Croatia’s 7-0 defeat shows why it’s a young man’s game
Croatia has been a “for the culture” football team since the 2018 World Cup. The side was impeccable in that tournament, reaching a final and hanging on for dear life, before succumbing to Les Bleus quality.
Four years passed, and Croatia only reached the semifinals. “Only” is not the way to put it though, considering a semifinal is an incredible achievement. However, the pattern was impossible to miss, especially when we get to the 2026 World Cup.
Are you a football writer looking for a platform that will push you and help you grow? You can become a writer for The Ddraft. We know how hard it is for you to get your writer career off the ground. We’re here for you. Send an email to theddraftofficial@gmail.com
In the 2026 World Cup, Croatia didn’t even make it to the Round of 16, and that’s not surprising for many reasons. One of which is that the core of that team can no longer compete at the physical level required.
Key positions are at retirement age
Key Croatia players in the squad have gotten on in years, and if the game allowed you to get away with not running, their technical ability may have covered for them. However, football is brutal.
Mateo Kovacic
Kovacic has two problems. One, he is not a holding midfielder, he needs a sitter to play alongside him in midfield. This is how he has always been used at Chelsea, and this has always been true even when he was younger.
For Croatia, this problem becomes worse because he’s now in his 30s. At 32, a central midfield role is asking a lot, especially if there’s no one beside him to do the running.
Ivan Perisic
Perisic has been a backbone in the Croatia squad throughout his career, and rightly so. However, he’s now much closer to 40 than he is to 33.
Perisic, 37, not only played against England in the recent 7-0 flogging, he played in a role that was not designed for old players: full back. That scoreline was always coming.
Perisic has given everything to football, and his country, but he simply should no longer be a key player for the national team.
Luka Modric
I intentionally saved the best for last. Like Cristiano Ronaldo, Modric is 41. He played as a central midfielder and has done so throughout his career.
This is not the role for a 40+ year old, as it’s a young man’s game. I’m aware of how difficult it is to replace someone of his stature, and quality, but Croatia cannot afford to continue deploying these players to match up against players who’d run rings around them.
Marcelo Brozovic, 33, would likely have been called if he hadn’t been injured.
When you compare England with Croatia, you can see why the scoreline was always going to be this bad… or worse.
It’s time to pass it on
- Manchester City 2-4 PSG: 3 lessons both managers can takeaway
- Roma 3-4 Real Madrid: How Arda Guler stole the show from the bench
- The Big 6 Review: Is Carrick closer to the exit than De Zerbi?
- Man Utd vs Spurs: Bruno Fernandes stinker paints the perfect picture
- Croatia vs Spain: Why La Roja has maintained a perfect record
Even if Croatia doesn’t have ready replacements for these players yet, they should still move on from them. Modric especially should make it easy for his country and retire. If he doesn’t, he risks playing until he becomes a hindrance to the team’s progress.
Croatians love these players, and no matter what happens, will always support them, but football is a young man’s game. At some point, technical ability doesn’t solve the problem…you have to run.