Croatia might have emerged out as winners in one of their Euro qualifiers against Malta the other day, but, their performance on the pitch was definitely not as good as it should have been.
The moments of individual brilliances and also the fact the opposition was a player short for about 60 minutes saw the visitors through somehow but, Niko Kovac, the Croatia boss, must know that it was a match that could have been won by a huge margin by his team.
The World Cup in Brazil was absolutely devastating for Croatia. They were supposed to be one of the two teams from their group i.e. Group A to clear the first round, but, they couldn’t do so. They were at no. 3 in the group table with only 3 points when the round finished.
The Croatian public is still hurting by the failure of the team to make the pre quarters in Brazil. They are gutted and are not quite backing the team the same way as they were doing a few months back.
The only way the Croatian players can win their fans back now is by showing some grit in the Euro qualifications.
A huge win over Malta that day could have got most of the fans going again, but, a scratchy outing against a very weak opposition, that would not have encouraged the fans that much, that’s for sure.
It’s Luka Modric who was responsible for getting Croatia’s account opened against Malta. He looked a determined man after the break and made a difference in the first minute of the second half as from a distance of well over 30 yards, he blasted in a shot which the opposition goalkeeper had no chance of stopping.
Andrej Kramaric later on made it 2-0 for Croatia, but, the hero of the match was certainly Modric.