Croatia have learned their lessons from a disappointing World Cup campaign in 2014, and look on course to qualify for the 2016 European Championships in emphatic fashion. The Blazers are top of Group H in the qualifiers, and are still unbeaten after seven games. Boasting the best defensive record from the rest of the sides in the table, Croatia under manager Niko Kovac could well surprise many sides should they book their place in next year’s European Championships.
Croatia have lost just one game in the last 12 months, and it was a friendly against World Cup runners-up Argentina away from home. The European outfit have been consistent as they come in competitive fixtures, and haven’t conceded more than one goal in such games since June 2014. Their failed World Cup campaign certainly woke the side up, and Croatia look a real focused side destined to overachieve next year.
Kovac seems to have the side balanced perfectly, with the experienced heads in the defence, midfield and attack supplemented with some of the most promising young talent in the country. There’s the individual brilliance littered through the side in the form of midfielders Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), and strikers such as Andrej Kramaric (Leicester City) and Mario Mandzukic (Juventus).
The European side have always had substance to go toe-to-toe with the best football nations in the world in the past, and this year it’s no different, with Kovac’s men having matched the likes of Italy in both home and away meetings in Group H – taking two points from the two games. Their 12-month unbeaten run in competitive fixtures is showing any signs of being ended at present, and they could go into next year’s finals with real momentum to threaten a deep run.
Croatia are overdue a good performance in the European Championships, with the side having fallen short in the group stages of the last tournaments in 2012. But in Kovac, they have a manager who has lost just three games from 18 in charge, and has the side at it s strongest on paper as well as performances. Their somewhat rise to prominence under the latest head coach has come as a surprise given how poor they were when they took over, but the glory years of deep international tournament runs could be back based on their current showings.
How far can Croatia go in the 2016 European Championships should they qualify for the tournament?
