It will be Coach Slaven Bilic’s last tournament in charge of Croatia, so Luka Modric and co will be hoping for a good tournament to send Bilic off in style. It will be a tough proposition to get out of a group including World Champions Spain and the talented Italy side but the Croatians have enough talent to cause an upset.
Croatia qualified via the play off’s for Euro 2012, they beat Turkey 3-0 on aggregate. They were favourites to qualify automatically but Greece remained unbeaten in the group so the Croat’s had to settle for a play off position. They beat Turkey impressively, 3-0 in front of a hostile Turkish crowd. That sort of crowd pressure will leave them in good stead for this tournament.
Star Player
Luka Modric is without doubt Croatia star man. The Tottenham midfielder makes Bilic’s side tick. He has been an ever present since Bilic appointment and a good performance in this year’s tournament could get him a big money move this summer.
The player to watch out for is Nikica Jelavic, he has a modest international record but after scoring 11 goals in 16 games for Everton after signing in January he will be looking to add to his two international goals. He isn’t normally a regular starter but Jelavic could get the chance to prove his worth at international level.
Captain
The Croatian captain is Darijo Srna, he is an experienced wing back who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk. Srna is one of the most talented players in the Croatian team and although he hasn’t scored for the national side since 2010, he regulary finds the net at international tournaments. He scored for Croatia at both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008 and will hope to add to his tally here.
Manager
Slaven Bilic will be joining Lokomotiv Moscow after the Euro’s so will be aiming to finish his spell as national coach on a high. He has been one of the most influential managers in Croatian history, bringing through several young players who are now world class stars. He reached the quarter finals in Euro 2008 and although he failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup he will be remembered as one of the best Croatian managers in recent decades.
Croatia provisional squad (to be cut to 23 Man Squad at later date)
Goalkeeper: Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Ivan Kelava (Dinamo Zagreb), Goran Blazevic (Hajduk Split)
Defender: Vedran Corluka (Tottenham), Josip Simunic (Dinamo Zagreb), Gordon Schildenfeld (Eintracht Frankfurt), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Sime Vrsaljiko (Dinamo Zagreb), Domagoj Vida (Dinamo Zagreb), Danijel Pranjic (Bayern Munich), Dejan Lovren (Olympique Lyon), Jurica Buljat (Maccabi Haifa), Ivan Strinic (Dnipro)
Midfield: Luka Modric (Tottenham), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kiev), Tomislav Dujmovic (Dinamo Moscow), Ivan Perisic (Dortmund), Ivan Raktic (Sevilla), Niko Kranjcar (Tottenham), Milan Badelj (Dinamo Zagreb)
Striker: Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ivica Olic (Bayern Munich), Mario Mandzukic (Wolfsburg), Nikica Jelavic (Everton), Nikola Kalinic (Dnipro), Ivo LLicevic (Hamburg)
Croatia fixtures - Group C
10/06/12 - Republic of Ireland v Croatia – 19.45 KO
14/06/12 – Italy v Croatia – 17.00 KO
18/06/12 – Croatia v Spain – 19.45 KO
Prediction
If Croatia fail to win their first game against the Republic of Ireland then its tournament over but if they do win that fixture there is a chance they can get out of the group. The momentum of beating the Irish could see the Croat’s cause an upset and beat the Italian’s to 2nd place. It will be a tough task and Bilic’s side have the talent but I feel the Italy will just beat them to runner up in the group.
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