When the draw for the Euro 2012 group was announced, while the market was talking about the death of Group B, Group C, which was slightly inferior to Group B, was positioned as: "There is almost no suspense for Italy and Spain to advance, and Croatia and Ireland will be in the third round of the group." ”

Although Ireland's prospects of qualifying are not optimistic, Ireland coach Trapattoni is still confident.

Veteran coach Trapattoni said: "There are a lot of Irish fans who come to watch the national team and we can't live up to the expectations of these fans, they are all paying to come here to support the national team, we have to put in a good performance and we must not let everyone down. ”

With Spain and Italy in the background, Trapattoni believes Ireland will have to win their first game against Croatia if they are to qualify.

'Winning the first group game will be crucial, the Croatian players are really better than us, they have a lot of players playing in the Bundesliga and Croatia are ranked higher than us internationally, but that doesn't mean they can win for sure, I've played against a lot of big teams in the past and we've beaten them, we have a good team and if we play well I'm sure Ireland can qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Championships.'

Compared to the confidence of the Irish, the Croatians are a bit low-key, and it looks like they are coming to the European Championship to play soy sauce.

However, after the first match on the third match day of the European Championship, people were surprised to find that the Eastern European Plaid Army used their tenacity and perfect play to tell the world: we are not the soy sauce party.

The 1996 European Championship was the first time Croatians competed in a major tournament on their own, and the world will remember Suker and Boban for leading their teams to the knockout stages in their first appearance.

That's not enough!

In the 1998 World Cup in France, Croatia led by Blazevic rushed directly to the semifinals of the World Cup, and their classic matchup in the quarterfinals against the German team has been mentioned countless times in the past few years.

And if it weren't for Thuram's sudden frenzy in the semi-finals that year, they would likely reach the final in their first World Cup appearance, and the history of France's victory would have been rewritten.

In the last European Championship, Croatia's matchup with Turkey in the quarterfinals was also an epic swan song, and the Croatians were only one step away from qualifying for the semi-finals of the European Championship for the first time.

Looking at the just-concluded Croatian 3:1 Ireland battle, at the data level, the Croatians did not have an absolute advantage, but the Eastern Europeans who focused on efficiency still bloodlessly put down Ireland led by the gold medal coach Trapattoni, and then faced Italy and Spain, who can guarantee that the Danish-style upset will not be repeated.

Croatian coach Bilic, who brought the tenacity, passion and strength of his personal character to his players, while Trapattoni brought his poise and patience to Ireland, it was clear that Bilic had a greater impact on the Croatian team.

Eastern Europeans have always been strong, they are not afraid of strong enemies, will not compromise with the power, strong and stronger is their character, Croatians have always had the element of not admitting defeat in their blood, I believe that in the next face of Spain and Italy, the checkered army will not be captured.

In short, Croatia's chances of qualifying have increased dramatically with three points in hand, and they have never been a soy sauce party!

Croatia beat Ireland 3:1, took the lead in Group C to win a victory, and occupied the initiative to qualify, in this game, Croatian coach Bilic arranged right-back Jorluka as a central defender, so that captain Srna returned to the familiar fullback position, let the young player Rakitic who shined four years ago play on the wing, and Vukojevic in the middle position as a defensive midfielder, and the Croatian midfield position strengthened its control.

Trapattoni's start was nothing new, as he had announced a few days earlier, Ireland's Nos. 1 to 11 were all in place, and Trapattoni lost one move first in terms of the suddenness and unpredictability of the move.

In this game, Ireland's formation is still their usual 4411. Doyle Front, Robbie. Keane struck at the back, with the two wing-backs and full-backs working together to create a threat on the flanks.

Croatia's formation seems to be ordinary, but it is also different, their formation is more concentrated, more emphasis on possession, most of the midfielders are more forward, their formation is more like 4132, of which Vukojevic's position is very deep, he is very important to protect the defensive line, and the other three midfielders can devote themselves to the attack, the front court is up to Jelavic to attack the defense line to create gaps, as the second striker Mandzudzic has more opportunities, creating more threats.

Croatia's captain, Srna, has been a right-sided midfielder for the past few years, but he has clearly been better at right-back, and his position is too high to be good.

Taking advantage of the open space pulled up by the players up front, Srna's touches in the game were mostly undisturbed, and his advantage on the wing was on greater display, while Rakitic's many runs into the middle also gave Srna more space, and he could even play down with ease.

Croatia's most dangerous attack came from the right flank of Srna and Rakitic, who continued to attack and created plenty of chances.

