Croatia Starting XI: Livaković – Milić, Vida, Lovren, Bartolec – Pašalić, Badelj, Rog – Pjaca, Rebić, Kramarić
Croatia finally found themselves on the winning side of an international match, their first since their World Cup final defeat to France.
The Vatreni needed a moral boost after a record-setting defeat to Spain and a lackluster scoreless draw to England earlier this week.
Ranked 110th in the world, the nation of Jordan paid a visit to Rujevica where Croatia found the back of the net twice from the feet of Domagoj Vida and Matej Mitrovic. Jordan found a goal in the 71st minute to put some more pressure on the Vatreni, but Croatia maintained their class against the inferior competition and took home a relieving 2-1 victory.
Croatia will next lay host to Spain in the UEFA Nations League on November 15 at Maksimir. Croatia will be looking for their first win in the new European competition.
England defeated Spain 3-2 in Sevilla Monday night which means Croatia now control their own destiny for top spot in the group. Even a victory at Wembley in November would see Croatia remain in League A while the Three Lions get relegated. Stay tuned.
How is Jakov Kurac doing ?
Appreciate Mr. Black. I thought Tudor was a bit hyped up as a teenager.
Mamimjo, Andrej,
Juranovic is mostly a starter for Hajduk. He plays decent.
Fran Tudor doesn’t even make it to the starting 11 for Hajduk. I hardly doubt that he’s good.
The youngster to watch at Hajduk is probably Ante Palaversa. He’s only 18 and does well as central midfielder. He’s very often in the starting 11.
Then he panicked during the penalty kick (when it was his turn to go) in which case Vida took the ball from him and took his turn instead (and scored)
Wow is this true? That makes Vida’s game even more impressive that day, he was great and his penalty was the best one lol
above was me
I’ve been saying Tudor and Juranovic for a while but I don’t really watch too many Hajduk games. Both have senior caps already. They played in California last year…I think. Do any of the Hajduk fans have anything to say about those two???
@Maminjo because he is 23
Fran Tudor is a good young RB.
Not sure why he wasn’t with the U21 squad.
Once Sosa’s time is up with the U21s, I don’t think we’ll hear from Pivaric. He’s almost 30 while guys like Barisic and Milic are 25 and 24.
I’ve been saying that Jedvaj doesn’t really have the pace or dribbling/crossing abilities to be a good RB and he recently admitted to not being a natural RB. Maybe he thinks he deserves to play CB over Vida. I still think he had a decent game against England and has been playing RB for his club. This is definitely a potential weakness for us with Vrsaljko’s injury problems over the years and no natural RB coming up from the U21s.
Pivaric did almost cost us at the World Cup.
He caused the penalty shootout with Russia when he blatantly bent over and used his elbow to stop the ball just outside the box, leading to free kick in an insanely dangerous position (which led to Fernandes’ goal).
Then he panicked during the penalty kick (when it was his turn to go) in which case Vida took the ball from him and took his turn instead (and scored).
Pivaric looked good in the few minutes he played off the bench against England, when we were completely dominating…but we really need to get Sosa out there as soon as possible. I don’t want to hear about any Strinic vs Pivaric debate in two years at the Euros. Neither guy should be on the team by then.
“Milic looked okay at LB too.”
Didn’t watch the game, but that’s good to hear, I mentioned his name for LB ages ago, even before some were saying Strinic and Pivaric would cost us at the world cup.
I was only able to catch the first half but they were clearly fucking around trying to dribble around the Jordan team. Dalic didn’t seem too impressed neither. Then Jordan got some possession and we never really regained composure. Our second goal was because their keeper slipped but their goal was only because of Pasalic deflection.
Disappointed with Pasalic and Bartolec. This was their chance to show they belong. I thought Rog was okay but all that lack of playing time seems to have ruined his confidence. Rebic, Krama and Pjaca looked good but couldn’t finish.
Really hope that Dalic calls up the U21 guys for the next round of games. Would love to see Brekalo and Vlasic bring some energy off the bench. Also definitely want Sosa training with the seniors especially if Barisic is not fit by then. Curious to see whether he calls up Benkovic or Caleta-Car. I think he trust Mitrovic too much to drop him. Milic looked okay at LB too. I’d almost rather take him over Pivaric but I didn’t catch the 2nd half.
Also, I thought Livakovic really impressed these last two games. Almost got to that deflection today as well.
