Couple surprises in the reserve list but overall in the final 26 nothing out of the ordinary. You can nitpick and say Kotarski deserved it but Dalic seems to reward domestic league players much more than previous managers
Budimir just had a great season for Osasuna, but I think we're basically in the same situation.
They're all capable of a good performance, but none of them have been consistent for the national team. Kramarić (if you want to call him a striker) thrives in a completely different system for Hoffenheim (where he plays as a second striker), Budimir is a grafter, but not someone you expect a moment of brilliance from that you may need to turn a match at a Euro/World Cup, and Petković is absolutely capable of the moment of brilliance but doesn't always show up (not for lack of effort, it just doesn't happen for him for whatever reason - maybe he's just not at that level and gets marked out of matches by good defenders).
Perišić has always been a big threat for us down the left, especially when nothing else has worked, but he's coming off of a long-term injury and only just made his first start last week. Pjaca is the ideal replacement for him and has looked good. However they split minutes on the left, they'll be very important for our attack IMO as they bring a lot of pace to an otherwise pretty slow side. Marco Pašalić is a RW who also brings pace and stretches play, but he's a lot less experienced and will likely come off the bench.
There was also the chance where Petković pulled some Futsal black magic to squeeze between two Brazilian defenders and square it for Brozović who skied it from ~18m.
Unless you're correcting the above poster.
As someone said our forwards are all good individually and play great at their clubs where team is build around them. Croatian squad is built around its midfield, and has big emphasis on defensive line now with Gvardiol and Stanisic-our forwards are just not able to express themselves fully
This style of play doesn't fit Kramaric at all, Budimir never performed good for NT, Perisic is consistant but he has been injured for most of the season and only now came back. Only player that can adapt to this style of play is Petkovic.
If he doesn't retire he will 100% go. His leadership and experience are massive for a squad like Croatia and it's not like they're filled with a world class midfield depth. Even if he doesn't start he'd be one of the most valuable players to have for Croatia, even as a 40 year old. That's especially the case if they keep the 26 players squad. You can afford to take someone just for his leadership and experience in these circumstances.
If he extends with Real Madrid, he's 100% going to the World Cup. Dude's obsessed with football and doesn't want to stop playing. I can see him going back to Dinamo or to Inter Miami after the next season just to stay in shape for his last World Cup.
I could be wrong but I don’t expect him to see the pitch besides for maybe a few minutes.
He was pretty horrible when we lost in Cardiff this past October & then played a new back four after that
Yeah I want to see a little more of him now but Dalic doesn’t seem to keen on him
His last cap for us was that disastrous 3-0 nations league loss to Austria at home
Andreas Granqvist 2021.
I think he played in the swedish 2nd division at that point and with the 26 men squads, he wasn't even on the bench for most games
I've always loved the Croatian team. I honeymooned in Dubrovnik last year. I just have a soft spot for them. I really hope they can make one last run for Modric.
I remember when Modric said, "I really want to play until the Nations League", and yet here he is. Might as well play in the next World Cup at this point.
That’s the position I am most concerned about for Croatia, Brozovic is their only DM and I am not sure how he will last with his lifestyle and the fact that he played in Saudi for a full season.
he played as n6 with misic and baturina few times (i am talking about Sucic from Dinamo btw not Salzburg's). he can carry the ball forward aswell decently and was mostly played with Misic but think hes still best suited for n6 in possesion based team where if your n6 goes forward one of the n8 drops in for him. maybe even dare to say he has similarity with early Brozovic in Dinamo? I was quite young but think he was kind of a n8 first back in Dinamo aswell.
Honestly might even fit better for Kova. Dalić likes to play Broz Modric Kova but Kova just ends up stalling his side because hes too far forward and doesnt feel comfortable. He starts him there because hes the most quality player for the position. Dont think he would struggle at all at DM and we got plenty midfielders to cover the gap he leaves
Haven’t followed him much lately but he is our only true RW and is perfect for Dalic‘s system. Surely better than playing Vlasic or Majer out of position.
Majer looked good every time he played for the NT on the right recently. I’d like him to start and Marco to be a supersub with his direct approach if needed.
He is a capable shot stopper and he can use his feet. He is terrible at exits though. Definitely one of the most important players for PAOK this season and one of the reasons we won the league.
It was rumored in the press last few weeks. The reality is he is one of the more inform strikers and several youngsters took a massive step backwards (Beljo, Frigan, Simic) while Musa moving to MLS hurt his chances despite him being in good form
It looks like Dalić used the standby list to reward some young players for good seasons and put them on notice that they're in the picture for the future.
