Matt Lebo posed a polarizing question on our Twitter today…with no one able to agree.
“Back line: assuming we do our normal back 4, who are your 4 starters and why?
Aside from injury, is your back 4 the same for each game or does it change based on opponent?”
I think the only locks here are Sosa at left-back and Juranović at right-back. Dalić really doesn’t have too many options with defensive wings. I suppose you can tinker with Perišić back there if you need an uber-offensive lineup, but no need right off the bat against Morocco. I’d be shocked if Gvardiol wasn’t one of the two center-backs in the Croatia Starting XI. He’s approaching maximum RPM in his career and is expected to have a huge tournament in Qatar.
Now the tricky part: who do you pair with Gvardiol?
Rumors have it that Vida may not be 100%. If that’s the case, it’s going to be Lovren or Erlić. DCC and Pongračić will likely ride the pine the entire tournament.
Lovren scares the shit out of me, is 33 years old, and is stuck in Russia where Zenit isn’t playing anyone outside of the league due to the ban on the entire country. Lovren has big-game knowledge but you can count on him to make a major error at some point. I think you have to role the dice on Erlić. Sure, he’s 24 years old and has only been capped by the Croatian senior side three times, but I think it’s a safe bet going with Erlić over Lovren.
Sosa-Gvardiol-Erlić-Juranović
And I don’t change any of this based on opponent, especially the center-back pairing. If we need to pull someone from defense for more offensive firepower late in the game, that’s a different story. But not to start the game.
Sosa, Gvadiol, Erlić Juranović/Stanasić with Šutalo in the mix.
I think we should start Rebic at CB.
He would be a proper Razbijać there.
I see the so-called experts on ESPN give us no chance of getting out of the group stage.
Do they honestly believe we are that bad that Canada is tipped to be second in the group or it’s simply hate for anything Croatian?
From what I saw only the host of the show (Dan Thomas ?) had us losing to France in the semifinal.
Was this ESPN Canada or something? lol
These so called experts don’t even know we we’re in the final in 2018- bloody morons.
ESPN USA
I have a buddy that works for TSN and he can tell you that the “experts” are dumb and have no idea what they are talking about. They base their “knowledge” off previous tournaments and just come in for the pay cheque.
Yes the defensive pairing may depend on the opponent but more importantly the game plan
*More aggressive game plan > put josko out at LB, play Sosa as LW and put our only proven goal scorer (at international level) Perisic @ #9
*More conservative / defensive game plan against skilled and attacking teams > put stanisic at RB (like they did against France in the last game 2nd 1/2. JJ should move to RW when we are playing defensive / counter attack style and / or protecting leads. JJ is a liability at RB from a defensive perspective.
If the game plan is to be aggressive and try to score
Perisic (Livaja)
(Nobody else is a proven scorer)
Sosa (Orsic) Majer
Kovo Magician
Broz
Josko – Erlic – Sutalo – JJ
If we want to play defensive, counter attacking and / or protecting a lead
Budimir (Petkivic / Krama / Livaja)
*Depends on situation
-budimir hustles for high pressure
*petko / Colak have height
*krama misses so many chances (bad shots and doesn’t set up teammates)
*Livaja I’m hoping breaks out 🙏
*Orsic can score big goals as a super sub
*I am always hopeful for Pasalic (he’s hot & cold)
Perisic JJ
Kovo Magician
Broz
Sosa – josko – (Erlic / Satulo) – Stani
Yes the defensive pairing may depend on the opponent but more importantly the game plan
*More aggressive game plan > put josko out at LB, play Sosa as LW and put our only proven goal scorer (at international level) Perisic @ #9
*More conservative / defensive game plan against skilled and attacking teams > put stanisic at RB (like they did against France in the last game 2nd 1/2. JJ should move to RW when we are playing defensive / counter attack style and / or protecting leads. JJ is a liability at RB from a defensive perspective.
If the game plan is to be aggressive and try to score
Perisic (Livaja)
(Nobody else is a proven scorer)
Sosa (Orsic) Majer
Kovo Magician
Broz
Josko – Erlic – Sutalo – JJ
If we want to play defensive, counter attacking and / or protecting a lead
Budimir (Petkivic / Krama / Livaja)
*Depends on situation
-budimir hustles for high pressure
*petko / Colak have height
*krama misses so many chances (bad shots and doesn’t set up teammates)
*Livaja I’m hoping breaks out 🙏
*Orsic can score big goals as a super sub
*I am always hopeful for Pasalic (he’s hot & cold)
Perisic JJ
Kovo Magician
Broz
Sosa – josko – (Erlic / Satulo) – Stani
https://streamja.com/beNMd
Nothing spectacular, but still a strong and confident move inside to set up a goal.
