FIFA World Cup Playoffs: Croatia and Romania take bold decisions

Niko Kranjcar of Croatia in action during the FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifying Group A match between Scotland and Croatia at Hampden Park on October 15, 2013

With the stakes so high ahead of the World Cup play-offs in a few weeks time, Romania and Croatia have called up unheralded players to tackle the two-legged matches against Greece and Iceland respectively. Romanian coach Victor Piturca had hinted his team would play with no fear against Greece while he himself has shown enough guts not to include the country’s all time leading scorer Adrian Mutu who is still to find the net for French side Ajaccio this season.

While ignoring former Chelsea forward Mutu in his list of foreign based players is understandable given the player’s current form, dropping Manchester City’s Costel Pantilimon from the overseas players’ roster defies logic as the giant keeper looked confident and organised in City’s midweek League Cup victory over Newcastle United. In fact, Pantilimon was so impressive at St.James’ Park on Wednesday that Manuel Pellegrini has hinted the Romanian could take Joe Hart‘s place over the weekend in the Barclays Premier League.

36-year old Bogdan Lobont is Piturca’s preferred choice for the first leg clash against Greece at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Athens although the AS Roma keeper is yet to play a game for the Serie A leaders this season. Strikers Razvan Cocis and Marius Niculae, who play for modest Ukrainian club Hoverla Uzhgorod, have been called up for the national side after a long time.

Meanwhile new Croatia coach Niko Kovac has wielded his influence already in the Croatian camp in their preparations for November’s two-legged play-off against Iceland by recalling striker Leon Benko and naming uncapped midfielder Mate Males in his 25-man squad. Croatia, who impressed so much at the 1998 World Cup finals in France, have been far from spectacular since then, although the small Balkan nation maintained a respectable pedigree in major tournaments particularly under Slaven Bilic who made way for Igor Stimac at the start of the qualifying campaign. But a disastrous end, in which the Croats lost twice to Scotland and Belgium, saw the 42-year old Kovac handed over the reins not only for the play-off games but for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign whatever may be the result against Iceland.

“The players looked like a disjointed group of individuals and not much of a team when I took over, but the lads are now very positive about our chances and we are convinced we will do what it takes to get the job done,” the former international midfielder told Croatian media on Friday.

“As far as the new arrivals are concerned, Males earned his call-up with impressive form for his club and so did his Rijeka team mate Benko.

“I was a defensive midfielder like Males and I know very well what traits are needed to perform well in that position.”

Croatia were delighted when drawn against Iceland but Niko Kovac should warn his boys that if they could slip up against Scotland home and away the Scandinavians could also prove to be slippery particularly when the team are managed by a seasoned campaigner in the form of Lars Lagerback and the first leg will be played at icy Reykjavik on November 15 with the return leg in Zagreb on November 19.