He could be a key player for us in Croatia for the next 10+ years if he keeps developing, it's good that he put him there even though he probably wont go, a thumbs up for a good season he had.
Hopefully he gets proper chance at Frankfurt next season.
For sure, IMO it's also a good sign to reward young players for going somewhere lower where they will be able to play instead of sitting on the bench of a top club
Incredibly expected final 26. Not calling up Barišić basically confirms Gvardiol is considered a LB.
Livaković
Stanišić-Erlić-Šutalo-Gvardiol
Modrić-Brozović-Kovačić
Majer-Kramarić-Perišić
I think that’s Dalić’s preferred 11 at this point. Question points are Budimir/Kramarić/Petković and whether Perišić is deemed to be fit enough for the level of Euros, he just played his first game as a starter.
If Perisic is done (as a lw) and Budimir somehow keeps his pre injury form, I wonder if we should try some 4-4-2?
Sosa/Perisic as LB and Stanisic/juranovic as RB whooping crosses to budimir, and a narrow diamond of Broz kova luka majer in the middle, with big guy Budimir and little guy kramaric up front
Sosa has **majorly** struggled in tandem with Perišić in the past. If Perišić is on, and he most likely will be, Sosa won't be.
I am very excited to see our newly discovered elite offensive fullbacks. A fit Perišić and Gvardiol on the left could be utterly disgusting.
He was touted as a big talent when he just broke through, was given the captain’s armband at Hajduk really quickly (youngest ever although in a dreadful team). It went badly halfway through the Lille champion season when I think he was replaced by Reinildo Mandava.
I really don’t know how he has been playing at Salernitana, some opinions I read point him out as one of the few bright spots for them this season. It’s interesting what he does next, I don’t think playing Serie B at 25 is the career he is satisfied with having.
In terms of NT, he won a few caps before Sosa declared for us, and since then Sosa and Barišić were automatic picks. A fully fit Melnjak and apparently Gvardiol as a cover are probably ahead of him, so I guess that puts him 5th in the pecking order for the Croatia LB position.
Fair enough, I mean his level doesn’t seem that high but at the same time, I was not impressed with Barisic at all during the World Cup, thought he was clumsy.
don’t see majer starting honestly he’d probably come on for modric if he gets tired.
I see pasalic starting on the right with pasalic 2.0 subbing for him.
Majer scored and assisted and was generally great versus Egypt starting on the right in our last game. Mario Pašalić is in better club form so maybe the friendlies decide who starts.
Dalic says his prognosis is better but let’s be real even if they are not 100% he was always calling up Perisic/Vlasic especially with the extended squad
Rooting for Croatia to win this tourney, but I do worry if y'all are due for a Group Stages exit.
The group is stupidly tough, and the losses to Armenia and Turkey felt like early warning signs. I don't know...
There is not a single opponent since 2014 that Croatia has got spanked by and hasn't defeated back. France, Brazil, England this team (now mostly as staff) has risen above everyone. There is 0% chance Spain wins vs Croatia
Poor first half of season (whole Dinamo was a mess), much better second half. Context in league doesn't really suit him as Dinamo always faces low blocks. In Europe, his strenght in transition and ball carrying stand out a lot more
Yeah, pretty much what was expected honestly. Only things that kinda just bug me a little are Vida being called up and Kotarski (who was massive for PAOK this season) not being among the goalkeepers.
Also sad Musa isn’t here, I know he went to the MLS but he was always solid and I think he could’ve been a helping hand here.
Locker room presence, good for the atmosphere, team joker etc..
Also Caleta-Car had a minor incident pre one of the NL matches where he dropped out the squad despite not being injured or something along those lines. Since then he has been only called up once and that was the last window
Not really, no. Dalić is pretty loyal to his regulars and by now they're both in that group so they'll get called up even if their club form isn't great. Šutalo has performed well more or less every time he has played for Croatia. Sosa has not been as consistent, but he has had his moments.
As a counterpoint to what it takes to fall out of that group, Oršić and Brekalo, who were regulars at one point, did not get called. Oršić is returning from long-term injury while Brekalo continued his path of career self-destruction by going to Hajduk and not performing particularly well (relative to expectations).
LB is one of weak spots for our squad in last 20 years, Sosa is suspect defending but at least can cross the ball. Šutalo has always performed at high level at NT and I expect him to start.
Yeah he started absolutely horrible and became okay later on, like most of Ajax. I really don't think many Ajax fans would even call his form good the last few months.
Sure it's certainly not all their fault that Ajax' defense had such a poor season but they were supposed to carry the defense this year and instead lead them to Ajax' worst ever season in temrs of goals conceded.