Two header goals. With Mandzukic’s aerial dominance gone we need it from others.
It’s all good! Our boys are slowly being brought down to reality.
Nice to see that nobody is boasting about how good we are.
If everyone stays healthy next Euros, we will be significantly stronger than we were in Russia.
Yea, lol.
The only thing they’re evenly matched in is taking advantage of the German gasterbeiter system.
Turkey will probably be relegated to League C (or IMO the AFC federation, where they belong).
France (WCchamps), Belgium (3rd at WC), Portugal (Euro champs), England (4th at WC) and Spain woulda been the teams you woulda wanted to avoid in this UNL, unluckily Croatia got Spain and England in their group.
I enjoy the UNL, all the good teams are up top of their groups and we’ll be having a couple of cracking SF’s!
Germany vs France tommorow will be a cracking game, if Germany can win that one then Group 1 is evenly poised and that would be exactly what I envisioned when they started this wonderful tournament.
@Maminjo
“We’ll need to draw Spain and beat England.”
So what you’re saying is Croatia gotta care and get motivated for these last 2 games that aren’t on the big stage?
It might be to late now, they could fix it so England don’t get relegated into League B.
Croatia belong in League B in my opinion.
Imagine a group like Wales, Turkey and Croatia, that just looks right!
No guarantee we get back into League A from that group either when you take into account that Croatia and Turkey are so evenly matched.
Lol, Croatia, Turkey and Iceland would be a group of death in League B. So many awesome possibilities for Croatia in League B!
The good news about today’s match: Pivaric seems to be learning how to play his position, though he may still be a liability against Spain; Marko Pjaca can lead an attack with his foot skills and quick reflexes; Marko Rog can still play football and is an asset all around.
The news that is neither bad nor good: Bradaric, Pasalic, Milic, and Bartolec are not likely to be representing Croatia again any time soon, based on how little they managed to do against Jordan; Livaja and Santini are both way too slow to form an attacking unit with the likes of Pjaca, Rebic, Kramaric, Perisic, and Kovacic.
The bad news: It took great set pieces from Rog in order for Croatia to find the back of the net—the attacking players need to find it from the field play.
On the whole, the purpose of the friendly match was fulfilled: new players and combinations were tested out in a game setting where no one got injured. We even had the benefit of a realistic touch in that the referee clearly favored Jordan. I am looking forward to the next match against Spain, in which our gifted attackers and defenders will be supported by a real midfield, and by which point Dalic will likely be finished experimenting with new ideas and geared on winning.
We have never qualified for a tournament with a zero in the year. We missed Euro 2000, and we missed WC 2010.
Hopefully we can break that streak, and the trend does not continue!
my explanation on the previous comment will make 24 & 48 group stage attractive!
24 & 48 will be fine as long as Stupid Corrupt UEFA and FIFA use my brilliant format… read above, please!
Great! We got 2 goals against mighty Jordan from our centre halves..
The only thing fishy is how a World Cup finalist can look so shitty since.
If we beat Spain and England, we win the group.
We’ll need to draw Spain and beat England.
England was leading 0:3 at HT very very fishy result we can win in England and in Spain.
does it sound fishy babyboy iggy?
How come England won in Spain 3-2?
Group AB schedule
Spain vs Norway (1-0)…Spain vs Sweden (2-1)…
Spain vs Germany (3-3)
Denmark vs Swe (1-1)…Denmark vs Germany (1-2)…
Demk vs Norway (2-0)
Swiss vs German (1-3)…Swiss vs Norway (3-1)…
Swiss vs Sweden (1-1)
Group CD schedule
Belgium vs Serb (2-0)….Belgium vs Turkey (3-0)..
Belgium vs France (1-0)
Czech vs Turkey (1-1)… Czech vs French (0-2)..
Czech vs Serbia (1-2)
Greece vs French (1-3)….Greece vs Serbia (0-1)..
Greece vs Turkey (1-1)
Group EF schedule
Italy vs Scotland (2-0)…..Italy vs Rusia (3-1)…….
Italy vs England (3-2)
Iceland vs Rusia (1-2)….Iceland vs Eng (0-2)……
Iceland vs Scotland (1-0)
Serbia vs England (1-3)…Serb vs Scot (3-2)……..