Juranovic Gvardiol Lovren Sosa
Ever since I got rid of Foxtel I haven’t watched any football this season. So I’ve gone Lovren over Pongracic because you guys have informed me that Pongracic’s progress has somewhat stalled. Back when I was still watching football Pongracic was looking like a great prospect! What hapenned to him?
He seems to always have some sort of falling out with his coaches.
However, he’s probably still better than Lovren.
Pongracic was making mistakes for us, but when I watched him play for Borussia Dortmund he was pretty good.
He’s pretty much a fast version of Duje (which should be a very good prospect).
I would still watch him closely. The problem is, now we suddenly have several young CBs (like Sutalo, Stanisic, and Erlic) and Pongracic is older than all of them.
can someone stick a vape cartridge in Lovren’s bag at the airport before the world cup to get him stuck there?
Rainbow flag could probably get him banned from the tournament, lol.
Who I would roll with:
Juranovic-Erlic-Gvardiol-Sosa
Who I think Dalic rolls with:
Juranovic-Lovren-Gvardiol-Sosa
Stanisic getting more PT for Bayern lately may change things a bit though
I agree with all of this. With CB being unsettled, mostly Dalic’s own fault for not trying the replacements sooner, and partly due to untimely injuries, he will go with Lovren.
I don’t want to see Lovren and wish he retired with grace like Vrsaljko, but Dalic is going to ride or die with him. He’s had comments I think during the last cycle talking about transitioning from older generation to younger, which was encouraging, but despite that I think he values locker room peace and knows that Lovren will be a bitch if he doesn’t play.
I don’t know if Vrsaljko retired with grace.
It seemed like he was always still in the picture, and was vying to start over Juranovic.
Dalic gave him the start in an important Nations League game…but he sucked badly, and that was his last start for us.
I think with Juranovic there (and Stanisic suddenly coming up) Vrsaljko saw the writing on the wall and would rather not go to the World Cup as a backup.
Dalic probably had a conversation with him letting him know that he’s probably going to go with the other two, so Vrsaljko decided to retire rather than get cut.
Of course he was vying to start over Juranovic, what player doesn’t want to start.
He went out with grace or on good terms in the sense that he wasn’t a whiny bitch or causing locker room discord (from what I know).
Do you get the sense that Lovren would do the same? I think Lovren would go to the media, undermine the coach or both if he was iced out.
I didn’t want to switch the thread to offence
But do we deploy orisic/petko together as like Perisic and whoever(krama probably)is tiring and need get fresh legs or do you put petko with Perisic and make that work
What I’m saying is orsic petko best to keep together??
Orsic will probably get little to no playing time.
Perisic will probably get the full 90 in most games.
Maybe they come on together in the last 10-15 minutes of the game (if Perisic is gassed).
Not sure if Petkovic will start. I think Krama still gets the nod.
I agree I think krama gets starts
Who is the most effective guy off the bench?
Livaja has proven some super sub capability
But also budimir has that good energy to potentially make some problems.
I guess it all depends on the opponent
Hopefully it doesn’t come down to Hail Mary passes From sosa at the end of a match but need that guy who will find the ball
Pasalic will answer the Hail Mary if need be.
I agree Maminjo on Orsic- too bad – we haven’t had a guy with his wheels up there- it would absolutely throw a curve to Canada and Belgium-
I see the highlight videos of Gvardiol , the very well-paid potential future of defensive soccer. I hope the advertised version arrives @ WC ’22, and not the EC ’20 version. Olmo and team tore him up, crossing and scoring at will. Turned him around like a top. I assume he is all that they say. We will find out soon enough.
We have to give him benefit of doubt He was thrown into the lions den
I actually feel he is slightly over hyped don’t tar and feather me
But he is definitely talented and super built to be successful
And he is getting a lot of praise from high end people
Henry just recently…. So got to go with the pros
Let’s hope he answers the call and this will potentially take him to super star level
Him and Sosa could be the two most wanted prospects in the world after this
That was the worst game he’s ever played though.
He was 19 years old, played like 15 total games for Dinamo at the time, and was suddenly brought into the senior squad with zero preparation from our coach whatsoever (during a time when our team was in total dysfunction).
A lot has changed with him in the past 18 months in his personal development.
On top of this, the National Team is riding a high right now, chemistry looks good, the squad is pretty much set (with several players having multiple games under their belt).