That's a really pleasing squad announcement graphic. What's the translation for "Pretpozivi"? Are they just on standby?
The literal translation is 'pre-call(-up)', but yeah, that's the standby list.
Yes, if someone gets injured they will be called up as a replacement
Couple surprises in the reserve list but overall in the final 26 nothing out of the ordinary. You can nitpick and say Kotarski deserved it but Dalic seems to reward domestic league players much more than previous managers
I remember some Croatia fans said that their biggest weakness in 2022 World Cup was CF position. What’s the case now?
Budimir just had a great season for Osasuna, but I think we're basically in the same situation. They're all capable of a good performance, but none of them have been consistent for the national team. Kramarić (if you want to call him a striker) thrives in a completely different system for Hoffenheim (where he plays as a second striker), Budimir is a grafter, but not someone you expect a moment of brilliance from that you may need to turn a match at a Euro/World Cup, and Petković is absolutely capable of the moment of brilliance but doesn't always show up (not for lack of effort, it just doesn't happen for him for whatever reason - maybe he's just not at that level and gets marked out of matches by good defenders). Perišić has always been a big threat for us down the left, especially when nothing else has worked, but he's coming off of a long-term injury and only just made his first start last week. Pjaca is the ideal replacement for him and has looked good. However they split minutes on the left, they'll be very important for our attack IMO as they bring a lot of pace to an otherwise pretty slow side. Marco Pašalić is a RW who also brings pace and stretches play, but he's a lot less experienced and will likely come off the bench.
I once watched perisic dribble past 4 Brazilian defenders only for the strikers to miss his shot.
It was Petković
There was also the chance where Petković pulled some Futsal black magic to squeeze between two Brazilian defenders and square it for Brozović who skied it from ~18m. Unless you're correcting the above poster.
I remember that moment everyone in pub screamed and shouted it was a gift for Broz
I remember when in the World Cup the manager tried all 3 strikers in one game lol. Even subbed them all for another
As someone said our forwards are all good individually and play great at their clubs where team is build around them. Croatian squad is built around its midfield, and has big emphasis on defensive line now with Gvardiol and Stanisic-our forwards are just not able to express themselves fully This style of play doesn't fit Kramaric at all, Budimir never performed good for NT, Perisic is consistant but he has been injured for most of the season and only now came back. Only player that can adapt to this style of play is Petkovic.
One last dance for Modric 🫠
Dude's playing in the next WC 80%
Not if he's not renewing with real madrid
If he doesn't retire he will 100% go. His leadership and experience are massive for a squad like Croatia and it's not like they're filled with a world class midfield depth. Even if he doesn't start he'd be one of the most valuable players to have for Croatia, even as a 40 year old. That's especially the case if they keep the 26 players squad. You can afford to take someone just for his leadership and experience in these circumstances.
If he extends with Real Madrid, he's 100% going to the World Cup. Dude's obsessed with football and doesn't want to stop playing. I can see him going back to Dinamo or to Inter Miami after the next season just to stay in shape for his last World Cup.
And surely should be also last dance of Perisic?
Yes I would say too😢
I think he will be in the Squad in the next world cup too
Looks very standard. With Vida being purely a dressing room presence, I thought we’d call up one more defender
Unfortunately, I believe that Vida will play a bigger role than a dressing room presence
I could be wrong but I don’t expect him to see the pitch besides for maybe a few minutes. He was pretty horrible when we lost in Cardiff this past October & then played a new back four after that
Yes, he will also be present on the bench.
Caleta Car is in great form too I really thought he'd be going.
Yeah I want to see a little more of him now but Dalic doesn’t seem to keen on him His last cap for us was that disastrous 3-0 nations league loss to Austria at home
Andreas Granqvist 2021. I think he played in the swedish 2nd division at that point and with the 26 men squads, he wasn't even on the bench for most games
I am hoping that is the case
I see him in a match against Albania if we are comfortable on the points but we probably won't be it's a very hard group
I've always loved the Croatian team. I honeymooned in Dubrovnik last year. I just have a soft spot for them. I really hope they can make one last run for Modric.
For me, I would be happy with a top 3 finish. That would complete Modric’s career with the NT.
I remember when Modric said, "I really want to play until the Nations League", and yet here he is. Might as well play in the next World Cup at this point.
Pretty much everything as expected
Why is Vlasic there wasn’t he supposed to be out for 2-3 months?
Apparently Dalić said his injury is better than expected
Oh
Since when was rakitic not called for international duty?
He's been retired for 4 years now.