Serbia vs Rusia (1-1)
Group GH schedule
Portugal vs Ukraine (2-0)… Portugal vs Wales (1-1)…..
Portugal vs Croatia (0-0)
Netherland vs Wales (2-0)… Netherland vs Croatia (1-2)…
Netherland vs Ukraine (3-0)
Belarus vs Croat (1-3)…Belarus vs Ukraine (1-1)…..
Belarus vs Wales (0-2)
Standing Table
Group AB
1) Germ… 2 1 0 (8-5) … 7point (seeded)
2) Spain… 2 1 0 (6-4)…..7 point (seeded)
3) Denm… 1 1 1 (4-3)…..4 point (unseed)
4) Swiss… 1 1 1 (5-5)…..4 point (unseed)
5) Swedn.. 0 2 1 (3-4)…..2 point (out/over)
6) Norway 0 0 3 (1-6)……0 point (out/over)
P.S. Germany can pick the unseeded team from Group CD
Group CD
1) Belgium…. 3 0 0 (6-0) 9 point (seeded)
2) France…… 2 0 1 (5-1) 6 point (seeded)
3) Serbia……..2 0 1 (3-3) 6 point (unseed)
4) Czech……..0 1 2 (2-5) 1 point (unseed)
5) Greece…….0 1 2 (2-5) 1 point (out/over)
6) Turkey……..0 1 2 (2-5) 1 point (out/over)
P.S Belgium can pick the unseeded team from Group AB
(*) Czech advance because of 0-2 lose (concede only 2 goals) meanwhile Greece with 1-3 and Turkey 0-3
Group EF
1) Italy………..3 0 0 (8-3) 9 point (seeded)
2) England….2 0 1 (7-4) 6 point (seeded)
3) Serbia…….1 1 1 (5-6) 4 point (unseed)
4) Rusia……..1 1 1 (4-5) 4 point (unseed)
5) Iceland……1 0 2 (2-4) 3 point (out/over)
6) Scotland….0 0 3 (2-6) 0 point (out/over)
P.S Italy can pick the unseeded team from GH Group
Group GH
1) Croatia…… 2 1 0 (5-2) 7 point (seeded)
2) Netherld…..2 0 1 (6-2) 6 point (seeded)
3) Portugal…..1 2 0 (3-1) 5 point (unseed)
4) Wales………1 1 1 (3-3) 4 point (unseed)
5) Belarus…….0 1 3 (2-6) 1 point (out/over)
6) Ukraine…… 0 0 3 (1-6) 1 point (out/over)
P.S Croatia can pick the unseeded team from EF Group
Group AB schedule
Spain vs Norway…..Spain vs Sweden…Spain vs Germany
Denmark vs Swe….Demk vs German…Demk vs Norway
Swiss vs German…Swiss vs Norway….Swiss vs Sweden
Group CD schedule
Belgium vs Serb….Belgium vs Turkey..Spain vs France
Czech vs Turkey… Czech vs French….Czech vs Serbia
Greece vs French..Greece vs Serb…..Greece vs Turkey
Group EF schedule
Italy vs Scotland…..Italy vs Rusia……. Italy vs England
Iceland vs Rusia….Iceland vs Eng……Iceland vs Scotland
Serbia vs England..Serb vs Scot…….. Serbia vs Rusia
Group GH schedule
Portugl vs Ukra… Portugl vs Wales…..Portugl vs Croatia
Netherld vs Wls… Netherld vs Cro……Netheld vs Ukraine
Belarus vs Croat…Belarus vs Ukra…..Belarus vs Wales
Spain 0 England 2 and we lost 6:0 Fishy.
@vuki
Yup. That lineup looks fine. It’s HEAD and SHOULDERS deeper with more talent than the garbage we’ve been calling up (and even starting) in these past four games against Portugal, Spain, England, and Jordan.
Vlasic, Brekalo, Sosa, Caleta-Car, and Benkovic are a MUST to be called up from the U21s.
They all start and are playing well for their clubs…and three of them (Sosa, Brekalo, Vlasic) have a lot of chemistry together on that left side.
Benkovic is having a great season, and Caleta-Car starts every game for Marseilles. All five of these guys are playing first team football at very respectable clubs (and they’re all 20-22 years of age). Very important to get them integrated.
