that lineup that lacks speed but can posses the ball?
—————-Budimir———Kramaric—————
———————————————————————
———Modric——Petkovic——-Kovacic——
——————————————————————
————-—Brozovic———Rakitic——————
———————————————————————
———Gvardiol——Sutalo—-Stanisic————
———————————————————————
———————-—-Kotarski——————————
——————Petko——–Krama————
Sosa——————-Majer—————–JJ
——————Broz———–Modric———-
———–Gvar———Erlic———Stan——-
———————————————————-
————————-Liva————————–
or
——————–Petko—-Krama————–
Ivanusec——————————-Marco P
——————–Broz——Modric————–
Sosa——————————————-Stan
——————-Gvar——–Erlic—————–
———————————————————-
————————-Liva————————–
There’s not much to discuss.
Kramarić has been in the right wing for the past year. With Oršic’s issue, Ivanušec is the only option.
We’re not deep in any position.
Am I missing something?
At RW, we have used Krama, Majer, Pašalić, Vlašić… and more recently, Marco Pašalić.
We could also push Juranović up at RW and go with Stanišić at RB.
At LW, we have largely used Ivanušec. Oršić and Perišić there. We’re still likely going to go with Ivanušec there, but Oršić is back from injury and Pjaca has been getting callups.
We’re thin on the left side, but not on the right side.
We’ll still likely go with Ivanušec and Krama at LW/RW…but if Budimir needs service from the wing, then it makes sense to look at the options who could provide him with that too.
“We could also push Juranović up at RW and go with Stanišić at RB”
I was actually thinking about this as well. In certain circumstances this may work. JJ has a good work ethic, and he can provide some great service for Budimir. He also has a strong “long throw-in” that could surprise the opposition.
Don’t know why Orsic is so under sold, as much as Rebic has been oversold over the years, albeit Orsic has a lower upper ceiling limit than Perisic, but I would say higher than Jelavic.
+ We don’t win the Brazil game without Orsic’s back pass to Petkovic.
+ We don’t win the WC 2022 Bronze Metal against Morrocco.
+ He is the best penalty kicker on the team.
It is always like gosh darn, we are stuck with Orsic, the guy, no one wants to sit next to on the bus.
Don’t get it, can’t even make the team. I guess the same can be said about Petkovic.
Oršić has been as impactful as Perišić the past two tournaments for us.
He saved Dalić from being fired after he single-handedly took Spain to extra time at the Euros…and Dalić rewards him with an extremely short leash (and cuts him from the team as soon as possible).
On the surface, they seem quite compatible, two soft spoken conservative people. His transfer did not go smoothly is my guess in the Premiere league. He signed for a large payload and did not get playing time.
Seems like that is always the litmus test. How well you do in a foreign country, not what you actually do for Croatia.
Orsic fan . We haven’t had a speedy kid like this for a long time -maybe never as fast in a straightaway just ball chasing. 100%Maminjo
Totally agree. Don’t forget what he did against Spain at the Euros when he came on late.
Unfortunately, what we have is probably what we’ve got with such little time before the tournament. A healed Orsic likely makes the squad and as long as Perisic can play a match, Dalic will take him. Someone would have to REALLY burst onto the scene over the next month and I just don’t see any great prospects on the wing. Most of the prospects that we’ve had have been very underwhelming.
This is a list of any wingers/players that can play on the wing that either were promising in recent history and have pretty much flopped or are promising but still young and unproven (not including ones already on the roster):
Josip Brekalo, Alen Halilovic, Robert Muric, Dario Spikic, Antonio Marin, Stipe Biuk, Lukas Kacavenda, Luka Stojkovic, Gabriel Vidovic, Ante Crnac, Domagoj Bukvic, Marin Soticek, Roko Brajkovic, off the top of my head. Maybe throw in Lovro Zvonarek, but like some others on the list he is more of a central player.
The “older” guys on that list (Brekalo, Halilovic, Muric, Spikic) don’t deserve a spot at the moment and the younger guys also don’t really deserve a chance but are at least young and have much more time to develop. It would take something special for someone to make the Euro squad. Maybe Brekalo if we’re desperate, but he hasn’t done anything special for at least a couple years.
But even if someone does burst onto the scene over the next month and a half, I doubt Dalic calls them unless there are no other options. It took Marco Pasalic playing great for months to get some cameos off the bench and he was only a last minute callup that wasn’t even on the standby list. Now he’s been very out of form being subbed off most matches, some at half time.
