Croatia are still awaiting their November playoff opponent, however, ESPNFC has already calculated World Cup pots should all the favorite playoff teams win.
Croatia will be a favorite in the October 17th draw which will also include Switzerland, Italy and Denmark from UEFA. As of now, if Croatia win, they would be put in Pot 3 in a restructured World Cup seeding format based on FIFA ranking instead of geography; as it was in previous years.
Croatians are rooting for Italy, Switzerland or Peru to lose their playoff tie and miss out on the World Cup. Should that happen, Croatia is the next team to be bumped up to Pot 2.
As it stands with Croatia in Pot 3 (if they qualify), Croatia could be grouped with Brazil and Spain, France and Colombia or even England and Argentina. The goal is for Croatia to qualify and hope one of Italy, Switzerland or Peru fail to make the WC. If not, it will be a tough road for Croatia to get out of group in Russia.
This whole headline is ridiculous. Just assume we are going to the World Cup. Lol “yea the tie doesn’t matter. We’re going straight to Russia loll “ even if we get a good draw, like Republic of Ireland or Denmark. That will be awesome. But those teams are really hard to beat.
and, versus portugal, let’s not forget this missed call … with the ref darn close …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afjJfJwaJj0
pretty sure it’s only 2
Btw…anyone know how many European teams can be in a group?
Brazil – Spain – Iran – Serbia. 🙂 Russia – Peru – Croatia – Panama. Those would be the perfect groups
If every time we lose, it’s just bad luck, why bother changing coaches? In fact why bother having a coach since it’s all “luck”.
So it was pure luck and nothing else, no difference on our part, hey? You reckon we played as well Vs Portugal as we did in the group? Yeah, a really great attacking entertaining display that was from us!
You fuckers have a short memory. I was on tthis website watching the game and frankly every man, woman and dog on this site (the truth) was disgusted with our performance. It was the most putrid, disgusting, despicably bad performance our team has put in but i guess we just lost cos “oh well bad luck”. Fuck out of here with that.
We played awesome 3 matches and then were HORRENDOUS versus portugal. Luck had nothing to do with it. Yes the refereeing was shit, but so were we.
If my Baba had balls……
98 team had a lucky run???
They had one of the most talented teams in that tournament. Pele picked them to win the World Cup that year. It was truly a golden generation.
We hit the post on the last play against Portugal before they scored on us.
We also should have received a penalty for the foul on Pjaca.
If either of those two chances resulted in a goal, we probably go to the finals. Same goes for the last second loss to Turkey at Euro 2008.
We were unlucky. Shit happens.
We were definitely favourites to beat Portgual
don’t you remember, Idemo? We were virtually favourites to win the whole thing after our group performances, and as soon as that became the case, we tightened up and caved to pressure.
Im genuinely curious if there are psychs on the coaching staff, cos guaranteed in australia where i am every team in soccer, NRL, AFL, cricket has, as i said, a fleet of professionals looking after every aspect of the players – mental being a HUGE ONE.
We know how mentally fragile us Hrvati are so we should get that in place
We didn’t play dog shit against Portugal
Portugal won the euros for petes sake
That game was a stale mate and we almost won it
Both teams played to not let the other score
They were fir sure worried bout the likes of perisic
They did beat us up and we didn’t get the calls as we can all agree on
Maybe if they didn’t have probably the best player of all time waiting to pounce we would have treated it different
Fir sure it’s hugely mental in those games. It seems often it’s just playing safe till someone makes a clear mistake rather then pushing the envelope and either forcing their mistake or waiting for the counter
I grew up on hockey so quite but different but everyone knows when u have a guy like say ovechkin you have to respect the fact that this dude is a game changer.
U better believe Ronaldo was in their heads. Is that weak mentality or just thinking?
Slumps come and slumps go. Let’s hope this game gets the ball rolling. That’s the thing bout soccer vs hockey Hockey like the nba u have multiple kicks at the can
Guaranteed against all the teams we just tied or lost against we go multiple games we prob take most of the series
There is one game luck that can play into any single elimination sport and I don’t think any sport has the blatant shady reffing as soccer
Do u guys think that phantom goal against the states went in?? Looks not to me but would love to see an angle that proves me wrong. In hockey that is called back more often then not
Sorry fir the ranting. We are a good team. I never said great. With a great coach I think we could perform closer to great most of the time with the guys we currently have
Iggy please use that psychology on yourself rather then asking someone to hold you;) relax just busting them. I agree doesn’t hurt to get all the help we can
no buzz in making it out your group to get smacked in the first round
@Hercegovac-cause no buzz in making it out of group stage?
It all depends on how you view things.
If you are going to the World Cup, I rather play tougher opponents. Give me a group like this: Brazil, SPain, Cro, Australia or Brazil, Mexico, Cro, Serbia.
I want this because those are interesting games and create more buzz.
