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Well we put ourselves in a position where Croatia haven't been many times. The past two qualifying cycles have been smooth sailings in general terms, sure there were some points dropped but they both times qualified with one game left to play.
The last time Croatia put themselves in a hole was the Baric era (Euro 2004 qualifiers) where they dropped a point at home to Estonia, lost to Bulgaria in the opening month and they even lost to Belgium away later that qualifying cycle yet still managed to qualify for the playoffs.
With the loss at home to England (again something Croatia not accustomed to, losing at home!) Croatia put themselves in a position where they may have to run the table, and these tricky away matches are must-wins almost.
I think Croatia need to run the table at home now, not even a draw at home is good enough. Away from home I still think they can afford a few draws, though a loss can be trouble.
It stinks that already the third match of the qualifiers can determine Croatia's destiny in the qualifiers, but that's life and it's never easy to qualify and they themselves put their selves in this position. Time to step up and show why they are top 10 in the world.
The last time Croatia put themselves in a hole was the Baric era (Euro 2004 qualifiers) where they dropped a point at home to Estonia, lost to Bulgaria in the opening month and they even lost to Belgium away later that qualifying cycle yet still managed to qualify for the playoffs.
With the loss at home to England (again something Croatia not accustomed to, losing at home!) Croatia put themselves in a position where they may have to run the table, and these tricky away matches are must-wins almost.
I think Croatia need to run the table at home now, not even a draw at home is good enough. Away from home I still think they can afford a few draws, though a loss can be trouble.
It stinks that already the third match of the qualifiers can determine Croatia's destiny in the qualifiers, but that's life and it's never easy to qualify and they themselves put their selves in this position. Time to step up and show why they are top 10 in the world.