Euro 2020: Croatia yet to snap out of poor pre-tournament form after lifeless performance against England
Croatian football has come a long way and in recent years, the country has produced some of the very best players in the world.
Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic are some Croatian players who have performed impressively across Europe and have all won the UEFA Champions League as well.
The successes of these players, though, are yet to translate to the national team. Croatia reached the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in a spectacular campaign, where they lost to France, but their form has been dwindling ever since.
As they faced England in their opening game at Euro 2020, it was more of a disappointment than the progress that many had expected.
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Croatia never kicked into gear against England
Zlatko Dalic’s side was largely uncompetitive and allowed England to completely dominate the game. The Blazers, in fact, never quite managed to kick into gear.
They made a slow start to the game and couldn’t up the ante even as the match progressed. Croatia’s best spell came towards the end of the first half, where they managed to hold on to the ball for a sustained period.
Still, they rarely threatened the England defense. Despite boasting a superior midfield on paper – Modric, Kovacic and Brozovic – Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice had the better of them.
Modric was forced to drop deeper and deeper, while Kovacic and Brozovic were completely missing in the game. In attack, Perisic, Ante Rebic and Andrej Kramaric had very little impact, as they rarely got any service from the midfielders.
It was a totally lifeless and listless performance from Croatia, culminating in a forgettable match against a well-motivated England team.
Croatia haven't been the same team since the 2018 World Cup
Dalic and his side have been struggling since their impressive outing at the last World Cup and are yet to snap out of their underperforming phase.
Croatia, surprisingly, have won just two of their last nine matches in all competitions before Sunday’s game against the Three Lions.
The Blazers were expected to improve before the European Championship finals, but it appears they’ve carried their poor form into the tournament.
“It was hard to face this pressure. We managed to take control of the game but it was not sufficient, especially in attack,” Dalic said after the defeat to England, as quoted by The Guardian.
“We conceded a goal after a mistake and that makes me angry. That is not how we should play in defence.”
Indeed, Croatia were very sloppy and they could be going home early if they don’t immediately snap out of their poor form.
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