It’s a completely different situation from last tournament when Dalic got lazy for three years and planned to come into the Euros with a copy & paste lineup from the previous World Cup (which collapsed on its head when multiple players were out-of-form or on a decline, and he had to pivot to new untested players DURING the actual tournament itself).
100 percent.
I hope Gvardiol grabs the bull by the horns now and shows the world we just aren’t midfielders
Alot of money on the line for Gvardi and he knows it- he’ll be like Pesci in Goodfellas. Raging !!!
Back when I was watching football Gvardiol looked awesome! You gotta understand there is a reason players like Gvardiol get thrown into the deep end at a Euro, it’s because his talent is undeniable and talents like that always get fast tracked. The coaches know what they’re doing.
Don’t doubt that Gvardiol is Croatia’s brightest young star, and it’s not even close, no other young Croatian will reach this kid’s level.
Juranovic-gvardiol-sutalo-Sosa
Depending on the games go you can alternate between the wing backs by bringing in stanisic as rb and move juranovic over to lb as dalic has done in the past. Anyone thinking Vida or lovren should be playing is a huge mistake. They will only play if we have clinched the group stages or late in games when we need to preserve a lead. Vida only gets called up to get that 100th cap and he can retire. You rotate with sutalo and erlic, possibly DCC but that stays as the staple throughout the tournament. Young defence core that needs experience and playing in this World Cup will go a long way as this will be our cb pairing for the next few major tournaments
Erlic /Stanisic – same, Sosa will be a key kid. He plays good we are in a good place, Lots of pressure on Gvardi but could be a big pay day for him going forward, Sutalo – Some senior guys back there off the bench – many won’t want to here this but it’s worth having.
STANISIC, SUTALO, GVARDIOL, SOSA
– Erlic first CB off the bench
– Juranovic RB off the bench (if we need more offense on the right side)
– Would not play Barisic as LB off the bench (I would rather bring in a CB off the bench and slide Gvardiol to LB)
– If Gvardiol wants to push forward, then Erlic may be better to start ahead of Sutalo (since Sutalo likes to push forward too)
I would probably only ever play the starting four, plus Juranovic and Erlic. Rotate between the six of them.
Duje, Lovren, Barisic would be end of the bench guys that would only ever play if we have multiple injuries.
STANISIC:
– Stanisic is tall, fast and very defensively capable. He played very well against France and Denmark, and he’s lately been starting at Bayern.
– Juranovic is also good, but is not good defensively. Starting on Celtic is not as impressive as getting occassional starts at Bayern. Juranovic is good to start in situations where the opposing teams may not have serious wing threats (which the teams in our group do).
Not too fussed if Juranovic starts though, because he’s been good for us too.
SUTALO:
– Sutalo is technically very capable, which allieviates the work our central midfield have to do to initiate the offense (something Lovren and Vida lack)
– Sutalo likes to gamble on some challenges, which may lead to an opening (but it’s important to note this largely happened with Dinamo, and not the National Team)
– Erlic is a ‘safer’ pick, but I would prefer Sutalo simply because I think Sutalo plays less carefree for the National Team (like he did against France) and would step up at the World Cup
GVARDIOL AND SOSA:
– Two superstars that will probably be starting for Chelsea and Bayern next year. No point in talking about this. They need to play 90 minutes every game, until their knees wear off.
THE CASE FOR NAILING LOVREN TO THE BENCH:
– I would not play Lovren because he slows down our offense, wears out our central midfield players, and makes more gaffes than anyone on the team.
– He’s caused at least one penalty in every tournament he’s played in (WC2014, WC2018, Euro2020) and I have no doubt he will keep that streak alive.
– Modric was gassed at Euro2020 because of Lovren and Vida, and for the first time in my life, I was watching Modric lose balls in our half because he had to cover ground for them.
ERLIC vs SUTALO:
Erlic and Sutalo are a wash. Sutalo is visibly more skilled and talented. Erlic plays in Serie A and is more disciplined defensively.
Since they are a wash for me, I would opt for the bigger talent…but I’d be perfectly fine with Erlic starting.
Ideally our CB rotation should be Gvardiol, Sutalo, Erlic and Stanisic (with Stanisic capable of sliding over to CB).
Next would be Duje (who is slow, but very skilled offensively…especially with long balls). Him playing in EPL is also more impressive than Lovren in Russia.
Lovren and Vida would at the bottom of my CB pecking order.
you make some good points here but I’ll add to this.
