It appears far from this period when Croatia joined the final of the 2018 World Cup against the France team by beating England after extra time.
On Wednesday March 24, on the eve of the 2022 World Cup, Luka Modric's teammates lost 1-0 against a modest team from Slovenia in the first qualifying match for the next edition in Qatar.
A match summed up in one sentence by coach Zlatko Dalic: "We were just completely helpless".
A failure which has no consequences because there is still a long way to go.
Croatia is in a group well within its reach, accompanied by Malta, Cyprus and Russia but the chain of poor results raise some questions.
This formation remains on 5 matches without victories in all competitions (4 defeats, 1 draw).
➡️Next stop: Cyprus in Rijeka # WCQ # Vatrenipic.twitter.com / rzo7EGPwPC
- HNS (@HNS_CFF) March 26, 2021
At the start of this meeting against Slovenia, the coach lined up a rather aging starting XI with an average age of 29 years.
A generation that is essentially around midfielder Luka Modric.
At 35, the Real Madrid player is still the key element in the Croatian midfield for the next world matches, the Euro this summer and the World Cup next year.
He should celebrate his 135th selection in the next match against Cyprus tonight (6 p.m.), simply a record by beating Dario Srna.
Modric will become the most capped player in the Croatian squad
If the Croatian press hailed his last good performance of the winner of the Ballon d'Or 2018, the team is sorely lacking in youth and renewal.
Only four players in the selection are under 25.
It must be said that the same faces of the 2018 World Cup make up this workforce: the central hinge Lovren / Vida, a midfielder occupied by Brozovic and Kovacic or an offensive animation composed of Perisic and Kramaric.
Croatia is lacking in novelty and the results have not been going in the right direction for a few months.
The winter was tough for the formation of Zlatko Dalic who lost against Portugal (2-3), Sweden (2-1) and the French team (1-2) in the framework of the Nations League. .
If a qualification for the next World Cup is not endangered, the last finalist of the competition will have to find resources to renew himself, in his game and in the workforce.
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