Of course, Srna's crosses were not very accurate, but he put a lot of defensive pressure on the Irish team, which also reduced the pressure on the attacking players in other positions to a certain extent.

Strinic and Perisic on the left got more crosses, especially Perisic, whose cross set up Croatia's third goal.

Ireland's biggest problem was a series of mistakes in the defence, which completely ruined Trapattoni's pre-match deployment, and Trapattoni's tactical core was a solid backline, but Croatia easily scored two goals, both of which came from the weakness of the backline.

Originally, Ireland's tactic was to defend solidly and then use set-pieces to score, and that goal also showed Ireland's ability from set-pieces.

But in the sports battle, Ireland is indeed no match for Croatia, especially with the repeated mistakes in the defensive line, and there is no way to do it.

The key reason for the continuous mistakes of the Irish defence was the defensive layout in the opening stages, and in the face of strikers like Mandzudzic and Jelavic, who did not have excellent skills, the Irish defence was too strong and gave the opponent too much space.

Perhaps this is the right way to play against the technical flow team, but the Croatians are happy to see such a defence, and in the face of a shrinking defence, the Croatians are more likely to use the tactics of crossing, using the aerial work of the two forwards to threaten the opposition, and if the Irishman's formation can press out a little, Croatia's ball will be more difficult.

Defensive mistakes, Ireland's attack was even more disappointing, they didn't have much possession at all, and the simple and brutal old style of play was revived.

But strangely, the Irish captain at the European Championship passed more than ever, and the Croatian striker's aggressive scramble up front forced the Irish defender not to pass the ball, and could only use clearance passes to complete the attack.

Ireland's two centre-backs, Dern and Ward, in particular, were intolerably passing, and if there was any bright spot, it would have to be Doyle, who worked hard up front and won a number of free-kicks, which is Ireland's most dangerous attack. Keane was running everywhere, but he didn't touch the ball much, Duff was targeted by Vukojevic, and McGiddy even disappeared.

In the second half, the situation was basically the same as the first half, Ireland's defense continued to shrink, there was no change, and the same as the opening, not long after the start of the second half, Ireland conceded the ball again, this is still the same problem, the Croatians are too easy to get the ball, although Ireland still has nearly half time to recover the score, but seeing the development of the situation, everyone will feel that Croatia has won steadily.

Croatia are solid on the ball, but what about Ireland?

There is no plan B at all, the big kick is their tactic, it is basically impossible to equalize when they are behind, Trapattoni finally replaced all his strikers, but there is no chance, after all, their attacking threat mainly comes from set-pieces, which is originally a bet on the success rate.

It wasn't a good game, with too many defensive errors and set-pieces affecting the spectacle of the game, which was probably the way the Irish were looking for a game, but it was the Irish themselves who were under pressure from Croatia.

Bilic's side played very well and knew their strength lay in their skills, so they controlled the game with simple short passes and easily entered the opposition box.

Luka Modric's movement was very erratic, from left to right, linking the team, with Rakitic and Srna on the right eye-catching, Srna taking advantage of the gaps created by his teammates to make a number of crosses, and although Croatia face a huge test in their next two games, they have already proved that they are not to be trifled with.

On the green field, there is always such a team or that person who has left too much impression on the fans and the media, and of course, what they rely on to make people remember is nothing more than unique characteristics.

When you think of David Beckham, for example, you think of his all-powerful right foot.

Another example is the mention of Italy, and the first thing that comes to mind is the bronze wall of defense.

For example, if you think of England, the words "long pass" immediately come to mind.

Bilic's Croatia also has their own best unique skill, that is, headers, this game against the strong Irish team, Croatia won 3:1 easily, and their header magic weapon is to be powerful again, three goals, two from headers, and both from the head of the striker Mandzukic.

There is actually no suspense in looking at such a score alone, but those who have been following Irish football for a long time may know a little bit about it, the team is very similar to England's style of play, and it is also a traditional English style of play, and the only goal in this game also came from a header, which means that Croatia has a "Tai Sui head ground" posture.

Such a Croatian team is alive in the European Cup "Stoke City", the latter in the Premier League, is a well-known "grenade team", the team has a large number of players above 190CM, and plus a few throw-ins long throwers, and then coupled with the traditional British style of play, the header has become a major lethal weapon, the reason why it can have a place in the Premier League, this trick can be described as tried and tested.

Whether it is Stoke City or now Croatia, it is a real "one trick and eat all over the world", but can such techniques and tactics be supported in world football?