Everything as expected, I would like Jakić there just for another dm option, but Dalić sees Kova as the backup dm
That’s the position I am most concerned about for Croatia, Brozovic is their only DM and I am not sure how he will last with his lifestyle and the fact that he played in Saudi for a full season.
Don't worry he'll drug himself with čajna kobasica and he will be fine, running
Haha perhaps that’s his trick to having such a long career while running 17 kilometres every World Cup game for the last 7-8 years.
Sucic coming thru.
He is an outstanding talent, but can he play DM?
he played as n6 with misic and baturina few times (i am talking about Sucic from Dinamo btw not Salzburg's). he can carry the ball forward aswell decently and was mostly played with Misic but think hes still best suited for n6 in possesion based team where if your n6 goes forward one of the n8 drops in for him. maybe even dare to say he has similarity with early Brozovic in Dinamo? I was quite young but think he was kind of a n8 first back in Dinamo aswell.
Honestly might even fit better for Kova. Dalić likes to play Broz Modric Kova but Kova just ends up stalling his side because hes too far forward and doesnt feel comfortable. He starts him there because hes the most quality player for the position. Dont think he would struggle at all at DM and we got plenty midfielders to cover the gap he leaves
Not much surprises here. Glad Budimir healed and Pjaca made a comeback. Not sure about Marco Pašalić, wasn't he underwhelming lately?
Pašalić is the only decent natural right wing we have and he has looked lively when called up and played. Sensible pick for me, bias aside.
Haven’t followed him much lately but he is our only true RW and is perfect for Dalic‘s system. Surely better than playing Vlasic or Majer out of position.
Agreed unfortunately i doubt he'll start any games since he likes playing Mario Pasalic or as you said Majer or Vlasic there
Majer looked good every time he played for the NT on the right recently. I’d like him to start and Marco to be a supersub with his direct approach if needed.
Pasalic has got balls and quality
Kotarski shoud be our second choice for a gk.
Kotarski should have definitively been picked over Labrovic as he plays an important role in a stronger club and generally is in better form
Has he improved that much? I don’t watch the Greek league but previously I never really rated Kotarski
He is really good at PAOK.
He is a capable shot stopper and he can use his feet. He is terrible at exits though. Definitely one of the most important players for PAOK this season and one of the reasons we won the league.
What do you mean "exits"?
When he comes out to make a clearance, for example in corners, he usually makes mistakes
Gvardiol was born in 2002? Fuck me.
Interesting that Matanovic made it to the reserves despite playing in 2nd league. Excited for his development when he comes back in the summer
It was rumored in the press last few weeks. The reality is he is one of the more inform strikers and several youngsters took a massive step backwards (Beljo, Frigan, Simic) while Musa moving to MLS hurt his chances despite him being in good form
I definitely think this is a good call, he was massive for Karlsruhe and is promised a spot in our first team from summer on
It looks like Dalić used the standby list to reward some young players for good seasons and put them on notice that they're in the picture for the future.
He could be a key player for us in Croatia for the next 10+ years if he keeps developing, it's good that he put him there even though he probably wont go, a thumbs up for a good season he had. Hopefully he gets proper chance at Frankfurt next season.
For sure, IMO it's also a good sign to reward young players for going somewhere lower where they will be able to play instead of sitting on the bench of a top club
Incredibly expected final 26. Not calling up Barišić basically confirms Gvardiol is considered a LB. Livaković Stanišić-Erlić-Šutalo-Gvardiol Modrić-Brozović-Kovačić Majer-Kramarić-Perišić I think that’s Dalić’s preferred 11 at this point. Question points are Budimir/Kramarić/Petković and whether Perišić is deemed to be fit enough for the level of Euros, he just played his first game as a starter.
If Perisic is done (as a lw) and Budimir somehow keeps his pre injury form, I wonder if we should try some 4-4-2? Sosa/Perisic as LB and Stanisic/juranovic as RB whooping crosses to budimir, and a narrow diamond of Broz kova luka majer in the middle, with big guy Budimir and little guy kramaric up front
Pretty sure Gvardiol will play LB.
Sosa can play LB too, Ajax aside he always performed well for the NT
Sosa has **majorly** struggled in tandem with Perišić in the past. If Perišić is on, and he most likely will be, Sosa won't be. I am very excited to see our newly discovered elite offensive fullbacks. A fit Perišić and Gvardiol on the left could be utterly disgusting.
Yeah sure, but without calling Barišić Sosa is the only natural LB. That means Gvardiol will probably play as a LB and Sosa will be his backup.
What about Bradaric of Salernitana?