Borna Barisic is also a MUST because he has been playing really well too, despite it being for Rangers. Barisic (along with Sosa) fill a need at LB. Playing Pivaric full time has been a disaster with Strinic out. Sosa should be starting for us, with Barisic and Pivaric as depth players (in that order).
Guys like Halilovic and Coric are talented, but I wouldn’t call them up until they get some regular playing time at their clubs (at least as backups).
But replacing guys like Livaja, Cop, Santini, Milic, Bradaric with these guys mentioned above is a HUGE jump in talent.
The Best Format of 24 & 48
I guarantee you things will change!
– No More Portugal fairytale,
– More Competitive
– Every team hungry for more goals!
– every team gets an equal schedule!
Group A ……………….. Group B
1) Spain………………1) Germany
2) Denmark………….2) Sweden
3) Switzerland………3) Norway
Group C…………………Group D
1) Belgium…………..1) France
2) Czech……………..2) Turkey
3) Greece……………3) Serbia
Group E…………………Group F
1) Italy………………..1) England
2) Iceland……………2) Rusia
3) Serbia…………….3) Scotland
Group G………………..Group H
1) Portugal………….1) Croatia
2) Netherland………2) Wales
3) Belarus…………..3) Ukraine
notes:
1) Group AB, CD, EF, GH consist of 6 teams
2) A team vs B team, C team vs D team, and so on
3) 3 match in a row with 9 points of maximum.
4) 1st,2nd (seeded),3rd and 4th (unseeded) advance
5) 1st can pick opponents from the cross group (unseeded)
So given that the U21s team has now qualified, which players would you all call up. For me, Vlasic, Brekalo, Sosa, Benkovic, and Caleta-Car should all be called up. Halilovic maybe has a shout, but he doesn’t play at all for Milan.
If I was to pick a 23-man team (with no injuries) it would probably look something like this:
Goalkeepers: Kalinic, Livakovic, Letica
Defenders: Lovren, Vida, Vrsaljko, Jedvaj, Benkovic, Caleta-Car, Pivaric or Barisic, Sosa
Midfielders: Modric, Rakitic, Brozovic, Kovacic, Badelj, Vlasic, Rog or Pasalic or Halilovic
Attackers: Rebic, Kramaric, Perisic, Pjaca, Brekalo
What do you guys think? I would love to see your 23-man teams.
4-0. Full time.
Any link for today?
2-0 Vlasic
JB Kebabovic has scored lol.
1-0 Halilovic
U21s streams available??
The Under 21’s are 0:0 at HT with San Marino while Greece is winning 1:0.
This would be a good game to continue testing out actual potebtial lineups. Livakovic; Jedvaj/Rog, Mitrovic, Milic, Pivaric; Badelj, Kovacic; Rebic, Kramaric, Pjaca; Santini. Dalic already has stated his interest in converting Rog into a right back, and Jedvaj needs more game time in the role too. Badelj and Kovacic played decently in combination against Portugal, but they would benefit from more game time together. Pivaric has been improving with experience, so why not give him another game? The same goes for Mitrovic and Pjaca. Kramaric and Santini need more game time too, to learn how to find the back of the net while playing for the repka. Maybe Pasalic can play instead of Rebic. Since it’s a friendly, all of the players could get subbed in. Livaja has much to prove…
Livaja has already played three games and hasn’t even made a decent pass yet.
He screwed up a very nice pass in the Spain game too.
He was already a fringe player who was lucky to get a call up, and he’s had enough time to show he doesn’t belong. Čop too.
Now that the U21 games are done this week, I am expecting at least three or four new callups for the November games against England and Spain.
Bartolec, pasalic, mitrovic and livaja could potentially do something for their careers and NT with a top performance today
Bradaric, Pasalic, Badelj, the Triangle of Destiny
Honestly, aside from Pjaca, I don’t see any of these guys ever starting for our national team.
Half of them should not have even been called up. This is a waste of time.
Hopefully Pjaca doesn’t get hurt in this game.
Lineup for game against Jordan:
Livakovic – Pivaric, Milic, Mitrovic, Bartolec – Bradaric, Pasalic, Badelj – Pjaca, Santini, Livaja
This has been an insane year for games.
We played Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Nigeria, Argentina, Iceland, Denmark, Russia, England, France, Portugal, Spain, England (again)… and we finish the year off playing Jordan, Spain (again), and England (a third time).
18 games…with most of them against elite end teams.
Nations League may be watering down the fun.