The role of Zlatko Dalic and future national team managers is to steer a team as opposed to implementing paradigm shifting formational innovations. Read more »
Croatia Analysis
Zlatko Dalic And The Croatian Miracle Prepare For 2022
A World Cup Abstract: France 4, Croatia 2
France were dominant, only trailing for a total of nine minutes throughout the entire World Cup. Compared to recent winners, this is a deep, skilled side that defends and hits quickly on counter attacks, led by a teenager already named alongside the greatest strikers in the sport's history. Read more »
France Vs. Croatia Preview: A Final Of Transition And Efficiency
Croatia and France are two sides built with similar structures of pacy, counter attacking wings, a balanced midfield three, strong aerial defending - an efficient approach based on winning both attacking and defensive transitions. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Croatia 2 (4), Russia 2 (3)
Croatia don't feel destined to win the World Cup as much as their results are grounded in the realism of an attack that works hard in defending and transitions, a midfield that can control tempo against any opponent, and an on-form keeper. Read more »
A World Cup Abstract: Croatia 1 (3), Denmark 1 (2)
This was not a classic nor a great match, and any neutral can skip past the fifth minute and go straight to the dramatic penalties (starting with Luka Modric's miss in Extra Time). Read more »
The Defining Matches Of The 2018 World Cup Group Stage
The struggles of the traditional soccer powers gave an opportunity for bubbling sides like Belgium and Croatia to stamp their mark in Russia. Read more »
The World According To Slaven Bilic
A charismatic communicator with the resume to match, it's easy to see why Slaven Bilic's post-match analysis proved to be popular with audiences. Here's a breakdown of some of his best quotes. Read more »
Tchau To All That
The individual brilliance of the early matches was eventually neutralized by countries with better all-around squads and this was a World Cup that became reasonably predictable once we escaped the group stage. But every single minute was thrilling and worth it. Read more »
Messi, Suarez & Costa Rica: An Ode To The 2014 World Cup Group Stages
The deluge of goals from Messi, Neymar, Müller, Robben and Van Persie, impressive play from Costa Rica and Colombia, and the bite seen round the world all overshadowed the changing of the era. Read more »
Group A: A Group Of Styles
Group A appears to be Brazil and everyone else, but the other three have a diverse range of styles. Croatia’s midfield is the most creative, Cameroon’s the best at pressing. Mexico’s midfield relies most on possession, and Brazil has a little bit of everything depending on who plays Read more »
The 2014 World Cup: A Tournament Of Transition
The best attacker in this 2014 World Cup will be a country’s press. Of course, games are won by brilliant moments from individual players. Genius does still exist. But the modern game is less Steve Jobs than it is Wikipedia. Read more »