Group G

[Jimmy Holiday]

CDK

Talking to Slav last night, he fully intents to honour his bets he made on here. Poor kid...

So does this mean that your already giving up on your beloved team like you gave up in the MMU thread against Guinness..............You did tell me that your not a QUITTER

The Ital game is a make it or break for them and I wont expect anything less than a great game between 2 great teams.

 

[Keeper]

Honestly, I haven't seen any team, play so poorly in such a long time.

Obviously you missed Saudi Arabia, Saturday morning.

They just let Mexico play with the ball.

Surely, CDK, you must taking the piss.

 

[Slav]

CDK, please no sympathy. I still have 100% confidence in our team. With some adjustments we will come back strong.

 

[Slav]

Keeper ,

The differnece between Croatia and Saudi Arabia, was that the Saudi's showed more heart, they seemed to care more, even if they did get pissed on.

 

[Jinky]

What adjustments are the Croats going to make?

Do they have a time machine? The WC is not an over-30s tourney.
CDK is right, the Croats did have more chances but they squandered their corners. Left-footed Jarni was taking the corners on the left while big Bobby pack-a-day was taking them on the right. Why were they afraid to fire some inswingers against a 5'9' keeper?

I hope they find their form or else my entry is fcuked.

 

[Slav]

adjustments as is formation, perhaps more attack minded. Also, an adjustment in their fcuking attitude too!!! The vets on the team didn't do anything.

 

[BJB]

Disbelief....

I still can't believe we lost to the freaking mexicans!! That croat team that played yesterday was not the team i or the rest of croatia thought would show. Fcku i knew jozic is a defensive minded couch. but does that mean there is no freaking midfield?? holy shite batman i never seeen so much room and so many open green shirt in the midfield before in my life. and when u did see a red/white checker there were 2 guys standing and one chasing the ball. Something's got to be done. back to reality now. we ain't the team that was in 98. Suker/Boksic and Prosinecki have to take charge and say Hey I suck now maybe i should let the 24 year old who can run. well suker should atleast. i still think boksic has something in him, and Prosinecki i dunno. what they need to do is go back to the old formation of 3-5-2 with the wing backs of jarni and stanic. bring in Vlaovic off the bench with boksic up front and leave prosinecki just sittin in middle of field handing out good passes. now the other teams in the group control our destiny as well as we do too. 2 wins are a must. so we'll see what happens friday nite/saturday mornig. maybe the later time start will help. too much shadow on that field. It should be all in sun or all in shade. not this half/half shite. so players get fckued up.

Even with the poor performance yesterday i still believe in them and always will!!!

Should be an interesting week of waiting!!!

ps the uni's are brute. Get rid of nike!

 

[soccerplayer13]

i love it CROATIA LOSING and ITALY WINNING!!!!

IM IN HEAVEN!!!


ITALIA ITALIA ITALIA

 

[Crazy Calabrese]

I was reading on tsn's website that Mexico's win over Croatia was an upset..but I am not too sure that it was. Mexico is the better team, and totally controlled the game. I agree that Croatia must have some younger guys who can play, run and actually would show some effort on the pitch. Suker is a great goal scorer but like a couple of other guys on the field he is washed up.

Italy scored two goals and packed it in. The wall was too much for the Ecuadorians who will easily finish at the bottom of the table. Vieri finished very well and everybody on the team was efficient and minimized their mistakes. Hopefully they will continue this trend into the next game.

 

[sensei_hanson]

I'll wade into this conversation by saying that its probably way too early to start getting frantic if you're Croatia. A win over Ecuador and a draw against the Italians should do the business. I can see Mexico shitting the bed against their South American counterparts and then forcing themselves to get a result against Italy, which they'll be hard pressed to do. This is Mexico we're talking about - dominate CONCACAF, flop on the big scene.

Amid all this optimism is one glaring truth - Prosinecki has got to go. He looks in terrible shape. Jinks is spot on about the Over-30 shout - Germany faced a similar problem in 98 when their old guard simply couldn't hack it at the 'elite' level anymore. The guy should be commended for constantly abusing his body and still being able to compete at a high level. If I could suck down a pack a day and still make the National side, I'd be happier than a pig in shite. But it's pretty evident that he's just not fit enough to be a deciding factor for a Croatian team that needs a veteran to step forward.

It'll be very, very interesting to see how this Croatian side responds to this opening loss, because it throws them into a situation where they're forced to get results in their last two group games. If they do manage to grab the second spot, you'd have to think they'd be an older, tired team who spent most of their energy getting out of the group stage.