If we start with Majer on the right attack then I think we can depend on Stanisic or anyone on our right defense…Majer can create and play-make…send balls into the box. If we start with Vlasic/Krama or someone else on the right attack, we will need someone like Juranovic to play up the right side and offer service into the box!
Yea, you have to treat RW and RB as a package (since we have so many non-traditional options there).
Stanisic cannot run up that flank and provide that creativity or pinpoint crosses, so you have to pair him with someone that can do something on the right side.
I would have LOVED to see Orsic play RW with Stanisic providing cover at RB, but we never tried Orsic on that side (so it’s pointless to talk about this). Maybe we’ll see Perisic at RW if we sub in a LW and they swap sides…but this would be a late-game adjustment.
Majer would be a good starting option at RW. He’s not fast though, and he tends to veer toward center…but he has elite creativity that’s almost too good to leave on the bench.
But yes, Vlasic almost exclusively veers into the center and avoids running up the right side like the plague. Juranovic has to start if Vlasic is RW.
I really, really hope we don’t start Kramaric or Pasalic at RW. I like both players, but there are no two players more INVISIBLE in that RW role than Krama and Pasalic.
Majer strikes me as a get it done type of guy. Juranovic makes me nervous- small and slower than the other guys –
Seems to me
We need a more secure dude to help Gvardiol to be able to push forward some
Like a stay at home kind of guy they refer to in hockey
Gvardiol has been playing pretty reserved for us and (no surprise) he’s great in that role as well.
The guy just has it all.
Jakic?
Before I get totally lambasted here
He has started the last two champions leagues for Frankfurt in right cb and Centre cb in a three man defence
I have no idea how he played but interesting nonetheless
Good idea, but we needed to try him out in the Nations League.
It’s too risky to suddenly roll him out as a defender in the World Cup now.
Agreed
Thank you for your good break down on the defence
I also prefer stanisic over JJ but both are ok
I feel erlic at this point would be more steady then sutalo as he is older but i agree
I’d rather a high prospect make a mistake and grow then to see lovren make another and truly not give us any more going forward (tho his “diving” header is probably enough for dalic to start him)
I’d go with the same thing as you @Ante, no need for a veteran to be in the CB pairing, gotta move forward and see more progression.
Sosa, Gvardiol, Erlic, Stanisic
Before you all question my Stanisic selection, you have to realize that Juranovic has started only 3 of Celtic’s last 8 games.
“Before you all question my Stanisic selection, you have to realize that Juranovic has started only 3 of Celtic’s last 8 games.”
This argument doesn’t make sense considering Juranovic started and played the whole 90 mins in all 6 champions league games. Maybe recently he had a small knock, maybe muscle fatigue and wasn’t fully fit, or maybe coach was just saving him for the important games.
Also by that same argument stanisic only started 2 of the last 8 games. Against belgium if playing for the draw i’d maybe start stanisic, but against morrocco and canada who might bunker we need more offense.
Your backline is good.
I am a Sutalo fan, but I’m also an Erlic fan. These two are a wash for me (with Sutalo being more talented and Erlic being more disciplined).
Stanisic over Juranovic at RB is the correct call (especially in this group where all of our opponents have strong wingbacks).
Gvardiol and Sosa are obviously no-brainers.
We’re still in a similar situation to Euro 2020; definitely a lot of talent, but a strange mix of players past their prime and players not yet ready for the big stage.
At the end of the day, Lovren is a decent defender playing in a semi-decent league. Would starting him mean the end of the world? Probably not. But while Erlić is also someone I’d call a “decent” defender, I’d argue that consistently playing against stronger opposition makes him the better option.
And for those who don’t watch Serie A, I just want to point out that Erlić can be mistake prone too. Maybe he doesn’t commit as many laughable howlers as Lovren, but he has dumb lapses of judgement that lead to the other team scoring easy goals. I still think he’s a better option, but I just wanted to point that out
“And for those who don’t watch Serie A, I just want to point out that Erlić can be mistake prone too. Maybe he doesn’t commit as many laughable howlers as Lovren, but he has dumb lapses of judgement that lead to the other team scoring easy goals. ”
Based off the sassuolo and spezia games i’ve watched I find this hard to believe, but its true based on the stats at least for last season. Do you remember which game u watched that he made the mistake in this season?
A pretty recent example is the Napoli game, where he loses his man on the first 2 goals. The first goal especially is kind of laughable.
With that said, I still think he’s a good defender and definitely in my starting 11.
We’re not in the same situation as Euro2020.
We had multiple guys out of form, injured players, uncapped players making their first appearances, our second-best player out with ‘COVID’, and a coach who seemed completely unprepared and was making changes on the fly (leading up to, and including, the tournament) where he was making massive lineup changes and capping new players in every game.