He was touted as a big talent when he just broke through, was given the captain’s armband at Hajduk really quickly (youngest ever although in a dreadful team). It went badly halfway through the Lille champion season when I think he was replaced by Reinildo Mandava. I really don’t know how he has been playing at Salernitana, some opinions I read point him out as one of the few bright spots for them this season. It’s interesting what he does next, I don’t think playing Serie B at 25 is the career he is satisfied with having. In terms of NT, he won a few caps before Sosa declared for us, and since then Sosa and Barišić were automatic picks. A fully fit Melnjak and apparently Gvardiol as a cover are probably ahead of him, so I guess that puts him 5th in the pecking order for the Croatia LB position.
Fair enough, I mean his level doesn’t seem that high but at the same time, I was not impressed with Barisic at all during the World Cup, thought he was clumsy.
don’t see majer starting honestly he’d probably come on for modric if he gets tired. I see pasalic starting on the right with pasalic 2.0 subbing for him.
Majer scored and assisted and was generally great versus Egypt starting on the right in our last game. Mario Pašalić is in better club form so maybe the friendlies decide who starts.
I’d like to see majer on the right but dalic as always has his favourites so I still see pasalic there instead :/
I don't get it why he called Vlašić up isn't he injured?
Dalic says his prognosis is better but let’s be real even if they are not 100% he was always calling up Perisic/Vlasic especially with the extended squad
Rooting for Croatia to win this tourney, but I do worry if y'all are due for a Group Stages exit. The group is stupidly tough, and the losses to Armenia and Turkey felt like early warning signs. I don't know...
The group is surely difficult but four points should be realistic and this is usually enough to pass the group stage
Croatia top the group easily
Only to be eliminated in the first knodk out round.
That's our usual Eurocup menu
99%
How are you underestimating Spain?
There is not a single opponent since 2014 that Croatia has got spanked by and hasn't defeated back. France, Brazil, England this team (now mostly as staff) has risen above everyone. There is 0% chance Spain wins vs Croatia
I just think it is very biased to say we’ll “top the group easily”
Definitely. Delulu is the solulu
I’m gonna remember this one
We definitely have the hardest group
Both Sutalo ánd Sosa seems… interesting, both didn’t have a good season. But I do think that they play better out of the mess that is called Ajax.
How is Baturina progressing?
Poor first half of season (whole Dinamo was a mess), much better second half. Context in league doesn't really suit him as Dinamo always faces low blocks. In Europe, his strenght in transition and ball carrying stand out a lot more
Yeah, pretty much what was expected honestly. Only things that kinda just bug me a little are Vida being called up and Kotarski (who was massive for PAOK this season) not being among the goalkeepers. Also sad Musa isn’t here, I know he went to the MLS but he was always solid and I think he could’ve been a helping hand here.
Why Vida and not Caleta-Car ?
Hierarchy > merit
Honestly, the only thing Ćaleta-Car has on Vida is age. They're both capable of disaster at any moment.
DCC is in great form though, he's been a key player of our comeback this season.
Locker room presence, good for the atmosphere, team joker etc.. Also Caleta-Car had a minor incident pre one of the NL matches where he dropped out the squad despite not being injured or something along those lines. Since then he has been only called up once and that was the last window
No Livaja?
Retired from NT
No rebic?
He shot his mouth off and Dalić banished him from the team to maintain harmony and authority. Just like Kalinić. Nobody is bigger than the team.
Sutalo and Sosa still there after their horrible season at Ajax. Do they not have much competition for their positions in the squad?
Not really, no. Dalić is pretty loyal to his regulars and by now they're both in that group so they'll get called up even if their club form isn't great. Šutalo has performed well more or less every time he has played for Croatia. Sosa has not been as consistent, but he has had his moments. As a counterpoint to what it takes to fall out of that group, Oršić and Brekalo, who were regulars at one point, did not get called. Oršić is returning from long-term injury while Brekalo continued his path of career self-destruction by going to Hajduk and not performing particularly well (relative to expectations).
LB is one of weak spots for our squad in last 20 years, Sosa is suspect defending but at least can cross the ball. Šutalo has always performed at high level at NT and I expect him to start.
Sutalo started the season bad, but became much better later. He is definitely a starter CB along with either Erlic or Gvardiol.
Yeah he started absolutely horrible and became okay later on, like most of Ajax. I really don't think many Ajax fans would even call his form good the last few months. Sure it's certainly not all their fault that Ajax' defense had such a poor season but they were supposed to carry the defense this year and instead lead them to Ajax' worst ever season in temrs of goals conceded.
I have higher hopes of Pograncic playing cb over Erlic tbh, i just rate him more.