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And U21 doing great as well, looks like the Croatia game will be taken easy by both sides ...

Last edited by Dartreb at 10/29/2024 7:53:49 AM

Congratulations on passing the group. We gambled with the first match and it turned out as we expected. Now we must not screw up against Ireland and finally after 22 seasons we pass the group.

Not going to lie here.

Considering that last season we took the 20y olds and kinda sacrificed that generation since we couldn't get HCA, i got to say that i was expecting to qualify first in the group.

Congratulations to Croatia tho. They played it very very well! You analysed the strength of the opposing team, checked each calender and took a gamble. However, i do feel you are a bitt harsh for Slovenia Joe! If you look at their schedule, the only thing they could have potentially done differently is play normal in the first game. But if his goal is to be first of the group, it's a logical TIE cause Belgium was horrendously strong in this pool. Futhermore, going normal in your first game against Croatia would have meant you had to go normal in the second game, with a lesser enthusiasm against Eesti (the other nation that would be looking to beat you). So i understand where you are coming from, but i don't feel that Slovenia made a mistake. It's more due to the brilliance and tactical forsight of the Croatian U21 coach! Futhermore, Slovenia gave our team a really good game. I could understand the dissapointment, but their schedule really wasn't in their favor.

And here is where i'm going to place expectations on Guiguits. I'm expecting him to go 4-2 or better in second part of the season, regardless who we face. If you've highlighted this generation and done everything to get them into a really strong position, then i think it's fair to expect you to go 4-2 (i'm allowing for 2 mistakes ;) I have high expectations. A Semi final qualification is what i'm expecting!

4 seasons ago nobody was stronger than us

100% agreed

GioDeb

Smooth sailing so far ! Good luck for the topper next week !

On closer inspection, i have the feeling we threw this game on purpose.

Having a C (with 0 weeks of PG training) playing as a PG is weird at best. Playing a 2-3 against a nation that has played 1 inside game, 2 neutrals and 3 outside tactics is weird as hell, especially if you take into consideration that they had to win to stay infront of Slovenia.

Futhermore, if you look into Croatia's GS, their bigs aren't in that great of a shape. Our bigs should very simply straight up hammer them.

The same Enthusiasm makes me think there was a TIE deal in place (i'm not a fan of those, but they are part of the scenery in the U21/NT).

But if you add all of this up, i cannot say other than it looked like a deliberate loss.

You could argue that being second was better since you'd dodge Spain and France (who you've mentioned has a better team). Futhermore, the silence regarding this game makes it all the more bizar.

i'm starting to understand why Joe was so harsh for Slovenia, since it feels like this plan was already cooked up. On the Croatian forum, even their U21 coach is discussing how they cannot understand the 2-3 zone. (320337.118)

I'm sorry but if you discuss how things can be arranged between a NT staff member for the french team and that same person being the NT coach of Marocco being unethical, i'd equally classify throwing an U21 game as equally unethical.

I'll end this message with the following: Congratulations on making the 2nd stage. Considering that you are in the weaker pool, my expectations have gone up to making it to the finals. i'm expecting a 5-1 now.