Croatia National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

June 15, 2021

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Croatia - Euro 2021. Lineup. Learn about form of the Croatia team, lineup, stats and much more.

Croatia National Team EURO 2021 – All Important Information

After making an incredible result at the 2018 World Cup when they finished as a runner-up, the Croatia National Team are heading into this major tournament with the ambition to make the kind of run. They are more than ready to face the England National Team in the opening EURO 2021 match at Wembley Stadium in London.

When it comes to their history at EURO Championships, since 1996, Croatia haven’t made it beyond the quarter-final stage. Although they managed to beat Spain at EURO 2021, they lost to Portugal. During their qualification campaign for the EURO, Croatia was solid, having topped Wales, Slovakia, and Hungary in Group E.

Despite their amazing result in 2018, Croatians are no longer the big threat they once were. The big question is whether they’ll be strong enough to bring the energy from the 2018 World Cup into the EURO 2021? What can we expect from this talented squad?

Let’s see all the important information about the possible lineup, football manager of the team, the full squad, tactics, form, etc.

Football Manager of the Croatia National Team

Zlatko Dalic is the former football player and the manager of the Croatia National Team. During his playing career, he played for various clubs, such as: Hajduk Split, Dinamo Vinkovci, Varteks, where he finished his career as a player in 2000.

After ending his playing career Zlatko Dalic became an assistant coach at Varteks. Before becoming a manager of the Croatia National Team in 2017, Zlatko managed Varteks, Rijeka, Dinamo Tirana, Slaven Belupo, Al-Faisaly, Al-Hilal, Al-Hilal B, Al Ain football clubs.

Although his coaching career prior to the managing job for the Croatia National Team was considered modest, he proved the whole world his fantastic skills as a football manager. He managed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and led his team to the grand final where they finished as runner-ups.

Despite that major success at the World Cup three years ago, Zlatko Dalic is aware that the same ambitions and expectations might be unrealistic. Nevertheless, their biggest goal is to reach the knockout stages and give their best to defeat England and Scotland.

Croatia Possible Lineup for the European Championship

The possible lineup of the Croatia National Team could look like this: Livakovic will be at the goal, Vida, Lovren, Barisic, and Juranovic could be the full-backs of the team. In the midfield we are expecting to see Modric, Kovacic, Perisic, and Brozovic while in the front line we could see Kramaric and Brekalo.

The Key Player of the Croatia National Team

One of the most important players of the Croatia squad is, without any doubt, Luka Modric. His current position is midfielder for Real Madrid and the Croatia National Team. Modirc is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and the best football player of Croatia of all/time.

He was the key player of the squad at the 2018 World Cup, here he showed his great ability to dominate games and drive his side above their limitations, with the support of Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Rakitic. Despite being 35-years-old, Luka Modric is definitely the best midfielder of Real Madrid and his national team.

Besides Modric, the other key players of the squad are Ivan Perisic, the most advanced forward of the team and Inter Milan midfielder and Dejan Lovren, who is the self-proclaimed best defender in the world (2018). Lovren is currently playing for Zenit St. Petersburg, which made it to the top of the Russian Premier League with his help.

The Full Squad of the Croatia National Team

Goalkeepers: Lovre Kalinić (Hajduk Split), Simon Sluga (Luton), Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb),

Defenders: Domagoj Bradarić (LOSC Lille), Domagoj Vida (Beşiktaş), Borna Barišić (Rangers), Josip Juranović (Legia Warszawa), Duje Ćaleta-Car (Marseille), Joško Gvardiol (Leipzig), Dejan Lovren (Zenit), Mile Škorić (Osijek), Šime Vrsaljko (Atlético Madrid)

Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Marcelo Brozović (Inter Milan), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Milan Badelj (Genoa), Luka Ivanušec (Dinamo Zagreb), Nikola Vlašić (CSKA Moskva), Ivan Perišić (Inter Milan), Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb),

Forwards: Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb), Ante Rebić (AC Milan)

Tactics & Form of the Croatia National Team for the EURO 2021

At the 2018 World Cup, Dalic used a 4-1-4-1 system which relied on the 3 Croatian central midfielders such as Modric, Rakitic, and Brozovic who were responsible for controlling the tempo of the game. That was also a good tactic because they were protecting against counter-attacks.

Although Zlatko Dalic has experimented with numerous different formations, we are expecting to, once again, see the 4-1-4-1 tactics or perhaps a 4-2-3-1 variant. Whatever Dalic chooses of these two variants, he won’t be wrong.

Their form during the 2021 EURO qualification games was very good. They finished top of their group, losing only 1 match against Hungary.