BRAZIL
CROATIA
MEXICO
CAMEROON
GROUP A
POSSIBLE STARTING XI
STIPE PLETIKOSA
Goalkeeper
He is the second most
capped player in the
history of Croatian
team known for his
cat-like reflexes.
DARIJO SRNA
Midfield
He is the captain of
the team, emotional
leader, and their
acknowledged heart
and soul.
LUKA MODRIC
Midfield
Truly, this diminutive
player is the man who
makes the team tick
as the anchor of the
midfield.
NICO KRANJCAR
Midfield
He will most likely play
ahead of Modric on
the field, but will
combine to help set
up the talents up front.
THE KEY PLAYER: Luka Modric, a skillfull player who will look to pose an attacking threat through many outlets
CROATIA
FIXTURES
June 12, Sao Paolo
Versus Brazil
June 18, Manaus
Versus Cameroon
June 23, Recife
Versus Mexico
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Beat Iceland in Uefa playoff
WORLD CUP RECORD
1988 Third place
APPEARANCES
4 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014)
FIFA WORLD RANKING
20th (May 2014)
Despite their absence from the 2010 finals, Croatia
are a match for anyone on their day. Their goal is
to recapture the glory days of the late 90’s golden
generation.
They were, however, one of the most disappointing teams
during World Cup qualification in terms of the talent they
have at their disposal when compared to the results that they
were generating. They finished second in their qualifying
group, matching a result away at Belgium where they drew
1-1 with an equally disappointing loss at home to Scotland.
Nonetheless, Croatia gained a playoff spot where they
went on to beat European minnows Iceland 2-0 on aggregate.
They are well balanced teams with several top-class
talents within their ranks. The midfield trio of Modric, Rakitic
and Kovacic are especially tough to handle. Up front Mario
Mandzukic is a proven goalscorer and phenomenally hard
worker.
They are flexible, too, and Kovac is not afraid to send
this team out in a variety of different systems. However,
despite the obvious quality the Croatians can call upon, they
have developed a frustrating inability to get results against
lesser opponents. Because of this, it makes it very hard to
predict how they will get on in Brazil. On paper, this team is a
potential dark-horse, but going off current form, Croatia will
do well to get out of the group stage.
MARIO MANDZUKIC
M