I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars to watch a group of: Poland, Peru, Cro, Saudi Arabia.
I’ll give me tickets away if I have to watch the likes of Peru or Saudi Arabia. No buzz for those games.
I have a feeling we are getting to confident again and im worried we might shit the bed in playoffs. All teams are tough and all teams want it as much as we do.
Croatia s results fall largely in the realm of probability for a team that is verbally slightly below average in the world cup and average in the European championship
You could say Croatia might have had some bad luck as probability wouldve had them likely to enter the knockout round in one if their three last world cups
That being said, you can’t Croatia has bad luck, as they had one of the luckiest ever runs in 98 to finish third
If you simulate that world cup a hundred times, i see it as most likely Croatia getting knocked out in the first playoff round
Yeah we were.
Portugal didn’t win a game in the group stage.
There was a lot of ballyhoo for how good Croatia looked in their group. Which was as tough one.
we were highly fancied to beat a team with one of the greatest players ever?
That explains why we were dogshite against portugal, theyre a good team but we were expected to win so of course we caved.
It’s also why every tourney we have 1-2 good performances and then cos of those we become favourite in the next game and again we piss our panties
as soon as we’re expected to win we just can’t cope. You look back through the history and it’s proven right every tourney except for in ’98 or ’96. But from then on the pattern is undenaible
2002 – awesome vs italy, panic and cave vs ecuador
2004 – awesome vs france, cave vs england
2006 – looked terrific vs brazil, shit against japan and aus
2008 – awesome for 3 matches, shit against turkey
2012 – kinda unlucky in this one tbh
2014 – awesome vs brazil and cameroon and then shit against mexico
2016 – awesome for group and then panic in a knockout game we were highly fancied to win
2018 – we’ll have 1-2 awesome games and then shit the bed again
i mean i dont know how anyone can possibly argue against mental midgetry theory, it’s as clear as the daylight on my ballsac
We play better when we think we’re up against it, that’s why we play better against better teams.
When we’re EXPECTED to win, we fall to pieces. I dont know how professional the staff are at the repka – i expect not so much – but every professional sports team on earth now has a FLEET of sports scientists, nutritionists, psychologists <— and that is the thing we need most.
We dont need a coach, we need a depth-psychologist. Im fucking serious. That is the nbr #1 issue with the team – MENTAL MIDGETRY AS ZIVA WOULD SAY LOL.
If it were up to me, i'd have a technical coach but i'd also get a depth-psychologist to coach the team on fear of failure and anxiety, pressure and all those sorts of things cos tbh that is where we would imrpove the most. Btw if i havent mentioned i was a PhD candidate in depth-psych i am mentioning it now so Dalic, im here bud, and im AVAILABLE LOL
When people say they’d rather play Argentina over Morocco I believe subconsciously they’re thinking I’d rather lose to Argentina than Morocco. We should beat Morocco more often than not therefor we should want to play a Morocco over an Argentina.
We need to get an attacking mindset where we see ourselves steamrolling lesser opposition.
We need to think and execute like Germans
@Iggy-lol I remember those fuck faces too. On the flip side, we were better than Portugal that game, & if not for the fuck face Ref we may Have Had An INCREDIBLE run.
I would say we do worst against fuck face S. American teams. I would like to avoid them, cause we will have trouble with their speed.
@ The Beast – I think there were enough people who thought like Iggy did and were worried about last game. I was as well. Whose confident walking into Ukraine in a must win match for both teams.
And for the record Iggy is not a fuck face. He’s from down under and is the Knifey Spoony champion over there. He’s been so for 15 years running now.
Geeze! Sorry guys. Didn’t realize the post was that long. I’ll keep the next one shorter.
@Iggy – I see what you’re saying even though I just agreed with Maminjo on an earlier post that contradicts me seeing eye to eye with you in your comment above.
Do you not think we play better against better teams than worse teams? Just a question, nothing behind it. Everyone has an opinion.
Logically we should prefer the lesser opponent but we all know how we operate against those types of supposedly “inferior” teams. Not the greatest. I think it’s a mindset.
I think Danny J made a good comment where he said, “we can beat any team on that list and prob lose to them as well.” Very true. I think that’s where we show our mentality as a culture. If everyone is healthy, which Croatia shows up? The one that dominated Italy in Italy or the one that lost/ties to X loser team?
I think our problem at the moment is mental. It usually is, especially when we do have the talent currently to make some noise. We have a Ferrari for a team but we’re letting someone whose never driven a high end super/sports car drive it (not a car person). I think we’re going to continue to underperform as long as we have a mediocre coach (which will always be the case). Think about it. You play in a top club with a legit coach and then you go to your national team with a coach who coaches in South Sudan. Hard to take him serious or get motivated.
Foreign coaches don’t always work either. Depends on the culture. Serbia had Dick Advocat (Big name Dutch coach) and flopped. Greeks had Ranieri who flopped even worse.
