CROATIA SEEKING
NEW FACES
W
orld Cup runners-up in
2018, Croatia made a
stuttering start to their
Euro campaign, edging
past Azerbaijan 2-1 in their opening
game and then going down in Hungary
by the same scoreline. Wins over Wales
and Slovakia restored some belief before
they were pegged back with a 1-1 draw
away to Azerbaijan.
The emphatic 4-0 win over Slovakia
in Trnava may well prove to be the key
result for Zlatko Dalic’s side. Going into
the game Croatia were missing several
key players, with Tim Jedvaj and Mateo
Kovacic injured, and Ivan Rakitic dealing
with uncertainty over his club future.
Dejan Lovren even commented before
the game that squad morale was not
what it had been in Russia – which
only added to the sense of uncertainty.
But Marcelo Brozovic stepped up
to the mark as Dalic called in younger
replacements, including Dinamo Zagreb
striker Bruno Petkovic, Copenhagen
defender Karlo Bartolec and CSKA
Moscow midfielder Nikola Vlasic.
Dalic was able to declare afterwards:
“It was one of our best games during my
time as coach.”
He also acknowledges that the
qualifying campaign has offered a chance
to re-energise the squad. “If we qualify for
the Euros, then rejuvenating the national
team will make sense,” says Dalic. “But
one thing is clear: they need new aces- hungry, ambitious young men. I said
that right after Russia. Bartolec, Petkovic,
Vlasic and some others are increasingly
important to us. In Petkovic, we have the
type of striker we didn’t have. I’ve said it
could bring us a lot.”
Slovakia were stunned by their loss to
Croatia as they had been punching above
their weight under Czech coach Pavel
Hapal, who took charge when Jan Kozak
STAR MAN
MARCELO BROZOVIC
Croatia
After many years of flitting here, there
and everywhere in midfield, “Brozo” is at
long last benefitting from a fixed point of
reference as a deep-lying regulator for
Croatia and Internazionale.
Up until the spring of 2018, the Zagreb
native was essentially known as a gifted
but erratic operative, hitting the heights
one day and fading from view the next.
That, however, is yesterday’s news. Overquit in October last year. They bounced
back a few days later by beating Hungary
2-1 in Budapest with goals from Robert
Mak and Robert Bozenik.
Hungary have experienced mixed
results under Italian coach Marco Rossi,
losing the opener at home to Slovakia
but then beating Croatia in Budapest.
Victories over Azerbaijan and Wales
followed in June, but September’s home
defeat by Slovakia was a major setback.
Wales remain just about in contention
and could yet make the play-offs with a
game in hand on the three teams above
them. But does manager Ryan Giggs
know his best team?
The former Manchester United star
has used 43 different players in his 15
games in charge. The emergence of
exciting young winger Dan James has
added to his selection options, and the
likely return of the injured Aaron Ramsey
will be a boost ahead of the forthcoming
games against Slovakia and Croatia.
Azerbaijan, coached by former Croatia
international Nikola Jurcevic, picked up
their first point with a plucky draw at
home to Croatia in September when they
equalised through Tamkin Khalilzade’s
stunning solo goal.EURO 2020 | Qualifiers
GROUP
E“If we qualify for the
Euros then rejuvenating
the national team will
make sense”
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic
Winner...Hungary’s Mate Patkai celebrates
scoring the only goal against Wales