And the Croatian starting 11 vs. Brazil are…

I don’t know about this starting 11. Croatia has a lot of good players and some that are selected to face Brazil i think shouldn’t be there. Olic should be in the side but not starting, I still can’t get over the fact he missed those chances in against Switzerland in Euro. Why isn’t Ivan Klasnic starting he played great against Argentina. Also I think Simic should be in before Tomas and babic should swap roles with Tudor.

Posted from  Australia

The 11 is probably right put their positions are wrong. Zé Roberto and Ronaldo plays on the left while Kaka and Emerson on the right.

Ilike the startin 11. The only thing i would probably change due to fitness issues is have Klasnic start in place of Olic. Have Olic and his fast legs come in as a sub in the second half and run down what will hopefully be a tiring aged defence core from Brazil. I watched the game against Bulgaria and this team was clicking on all cylinders.

Posted from  United States

My thought when I saw the lineup was Kranjcar would run the Brazilians around with Olic and use Klasnic as late as necessary. Both teams will be intense that’s for sure.

Posted from  United States

I also like the starting 11. This squad really was gelling well on the pitch. Don’t forget that this year we have a new weapon. Kranjcar can either sub in Klasnic or the new Croatian League wunderkid Dudu…he may have something to prove to his countrymates.

Good point, Soze, Dudu is a nice additional weapon to have. He’ll have an international stage to show his stuff.

Posted from  United States

BAD LINE UP FOR CROATIA

THIS IS MY LINE WE NEED GOAL SCORERSS!!!!!!!

PLETIKOSA goalie

r kovac tudor simic simunic

srna n kovac kranjcar Ivan Klasnic

PRSO AND DA SILVA

BACK UPS FOR SURE #1 modric

Posted from  Canada

Klasnic should partner Prso upfront. While Olic should be thrown in the 2nd half to run at the opposition if needs be. Dudu is a great player however I wouldn’t throw him in against Brazil-as it would be too emotional.

It’s unfortunate that Biscan hasn’t reconciled with the Croatian team. I would have preferred him to partner Tudor in central midfield, rather then the 34 year old Niko Kovac. A Tudor-Biscan combo would be able to stifle attacking movements as they begin in midfield.

Nevertheless Croatia have a strong side, but a lot will depend upon how well Srna and Babic play as they are in 2 critical positions. They can support defense creating a total of 7 defensive players (N. Kovac and Tudor plus the 3 defenders)—which give Croatia the tenacity needed to progress to the later stages of the Tournament.

At the same time, they can launch into attack running at defenders and providing deadly crosses. One of Croatia’s strong suits is counter attacking movement, and these two players will be critical in beginning such a move.

Against Brazil, they will either draw or win against the Cariocas. Besides Brazil usually starts slowly, and then start firing all cylinders in later matches. Croatia’s relies on the ability to shut down KaKa and Gaucho. Kovac and Tudor must do their best their best to win the midfield battle against Emerson and Ze Roberto. Cafu and R. Carlos, the likely starters given their experience, have been schooled on a number of occasions due to their poor pace. This is an opportunity for players like Olic, Srna, Babic, and war horse Dado to exploit. In attack Adriano and Ronaldo have been far from their best, and I would actually prefer Fred to start (I won’t tell Parrirea:) These are the clinks in their armor, but I don’t have to go in to detail into their strengths.

Posted from  United States

Correction: “that’s Croatia success relies on the ability to shut down Kaka and Gaucho.”

Posted from  United States

I just hope we win, that is all i can say

Posted from  Australia

Marko> I hear ya. I think the two crutial positions on the pitch belong to Srna and Kranjcar. Like you said, we have so many defensive players that these two need to be able to move the ball foreward quickly to Prso and Olic against Brazil. The Canarinhos like to play foreward and that will be a way to catch them off guard..I have a feeling as well that the Croatia Brazil game will be a tie.

please god please
pletikosa!! not butina please!!!
and putting tudor as a midfielder against quick guys is a mistake too. put him in the defence.
and klasnic and prso is ok
question to ya guys: why runje is not in the national squad?
peace
r.

Posted from  Poland

Klasnic needs to start without a question.

Posted from  Australia

Soze > I agree Kranjcar is a key figure in orchestrating any counter attacking move. His vision allows him to release the forwards or an overlapping Srna or Babic. However, he is not the quickest player, so don’t expect him to be surging forward on a counter leaving a trail of defenders in his wake a la Jarni. But he still the one that provides the creativity—his style of play reminds me of the Argentine playmaker Riquelme.

The Cariocas cannot deny their urge to attack. Vatreni must exploit this by catching players such as Cafu and R. Carlos out of position. Their age and diminished stamina will prevent them from returning in time—especially as the match progresses. While Lucio is prone to lapses in concentration.

The Selecao has recently stated that Ronaldinho will be given the liscence to roam freely. This means that Rossoneri Primadonna KaKa will be forced to defend—a task that he normally doesn’t do for Milan. This gives the Croats another weakness to take advantage of.

Should the Brasileiros resort to playing “Nao Jogo Bonito” and hack the Croatians. The Vatreni are also dangerous from set pieces, with plenty of players good in the air(this will be a huge advantage against the Japanese). They also have dead-ball specialist Srna supplying the service.

In all, the game plan is to neutralize the Brasilian attack, and catch them on a counter and score.

Posted from  United States

Marko> I hope Cico is reading this ‘couse you said it exactly right. The only problem is that if the Brazilians feel like playing…there’s nothing stopping them.