Cacic picked the best 11 players and the rest was up to them it seemed like as much as I was ok with him until the end of this qualifying period. Our coaches are either former players with minor coaching experience (Bilic, Stimac, Kovac) or some old guy from Cro with more coaching experience but not necessarily with big clubs (Baric, Kranjcar, Jozić, Cacic, Dalić ok he’s not too old).
Argentina has had the same problem for a while but they are a way bigger country. They always have some nerd coach who coached in Argentina (aside from Maradona who let players do their own thing and just hugged and kissed players before games) but that only works for so long. Even with those types of coaches they made it to 3 Copa America finals and a World Cup final in 2014.
Who is the best available/unavailable Croatian coach right now I ask you Cro sports nation ?
Or whose the foreign coach you think could make us perform to our potential with the players we have?
In the 98 run, they beat Germany and the Netherlands. They faced the top teams. But not in the group stage you would point out. This is all hypothetical shit. I would want to face the best, you (Iggy) would want the easy run, the lightweights. I believe your the fuckface who had zero confidence in the team before the Ukraine game.
<I<If they qualify bring on the best. The 98 team took them on. Would you rather watch Hrvatska vs. Argentina or against Morocco?
that proves the OPPOSITE of what u meant, the 98 team beat Jamaica and Japan to get out of the group.
Your chances are better against lesser teams.
There are too many fuckfaces on this board who say “bring on the BEST! We can beat htem all!”
I remember when we drew Portugal in 2016, there were a nbr of u DIPFUCKS actually saying “im GLAD we got portugal” and celebrating or saying well u have to beat the best to win the cup!
All of this is bullshit, no, you dont, cos if the other best teams have to fuck each other up, its easier for you, it is simple maths.
It’s like saying you would rather play Federer in round 1 of Wimbledon rather than letting Fed hav to play against Nadal and Murray and Djok and then only facing ONE of them in the final.
So many overly optimistic and naive fuckers on here. LET the top teams fuck each other up, it is easier to have an easier run, that is self-evident.
Also, how THE FUCK is russia in pot 1????
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4MIHqQyt0
Good video on euro 2020
We can beat every team on that list and prob lose to em all as well
I want to play good teams
I feel if we get the ball rolling in the playoff with realisticly we should be able to take any of those teams in 2 games
Who knows what can happen
Any of u think if we would have had a coach who wasn’t scared of making a mistake that Portugal game could have looked different last year
I know cacic was scared of opening up against Ronaldo but we needed to push ahead earlier in that match
Just need someone who can think on the fly and have multiple ideas
Just like we need the players to take different roles when called upon
We may not be the best but certainly if the effort and sacrifice is there we can go deep. It everyone goes in like vida modric corluka I like us a lot
@Idemo
Poland has a good qualification run, but they are not better than us.
Even at Euro 2016 they were very unimpressive and incredibly lucky. They were dominated by every team they played against (except for Northern Ireland) but they managed to squeeze by.
^ ^
Probably Morocco.
Argentina beat us in that WC.
If they qualify bring on the best. The 98 team took them on. Would you rather watch Hrvatska vs. Argentina or against Morocco?
Lewa would fuck up our back line, i think that’s true when we have one strong team in our group
@ Maminjo – preach! Well said brother, no sarcasm either. I agree 100 p with what you said/wrote. We show up when people write us off. Crazy how it works.
Realistically these 3 P’s would probably be best;
Poland, Peru, and Panama.
@ Maminjo
Well said brother. Give us the best teams otherwise we shit the bed against lesser nations. We are incapable of setting the pace. We only know ” back against the wall must win fear”
Meh. None of this matters with this team.
We’re talking about Croatia.
A team that inexplicably has a BETTER record against elite teams than mediocre to crap teams in World Cup and Euro Cups.
We beat elite teams like Germany, Italy and Spain in the group stages, and only really lost to other elite teams when we were screwed out of it (Brazil in 2014, Spain in 2012) or when we already clinched the next round and played our B team (Portugal at Euro96 and Argentina at WC98).
Yet we have lost or drawn with teams like Ecuador, Japan, Australia, Switzerland and Mexico.
Honestly, I’d rather just stay in Pot 3 and scare the shit out of Pot 2 teams like Italy, Spain and England.
I don’t want Russia. You know what will happen. Remember Brazil? They had to win, so the fix was in.
Russia Spain Croatia Serbia would be nice.
unless we get Russia, Peru…….lol
if we’r pot 3 confirmed group of death
There is a lot that can still happen. The only thing certain is that the pot 1 teams are finalized and five of pot 2 are set. I don’t see Peru losing out to New Zealand or Italy losing to anyone. Switzerland can lose maybe to Sweden, putting Croatia in pot 2 if they win the playoff. Of course it would be better to be in pot 2, but Croatia plays its best against tougher competition. Let’s get through the playoff first.