Euro 2008 Preview : Croatia
The conquers of England not once but twice during qualifying take their rightful place amongst the best 15 teams that Europe has to offer and Austria.
You’d be hard pressed to find a coach who has done a better job in the last two years of European qualifying then Croatia coach Slaven Bilić. Taking over from a disappointing first round World Cup exit Bilic took Croatia from an outside chance of beating Russia and England in the qualifying section to actually winning the group. Not trying to twist the knife deeper here for England fans but it does say something about a team that had nothing to play for going into the final England game to not only compete but win at Wembley on that faithful day.
Really, what else did you except me to use as Croatia’s Euro 2008 qualifying highlite?
This is another team whose balance of youth and experience I find just right in a major tournament. The defence is lead by Dario Šimić, Josip Šimunic, and Robert Kovač. Each with over 50 caps to there name. Joining them will be Manchester City’s Vedran Ćorluka. The 22 year old had an impressive first year playing in the English Premier League.
Croatia’s midfield is also quite deep with captain Niko Kovač joined by Ivan Rakitić, Luka Modrić and Portsmouth Niko Kranjčar. All gifted, all under the age of 25.
The biggest loss which leads to the biggest question mark heading into this tournament is who will replace the goal scoring of Eduardo up front. His horrific injury while playing at Arsenal will leave him on the sidelines this summer. None of the strikers that have been called up for Croatia have more then 10 goals on the international stage. While the midfielders will carry the Croatian offence someone up front will need to up there game in order for Croatia to go deep in this tournament.
Key Player – Luka Modrić
The newest addition to Tottenham has all the tricks needed to impress on the international stage. Tottenham may prove to be wise in signing him before the European Championship. With a good showing this summer his value would of increased from the 16 million pounds Tottenham paid to sign him.
Group B Outlook
I’ve said a lot of good things about this Croatian team and deservedly so but I do feel the loss of Eduardo will end up be crushing blow to Croatian at some point. In this group I like Germany, Poland, and Croatia equally. When deciding who will advance in my mind I asked myself which team is more then likely to trip up against Austria and drop points. The answer wasn’t Croatian so I see them advancing in a fiercely contested group.
Sinnacle Prediction 1st in Group B
May 26th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Seriously? As much as I like Croatia, losing Eduardo is a huge loss. They weren’t as good as Germany before the injury, they’re really behind them now. Just because Simunic has played a lot of international games, doesn’t make him good. I think especially with its strike force, Germany is the clear favorite in this group, with Poland and Croatia fighting it out for the second spot. I do think that Croatia will qualify for the second round, but that’s about it.