Right now, our only issue is who to pick as our striker option up top (and we have a few of them). But almost all of them are actually in-form (some in crazy good form).
Central midfield is elite and in form (with Brozo being a risk) but we have serious depth to cover this, and Broz has been focusing on getting back for us (and not Inter).
Backline is pretty impressive with Gvardiol and Sosa (who have been amazing for us when they play). The Juranovic vs Stanisic is a rich man’s issue (both are good) and we’re just being fickle about who the other CB should be.
Livakovic is our biggest weakness…but anything can happen with a goalkeeper. He looked okay in his last game against Chelsea. Hoping this means he can be average (or better) for us.
Livakovic is working with Modric as his mother- one mistake and shoe across the face- pukni ga po glavo!!!! In Lika, they call that TLC.
When he’s on Love is good defensively, but he can switch off for 1 second and cost a goal. He’s also penalty prone.
2014 Brazil, yes we know it was a dive
2016 Czechs, elbow on Schick
2018 Handball Iceland
That has to be a record for one player in major tournaments.
Lovren needs another CB who almost acts like a sweeper (even though that doesn’t really exist anymore). Someone who can clean up his mess so that he can play aggressive on challenges and he’s not expected to be carrying the ball.
We may have that guy in Gvardiol but he is young. Maybe I’m wrong but I think Dalic will end up going with Sosa, Juranovic, Gvardiol and either Lovren or Sutalo.
How many game qualifiers has Sutalo even played for us at CB? Was it not Lovrens position until he got injured?
I agree with the stated offensive minded back line in the article. I feel the same way about Lovren as I do about Rebic. Not a fan. During the 18′ Argentina game, like Rebic, I thought that he played one of his best games ever. He made so many great saves and was always at the right spot. I was such a fan for the first time, but he goes and ruins it as usual. After the Argentina game, he makes a hyperbolic statement to the world media ” I am the best defender in the world.” Okay- if you say so! I always feel guaranteed he is going to commit a foul at the most crucial time, ex. Brazil match 14′, albeit the Brazilian player flopped. No Lovren please. What he gives with one hand he takes quickly away with the other.
My thoughts exactly Kromiza. Lovren is far to arrogant to make a statement like that one, he is nowhere near the best defender in the world or even one of the best to be frank. Lest talking more showing your skills and ability. Even on that game against Austria he played too deep and but stress on the other defenders.
He makes way too many mistakes. He makes the statement that he cannot retire before Modric does as well, look not everyone is Modric man.
“After the Argentina game, he makes a hyperbolic statement to the world media ” I am the best defender in the world.””
You’re quoting a quote that doesn’t exist. Its common misinformation. After the England game Lovren actually said;
“I think people should recognize that I’m one of the best defenders in the world and not just talk nonsense I will say.” (Lovren)
Lovren said this because he was a champions league finalist that year and now again with croatia in the world cup. When he said this did he imply that he was in the top 5 defenders in the world? or top 20, or top 50 defenders? i dont know exactly what he meant, but IMO even in 2018 i wouldnt put him as the top 25 CBs in the world.
Sosa, Gvardiol, Lovren, juranovic… Lovren brings experience and the leadership on the back 4. You can’t put bunch of Young guys in the back and go against the best in the world. They need a leader with experience. Lovren has played consistently in Russia and he is healthy. Erlic and šutalo would be next over vida and DCC.
Agree with your selection and reasoning. I would also go for Lovren due to his experience. Erlic would be my first sub in case of injury. Sutalo in recent weeks has made quite a few mistakes that have led to goals. Admittedly he has played against strong opposition and in 3-5-2 formation where he was exposed primarily because the wingbacks at Dinamo (Moharami and Ljubicic) are poor defenders.
“Lovren brings experience and the leadership on the back 4. ”
Experience? Did u see the goal we conceded against austria last game? Lovren looked like he was an old man with dementia confused where he was. Leadership? I dunno man, he seems pretty toxic.
“You can’t put bunch of Young guys in the back and go against the best in the world. ”
We did that versus france and denmark months ago and was one of the best defensive displays in a a veryy long time.
“Lovren has played consistently in Russia and he is healthy.”
By that same argument Erlic has played consistently in italy a much better league.
Good point Tony- I also think that 3rd goal against Austria really has Lovren going- it was a beauty set play and give him credit , he executed it- if it was Kramaric – it definitely goes wide. God love Krama but can the guy do it when we really need it. He had some good minutes against Russia in 2018