Euro 2012 Team Analysis – Croatia

Our analysis of the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine edges past the halfway stage as we take a look at Group C. Up first under the microscope, then, are Croatia:

Slaven Bilic’s side get their campaign underway with a showdown against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday June 10 at 7.45pm. After that, their schedule stiffens significantly as Croatia square up to Italy four days later, at 5pm on Thursday June 14, before they face the defending champions, Spain, on Monday June 18 at 7.45pm.

Group C has two clear favourites for the knock-out stages. Spain won their five-team group by 11 points and were one of only two teams to win all their games in qualifying. Italy also topped their group, winning eight and drawing two in a campaign that saw them ship a mere two goals. The Republic of Ireland are, like Croatia, underdogs – Giovanni Trapattoni’s side arrive via a play-off win over Estonia, after finishing second to Russia.

The Road to Qualification

Croatia were pipped to top spot by Greece in qualifying, after suffering two losses – away to Georgia and Greece – over ten matches. Bilic’s side won seven of their group games and, including their aggregate 3-0 play-off win over Turkey, scored two or more goals on eight of 12 occasions, finding the net 21 times overall. At the back, they shipped seven goals over those matches, picking up six clean sheets and conceding more than a single goal on just one occasion.

Most Appearances: Corluka & Eduardo (11), Srna, Modric & Mandzukic (10), Simunic & Jelavic (9)

Top Goalscorers: Krancjar (4), Eduardo & Mandzukic (3)

Top Assists: Srna (6)

The Likely Lads

Priced at just 6.0 and classified as a midfielder in the McDonalds game, Mario Mandzukic offers Fantasy managers a strong out of position prospect. The Wolfsburg man is a nailed-on starter up front and arrives on the back of an outstanding season in the Bundesliga, where he scored 12 times and provided eight assists in 32 appearances, helping his club to an eighth place finish. While games against Spain and Italy may see him suffer, the opener against the Republic of Ireland certainly looks prosperous. With a mere 1.1% ownership, he’s a huge differential coming into the tournament, though with friendlies against Estonia and Norway to follow, he still has plenty time to impress any would-be suitors.

Coming in at 7.0, Darijo Srna is likely to play on the right wing in a 4-4-2. The Shakhtar Donetsk man played 10 of his side’s qualifiers and, with set-pieces pretty much in the bag, was Croatia’s chief creative presence, providing six assists. Srna is also odds-on to take spot-kicks and, while he only bagged one goal in qualifying, his long-range shooting is always likely to trouble opposition keepers. Currently with an ownership of 7.6%, he could be one for those Fantasy managers looking for an alternative to Mandzukic.

Cheeky Punt

Luka Modric is used to playing second fiddle in our Fantasy thinking. At Spurs, Gareth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart offer better attacking options and, once again, his appeal is significantly lessened by a couple of midfield team mates. Mandzukic’s out of position prospects and Srna’s domination of set-pieces and penalties means Modric – the priciest of the trio at 7.5 – is a less than enticing prospect but there’s no doubting his class and potential to deliver; at present, he’s the second most popular Croatia player in the McDonalds game, with 21.6% ownership.

At the time of writing, it seems opinion is split on who will partner Mandzukic up front. Nikica Jelavic and Ivica Olic are the two main contenders, with the former offering far more appeal at a measly 5.0 in the McDonalds game in comparison to Olic’s 7.5. Clearly, Jelavic’s remarkable scoring antics for Everton since joining in January have plenty Fantasy managers on alert –over 31% have drafted him into their sides on the back of his nine goals in 10 starts for the Toffees. While uncertainty remains, however, both can only be classified as punts but hopefully this evening’s friendly with Estonia should go some way to clarifying the situation – if Jelavic can nail a place in Bilic’s starting XI, his ownership will surely rise further.

Ivan Strinic offers a cut-price route into the Croatian backline. Costing just 4.0, the left-back played eight times in qualifying and looks likely to get the nod over Danijel Pranjic in Bilic’s starting XI and is renowned for his strong delivery from the flank. A decent squad player for Fantasy managers, playing on the third day of each round means he’s easy to sub out if Croatia fail to deliver at the back and so far has been a popular pick, with more than 19% of Fantasy managers snapping up his services.

Further Analysis

Group A Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Russia
Group B Denmark, Gemany, Holland, Portugal