It’s probably just best to try out everything we can out on the wings. It will probably be Kramaric on the right and Ivanusec on the left (if there will be no Perisic/Orsic). Those are currently our best options unless Marco Pasalic finds some serious form or Pjaca has a full career recovery. I really don’t like using Mario Pasalic, Lovro Majer, or Nikola Vlasic out there. They are all at least serviceable in my eyes, but much better in the center. So is Kramaric for that matter, but he at least typically provides a good game out there relatively often.
Yes, you are right. Kramarić beats all of those “true winger” possibilities on either wing any day. Even Mario Pašalić does more for the repka as a false winger than Brekalo did when he was given the chance. Majer is a good right wing, even if it isn’t his natural position.
For the EURO it has to be Ivanusec on the left. I would not take Perisic unless he is fully fit and has 3 or 4 matches under his belt. The same applies for Orsic, his chances are better as his knee surgery was 2 months earlier than that of Perisic from what I have read. If Perisic is not fit, he can go to the EURO as part of the coaching or admin staff.
Watched our U21 side beat Andorra 3 – 0 and was not impressed by anyone on the pitch. We scored a couple of early goals (own goal, Ljubicic) and then took it easy till late on when Bukvic made it 3 – 0. I guess it is understandable, with a big match against Portugal on Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing how Matanovic, Ljubicic, Biuk and the rest of the boys perform against tougher opposition.
Well said. and Pjaca will be the replacement. He has been consistent all year with the top team in the HNL.
Nike changed the England flag
Crazy
Everyone is freaking out
Won’t be shocked if Kane and/or Jordan Henderson put pressure on Nike to put the proper flag back !
That’s why I mentioned – the larger checkers – is just first step – to completely eliminate them (in 2 more iterations from here)
***.theguardian.com/football/2024/mar/21/keir-starmer-calls-for-england-to-scrap-euros-kit-with-new-st-georges-cross-design-football
It all started with Ante Kvartuč’s red/white graphics above for his formation lineups (that looks Polish) and now Nike adopted the design and Pollock’d our kits.
Re: kit
And we think we have big problems (w/ large checkers)
England is freaking out !
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13222429/england-kit-woke-fans-furious-nike-st-georges-cross.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qW3rh23zjQ
I agree with the first lineup. Ivanušec on the left. Majer has been playing right wing sometimes for Wolfsburg, so he is truly interchangeable with Kramarić if they are both on the field at the same time. Modrić should play as a true #10, with Kovačić and Brozović in a double pivot behind him. Pjaca as the left wing off the bench. Marco Pašalić as the right wing off the bench. Mario Pašalić as the backup for Petković?
Hopefully Perisic does play for us in full health. Sveta Maria, Majko Moja.
Perhaps this is a big extension but: as he is at the end of his career, and like Luka, playing in context of “igrati za Hrvatsku je najveci ponos” he may play 1 of the round robin games as he may still have some swelling happening!!
Perhaps we can see him as a SUPER SUB getting substituted on the field towards the end for 2 of the 3 round robin games. I think he would be very impactful.
Quick post as food for though.
Well we have another couple of months and we don’t actually have to start him.
Ivanušec has worked out well as a starter, and if we can get BOTH Oršić and Perišić back with us to play in the backup role, it should be fine.
Orisic seems to pick up his game a level for the national team I would play him as often as possible.
When Budimir comes back have Orisic/Sosa on the left side. Petkovic would be great as well with Orisic and Sosa.
Based on form and minutes as of recently, starting wise it’s going to have to be Ivanusec, Budimir and Krama. As a second option it will likely either Pasalic, Majer or Vlasic, all who have been getting minutes.
Hopefully Pjaca can get to the same level he once was, he has shown glimpses of it, whilst Vidovic looks like he’ll be a great winger.
It would’ve been good to have had a second striker to test during these friendlies, disappointing Musa and Beljo haven’t played nearly enough as lately.
Perhaps not for the Euros, but Matanovic has been in great form to consider likely after if he plays more with Frankfurt, so has Carnac and Ljubicic (reminds me a bit of Krama).
Crnac*
Are the Croatian kits available in Canada and the US? If you go to the Nike website they don’t have any Croatian gear for sale like they did in previous cycles however they have it for other countries.
Seems strange. I’ve heard they won’t be for sale in North America like they have been in previous cycles.
I’m guessing they will be available and that the team site has first crack at selling (croatiaweek.com says they sold out of the first batch). I saw on the Nike site this morning that the Portugal kit was “coming soon” so I would hope/assume this will be the case for Croatia also.
Ivanusec break out tourney coming up!!
I’m riding this comment
Whose been in better form
Marco pasalic or pjaca as of late?