 

[CDK]

I have to give the Mexican's credit. They are a very determined side. They stiffled any type of flow from Croatia with very tight defending and anytime Suker, Boksic or Prosinecki got a touch on the ball the Mexican's would give them a kick in the legs. Not hard enough to warrant a card but enough to stop the play and kill any momentum. Croatia's players didn't respond well to this and more often than not looked to get frustrated and give up.

That's what kills me most about that game. The way they just quit. In '98 Asanovic would've been in their faces cursing their mother's and grandmothers, Stimac would've been threatening leg breaks, Bilic would've been kicking back twice as hard. The "meaness'" of Croatia looks to have disapeared.

Boksic and Suker (Olic or Balaban should start) can't play together anymore. Prosinecki needs someone to create space for him (Rapajic). The defensive tactic's have to go.

They can beat Italy if they play like they did against Scotland and Belgium six month's ago. That last game may have been just a debacle similar to Croatia A's start to last season.

 

[BJB]

i agree

It is missing the emotions of Bilic/Asanovic and Stimac. They played like the mexicans were teh bullies. yet every croat was bigger.

lets hope to see a big change on friday/sat!

 

[Guinness]

Fifa Rankings

Originally posted by Crazy Calabrese
I was reading on tsn's website that Mexico's win over Croatia was an upset..but I am not too sure that it was. Mexico is the better team, and totally controlled the game.

Mexico proved they are deserving of a higher ranking than the Croats and that they are a team to be reckond with in the competition... The climate will play a role in this World Cup and probably already has??? However this group is not over by a long shot... Sensei actually made some sence;

I can see Mexico shitting the bed against their South American counterparts

although his geography obviously needs some work!!!
The next few games shall be interesting to see...

 

[vratar]

All this stuff of how Suker, Boksic , Prosinecki didnt perform. Hey these guys are over 30, not in their prime anymore. Dissapointing was not the over 30 guys but the guys in their prime, N Kovac for example was crap against Mexico, he showed no creativity and whined whenever a little Mexican touched him. How about that Zivkovic, where did he learn how to dribble and slide tackle. Thumbs up to Rapaic, only guy on the Cro side who showed enthusiasm and creativity. Tomas also played decent. Pletikosa better be sharp againsy Italy, he didnt look to good on the pen. shot, what the f... was he thinking.

I say use Boksic as a sub for Suker against Italy. Go with Olic up front to start with Suker or better yet just go with all out pace with Olic & Vlaovic or Balaban. We need some pace against Italy, our only chance to beat them.
To many floaters in midfield last game, change the formation to 4-4-2. N kovac and Prosinecki need to step it up a notch or two. Rapaic should start, he has pace and creativity. I hope D Simic(defender) plays he has a cool head and doesnt panic.

 

[BJB]

What are you thinking???

Pletikosa better be sharp againsy Italy, he didnt look to good on the pen. shot, what the f... was he thinking.

What the fcku are u thinking?? Pletikosa is one of the tops in pk's. i've seen him stop 2 pk's in champions league last year. but that's another story. Vratar think before u speak. A goalie on a PK has basically a guess. left/right/or center. If the player taking the pk is good all he has to do is hit it hard and near post. goalie has no chance. Pleti played well for the few shots he did face.

As for Suker starting, how many qualifiers did he start??? maybe 1?? i can't remember. why is he starting now?? just cuz he said he will win the boot?? Send one of the youngsters who can run up front with Boksic(i still belive in him and he should get his shot against Italy.) As for your kovac comment, yes he was all over the place, but that's what happens when prosineckis' roll is only to dish out balls, no defensive responsibilities. while kovac had to pick up the rest of the slack.

As for zivkovic, he could have slid with his left or he could have left the guy alone, i believe pletikosa would have made the save. but in that second of thought u do what u do. and he went in with his right foot, knocked the guy down and bingo. the defence played alright, seeing there were 8 of them on th eback line.

look for changes against the i ties. should be a good game.

 

[Keeper]

Huh?

If the player taking the pk is good all he has to do is hit it hard and near post.

Tell me, which is the near post on a PK?

 

[BJB]

hmmm

interesting question pardon my english.

just put it near the inside of either post (not near post, wrong words, sorry) and it should be good.

understand what i try to say?

 

[Hands of Stone]

The Near Post is the one you Kick the Ball at.

Myself, I like to shoot at the Near Crossbar on P.K.'s

HOScan'twaitforP.K.'sinWorldCup

 

[Keeper]

Gotcha.

Now I see.

So is that what all you strikers are trying to do? Thanks for the tip -- I'll know where to dive now.

 

[BJB]

no prob

not a problem.

always like to help.