This is indeed a difficult question to answer, and a single move may have a significant effect, but there are also opinions that hold the opposite view, and there are slightly questioning voices such as "a team that can only head the ball" or "a team that can not head the ball".

So should this kind of trick on the green field be supported?

The answer is yes.

A game is about success or failure, and it is the team's technical and tactical arrangement to defeat the enemy in a way, and since a single feature can defeat the enemy many times, there is no reason to abandon it.

Isn't Croatia now following its own characteristics and making the "header" kill move work again and again?

When the victory has been generated, when the characteristics have been formed, who will say that Italian defensive football is ugly, who will say that the English style of play is boring, and in the same way, "one trick is eaten all over the world", this is a big key on the football field.

In the end, the higher quality side had the last laugh, and Modric became the key man in this game, and in this game, Modric's impact on the game was twofold, first of all, he controlled the game with his pass, and his pass helped the team control the midfield very well and gain an advantage for Croatia.

Ireland tried to stop him, and even let Keane Jr. interfere with him, but it didn't work, Modric's position was too high, if he sent someone to mark the defense, Croatia would get more space, Ireland's defense would be more powerful, and Mandzudzic's positive response and Rakitic, who likes to lean in the middle, also caused a lot of problems for the Irishman.

On top of that, Modric also created a lot of threats in front of Ireland's penalty area, and of course a large part of the threat came from Ireland's defence, and they allowed Modric to be too comfortable with the ball.

The Irishman's aggressive defence in qualifying may be missed, but if he could do so, Modric's passing will be affected and Croatia's attacking threat will be diminished.

Luka Modric was more of a commander than a player who would only deliver the fatal blow, and he didn't provide many assists, just like Spanish midfielder Xavi. He always felt like he didn't have much to do on the pitch, but he was everywhere again.

In the 33rd minute of the game, Modric tested Ireland goalkeeper Givens with a long-range shot, but unfortunately his shot was too right and the ball was confiscated by the goalkeeper.

In the 43rd minute, it was Luka Modric's unexpected long-range shot that caused Ireland defender Ward to make a mistake and Jelavic seized the opportunity to score his team's second goal.

Croatia's third goal also benefited from Luka Modric's pass from the periphery.

In the whole game, among all the players on the field, Modric's number of passes was the highest, and it was by relying on these accurate passes that Modric calmly dispatched Croatia's offensive and defensive rhythm, he was like Croatia's remote control, and the speed of the team's attack was controlled by him.

This European Cup is Modric's second time in this event, four years ago in the European Cup, when he was still playing for Fiorentina, Modric was regarded as a potential star, but unfortunately Croatia lost to Turkey on penalties in the quarterfinals, four years have passed, known as "Cruyff Jr." Modric has passed the tempering of the Premier League, grown into a world-class midfield core, he is not only in the club's position unshakable, in Croatia is also the key core to control the team, it is with his existence, Ireland, with many Premier League players, is so vulnerable, and it can be said that the key to the difference between the two teams lies in Modric.

Originally, after the end of last season, there were many teams asking for Modric, and Modric was even ready to leave, but when Digan basically decided to join Tottenham, Modric immediately decided to stay.

"It was Deegan who brought me so many honors, and now it's time for me to repay him!"

This European Championship is like a testing ground, Modric is serving his country with his best performance, but also telling Degan that although the two have been separated for two years, he is still the efficient engine of Fiorentina, and he is still qualified to stand behind Degan and be his best partner.

Syllable!

Deegan turned off the TV and looked back, his teammates were all huddled in his room, and when Deegan seemed to be about to say something, they all fell silent.

Since head coach Wilmots was sidelined by Degan, Deegan is the authority of course in the team, and no one has tried to challenge his position again.

"Did anyone think before the game that this would be the result?"

Digan waited for a while before he continued: "There is nothing technical in this game, I let you watch this game, not to learn the Croatian style of play, there is nothing worth learning, in fact, this game except for Modric, everyone else performed very badly, I want you to see that on the football field, more positive people will get the final victory!" The Irish were intimidated from the start, in fact they were not as confident as they were supposed to be, looking at his defence, it was like digging his own grave, compared to the Croatians, who obviously know how to play their characteristics and are more brave in the game, so what about us? ”

Dugan then went on to talk about the Belgian team: "Some of you are still thinking about the previous game, if that's the case, we won't have to play the next game, because the people who are afraid can't win, now I ask you, forget everything in the past, listen to me from now on, if anyone has any objections, please hold it in your heart, I don't want to hear different voices, understand?" ”