Kroates

@Molon Lave Hahaha, well done, great choice! :) Regarding athletics, I admire Konstantinos Kenteris.

In Dalmatia (southern Croatia) we usually applaud while paying a respect to someone who passed away. It is how's it's done in the south of Italy as well. Perhaps the two versions of paying respect got mixed and it turned out to be quite strange and ugly. The other possibility is there were some douchebags who were just very disrespectful.

I also get irritated when people do it, that's not supporting your team, but unfortunately in Croatia it is quite common when it comes to football games. Since the first game was in Zagreb, I expected it might happen in Athens as well. No hard feelings.

Yup :)

I believe we can all agree the better team advanced to the World Cup. Don't get me wrong, I'm not rubbing it to your nose, it's just how it is at the moment - Croatia's a better them. However, had you played this way in Zagreb (more aggressive, no silly mistakes), it would have been a tight one. Your team definitely has future. I liked both Gianniotas and Pelkas and I'm definitely happy they were not in the game sooner. :) I'm seeing a lot of pessimistic predictions regarding the future of Greek football. It's normal to be in that kind of mood after an unsuccessful campaign, but I'm quite sure after a couple of days you will realize this team has potential. Someone said he is sure Greece will qualify for EURO 2020. I agree. I will definitely have my eye on the development of your team. I didn't like seeing a couple of Serbian flags at Karaiskakis today - I respect historical relations of your two nations, but these were there for other reason today. ;) I'm sorry we booed each other's national anthems. Don't take booing in Zagreb personally, we do it to almost everyone :P Anyhow, Croats have huge respect for Greek people and Greek history culture, we find your mentality similar to ours, and it's a shame both of us couldn't qualify. I personally will certainly miss Greece in the World Cup. I hope our next duel is on EURO 2020 quarter-final/semi-final/final. Talk to you soon. Pame Ellada, pame Kroatia! :)

Our coach said he will make the team behave as if the first game ended 0:0. He wants to attack. Of course, we have to add up the psychology here (players can try to pretend it ended 0:0, but they will know it did not), but Croatia will not be parking a bus. Mandzukic will be a starter this time, instead of Kalinic. Your chance is scoring early, in first 15 min. Or at least at the beginning of the 2nd half if it's 0:0 at HT. After all, we do have "balkan mentality" and an early goal would definitely make a certain mess in our plans. Anyhow, I see this ending in a draw.

@Argy I believe the guy's Bosnian, and the group you won over Croatia was for EURO 2012, not WC 2010 ;) Anyhow, I'm very disappointed with the Greek team. When Sokratis scored, I was sure it will get quite tight and I was really scared it might easily turn into a drama, 2:2 or something, but most of your players under-performed. On the other hand, most of our players did quite a good job. I believe now you can see the work of the new coach and the way he refreshed the whole atmosphere around the team. It's always "Never say never" in football, but I think this one is 99% over. I can only see this result being compromised by an early Greek goal in Athens. If not...

Greece definitely under performing. Croatia's playing its best match since the EURO. When one sees Kalinic's performance, Mandzukic absence came as a blessing. Greece scoring the 2nd goal and match ending 3:2 is the only way I see you guys qualifying.

@tantra129 That's what I said, we are just a group of individuals. Our individuals are better than Greek ones, but you function better as a team. Mandzukic is out, Kalinic in.

@Rockafeller Skank Our team spirit had its better moments (to put it that way), but compared to last 12-15 months, it is much better. But it is a fact Greek team has better chemistry. I agree with what you said regarding the line-up; I also believe both teams will score tonight.

Croatian line-up (most probably): Subasic - Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic - Rakitic, Brozovic - Perisic, Modric, Mandzukic - Kramaric. However, Mandzukic is still under question.

@tantra129 If we take "individual+individual+individual", Croatia is a better team. However, no doubt Greece has better teamwork. If you ask me, chances are 51/49 in favor of Croatia. I believe this playoff will be decided by one goal. My prediction for tonight's game is Croatia winning 2:1.

@Rockafeller Skank You keep insisting our team spirit is bad. Yes, it was, as it is always with teams who lose trust in their coach. It has nothing to do with patriotism. The only player I can agree with you about being a mere professional who is in the national team just cause he is supposed to be is Rakitic. Others are there for patriotic reasons. I understand your morale is being boosted by believing the other side is underestimating you, but generally speaking (with the exception of Rebic and our 1998 coach), it is simply not true.

@Ellada 24 The only one to blame for the defeat vs. Portugal is the former coach. Late reactions. He was not bad with preparing the game, but during the match he would get completely lost and would almost never react on time. @Rockafeller Shank The new coach definitely made an impact, and it was a psychological one more than tactical. Yes, we're a better team than Ukraine, but we are also a better team than Turkey (against whom we lost a month earlier) and Finland (against whom we played 1:1 in a home match). I suppose your coach is superior than ours in tactical sense, but as I said, before anything else, Croatian team needed a mental boost. Regarding „self sacrificing“… You've got the wrong info ;) @Brklyngrk He (Rebic) is one of the two potential surprises for the Thursday match.

The problem with Rakitic was that the former coach used to make him play in a position that he doesn't usually play in at Barcelona. Also, his motivation to play for the NT is questionable. T The system played by the former coach (Cacic) was hilarious, almost no player was in his natural position, so Mandzukic was very often cut-off, and as a result we scored only through set pieces and opposition team's mistakes. Also, this guy (Cacic) was a symbol of the corruption in Croatian football, because he didn't deserve to be coaching the NT because of his past honors (his coaching history is even below average), but because he was a servant for the big guys in the FA. The atmosphere around the team was depressive. With the new coach (Dalic), the situation has changed. At least for now; he seems to be (more) independent, and as a result, the stadium in Zagreb will most probably be packed tomorrow. Last time it happened in March 2013 vs. Serbia. To get the idea of how Croatia will look like, focus on the last game (vs. Ukraine in Kiev). There are two new players on the roster who might come in as a surprise. Btw, Greek journalist Panagiotis Dalatariof said today for Croatian press that Skibbe would be happiest if both games could end 0:0, and then Greece wins on penalties. :)

Brklyngrk - efharisto poly! As Boxou mentioned, Badelj is definitely out, but seems Mandzukic (Juventus) as well. If so, he will probably be substituted with Kalinic (AC Milan).

Hi everyone! As you can realize from my name, I'm a Croat, and I've joined this forum to discuss the upcoming games with you guys - it's always fun and interesting to see how the other side sees the things. :) Before anything else, I'd like to point out Greece is not being underestimated - neither by Croatian press or Croatian supporters. It's true there are 2 coaches who said something like "We will go through, no doubt about it" (someone mentioned this on the first pages of this topic), but these two are old, currently unemployed coaches who are just seeking for some extra attention. Before the draw, when people were asked about what team would they want Croatia to play against in the Playoffs, answer one would get most often was: "Anyone, just not Greece." So, your team has all the respect here. I don't know if you're aware of this, but the atmosphere around Croatian football team is quite bad. Our FA is corrupted, the championship is irregular, some leading persons are dealing with very serious accusations (some already at the court) etc. Fans want them to leave so hard, the team was sabotaged many times (crowd trouble during Italy-Croatia game; swastika drawn during Croatia-Italy game; flares thrown during EURO2016 game vs. Czech Republic). The players are being quiet about it, pretending everything is ok, which annoys the fans, and many have turned their back on the team, refusing to support it. So, our situation is far from good. Also, the weather forecast for Thursday is quite bad. Having in mind Zagreb stadium is a complete mess (in every aspect), and the fact your team will probably be focusing on defense, these conditions might be suiting you.