The Croatian national team, under manager Slaven Bilić in his second stint on the bench, is recording extremely poor defensive statistics in Nations League League A. According to data from Slobodna Dalmacija, the Croatian defence has conceded 14 goals, which is the second-worst performance in the entire competition. Only San Marino has conceded more, 16 goals, while the next worst are the Turks with 11 goals against.
Within the Croatian group, Croatia itself has conceded the most goals. The Czechs have conceded 10 goals, the Norwegians and Serbs eight each, and the Danes seven. Particularly worrying is the fact that Croatia has never before conceded seven goals in a single match, which happened against England at Rujevica, where the English won 7:0. That match was played without spectators, except for children in the stands, and after the first 45 minutes the scoreboard read 4:0.
Defensive problems began at the opening against the Czech Republic, where Croatia won 2:1 but conceded one goal. The centre-back pairing at the time was Luka Vušković and Joško Gvardiol, who at Manchester City more often plays as a full-back than a centre-back. For the first match against Spain, Bilić placed Gvardiol at full-back, while Marin Pongračić and Josip Šutalo started at centre-back. Pongračić was substituted at half-time, and Vušković came on. Spain won that match 4:1.
Defeats followed against Spain, England and Spain again. In the first match against Spain, the Spaniards scored four goals, and in the second, two. At Poljud, Croatia took the lead in the 17th minute through Ivan Perišić, but Mikel Merino came off the bench and scored two goals. Against England in Rijeka, Vušković and Gvardiol played as centre-backs, while for the final match against Spain in the heart of the defence, Šutalo and Vušković started, with Gvardiol returned to full-back.
Šutalo was injured at Gattuso’s Lazio, and neither Pongračić nor Martin Erlić is in the squad. It is most likely that Duje Ćaleta-Car will stand alongside Vušković, while it is almost certain that he will not immediately send the late-called Nika Galešić from Dinamo into the fire. Vušković is performing wonders with Brighton in the world’s strongest league. The midfield consists of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić and whoever will be the third (Petar Sučić, Mario Pašalić or Nikola Vlašić).
A more defensive game setup is expected, in which Petar Sučić will be seen on the right wing before Marco Pašalić. On the left, Martin Baturina can be expected, who is in great form at Italian club Como. Croatia’s primary goal in the match against England is to keep the defence under control, i.e. not to capitulate in the first half hour.
