Introduction
Rakitic’s decision to withdraw from the national team surprised many people
September 21, 2020, Ivan Rakitic announced his retirement from the Croatian national team. This news surprised many Croatian fans, because they were expecting him to at least finish this European Cup and then end his national team career. Rakitic played a vital role in the 2018 World Cup, and he scored the winning penalties in the two penalty shootouts in the elimination phase, which made him the spiritual force of the Grid Corps. Who will fill the vacancy of Rakitic in the Croatian national team? Through the analysis of this article, we will try to find a solution to the problem.
Croatia’s existing midfielder reserve
Rakitic played the role of "No. 10" in the 4-2-3-1 formation of the Croatian European Cup qualifiers, while Modric and Brozovic screened him. Behind him makes him more aggressive in the offensive phase. In this formation system, Brozovic's work efficiency and endurance combined with Modric's ability to read the game make Croatia's formation structure maintain a good balance. This also allows Rakitic's creativity to be completely released on the offensive end. Rakitic’s excellent long-range shooting ability and off-the-ball running allowed the 4-2-3-1 formation to be changed to 4-3-3 (4-1-4-1 when defending), while Raki Titch occupies the "No. 8" position on the left in this formation system. Brozovic plays the role of a single midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation system, while Modric and Rakitic form a triangular position on the side with the wingers and full backs, thus forming a number of people on the flanks. Advantage. Although Rakitic has played many positions in the Croatian national team's midfield, he can perform at a very high level no matter where he is.
In the European Cup qualifiers, Croatia mainly used these two formations when playing in Rakitic.
The chart above shows the playing time of all the Croatian national team midfielders after the 2016 European Cup. These data will let us know which players can get more playing opportunities in Croatia's midfield position.
There is no doubt that Modric, the absolute core of Croatia's midfielder, ranks first, and Rakitic is second only to him. But we can still see that the playing opportunities of some young Croatian midfielders are gradually increasing in recent years. Brozovic played even more minutes after the 2016 European Cup than Rakitic, and Kovacic was very close to them, even though he played a substitute role most of the time. Badelli also played a lot of games after the 2016 European Cup, but young players like Vlasic and Passalic have received more playing opportunities in the last two years due to their outstanding performance in the five major European leagues. Although players like Andreašević and Kaquetas have played brilliantly in the domestic league, they are not competitive enough to compete for the main position of the Croatian midfielder. In this chart, the 22-year-old midfielder Mayer, with his outstanding performance in Dinamo Zagreb, has attracted most people's attention this season. This name has become famous in the live football manager game. The long-standing genius boy is likely to become the future candidate for the "No. 10" of the Grid Corps.
Data comparison of Croatian midfielders
In the chart below, we will compare the data of Croatian players who have played for the national team (white dots) and those who have not yet had the opportunity to play for the national team (red dots). In order to find a potential replacement for Rakitic. Let's first observe the passing ability of these players. The data indicators include the number of passes per 90 minutes, the number of passes per 90 minutes to the last third area and the success rate of passes.
We can see that Modric, Brozovic, Rakitic and Kovacic have more passes per 90 minutes than other players. They have a lot of possession while playing in the Croatian midfield. Plays a vital role. The two players looks most promising in this chart are Josip Mišić and Nikola Moro, although both of them pass fewer passes than the four players mentioned above. But they tried more passes to the final third area every 90 minutes. MoLuo has 56.27 passes per 90 minutes, and 11.39 passes per 90 minutes into the final third area. This season, the Croatian U21 captain has moved to Dynamo Moscow, which also gives him more opportunities to show himself on a larger stage. Misic made 54.98 passes per 90 minutes, and the number of passes into the final third area reached 10.54 times per 90 minutes, with a pass success rate of 89.73%.
The next data indicators we will compare are progressive running every 90 minutes and progressive passing every 90 minutes. If we consider these two indicators at the same time, Modric and Kovacic are undoubtedly the two best performing players, while Rogge and Vlasic’s progressive runs every 90 minutes are impressive. If we only consider progressive passes every 90 minutes, then Miśic is in our sight again. His 10.54 progressive passes per 90 minutes are ahead of the other players, and Brozovic’s passes every 90 minutes have also reached. More than 10 times. Since Morrow's data is very similar to Brozovic, this undoubtedly shows that he is gradually on the right path to becoming a top midfielder.
Next we will examine the indicators including the goal contribution of all players (the number of goals per 90 minutes and the number of assists per 90 minutes) and the expected goal contribution (xG/90 and xA/90). Through the above chart, we can see how much influence Caquetas and Tolic have on their team last season. They are the only two players whose two indicators are above 0.5, which makes them more relevant. Different. The offensive performance of Tolic and Kaquetas makes them look more like shadow forwards than offensive midfielders, and Andreašević does the same. Passalic and Vlasic’s performance last season was amazing. Passalic’s goal contribution and expected goal contribution were 0.46 and 0.44 respectively, which also proved that he was an important part of Atlanta’s breakthrough last season. . Vlasic’s goal contribution and expected goal contribution were 0.44 and 0.45 respectively. He is undoubtedly the best player of CSKA Moscow last season.
Finally, the data we want to compare is the number of touches in the penalty area per 90 minutes. In the current European Cup qualifiers, Vlasic scored 3 goals for the Croatian team, which also shows that he can create a threat to the opponent's defense on the offensive end. Krovinovic was an impressive player last season. He helped West Brom win the chance to qualify for the Premier League. Although Klovinovic had a wonderful season in Benfica, a serious knee injury in 2018 prevented him from catching the last train of the World Cup, but now he has the opportunity to prove himself in the national team again.
Croatia may use the formation in the future: 4-2-3-1
According to previous data analysis, the first choice for offensive midfielders in Croatia's 4-2-3-1 formation system should be Vlasic and Passalic. These two players have an advantage over the others in this position because they both have experience playing for the national team. At the same time, they are now playing for the top clubs in Europe. Their age is at the peak of their age and they have won in the past two years. A huge improvement.
The performance of the young Croatian midfielder Pasalic last season was eye-catching. The frequent changes in position on the field made Vlasic always unable to perform at his best at the beginning of his career, but in CSKA Moscow, He was finally fixed in the position of the offensive midfielder. Vlasic’s ability to penetrate the center can add another dimension to Croatia’s lineup system. He can pass the ball to connect the midfield and striker. At the same time, his scoring ability can also play a role in critical moments. Passalic is a very efficient midfielder, he has contributed many goals for the team. But unlike Vlasic’s ability to handle the ball, Passalic’s advantage comes more from running without the ball. He has a keen observation of the opponent’s defensive blind zone, and at the same time he can use the opponent’s defense at the right time. Vulnerabilities. Passalic is closer to a modern midfielder. Not only is his efficiency on the court impressive, but his wide range of moves under the cover of Modric and Brozovic is always a potential threat to opponents.
Other possible options are Mayer and Krovinovic. Majel represents the future of Croatia, Maybe his call-up will not happen until after the European Cup. Mayer has extraordinary talents, but he must make his performance more stable and at the same time prove himself on a higher level. And Krovinovic has proven his ability in a high-level team like Benfica and a fierce league like the English Championship. His outstanding performance may help him to catch the last train of the European Cup next summer.
Croatia’s possible future formation 2: 4-3-3
Croatia coach Zoric often puts Brozovic in the position of the midfielder, so that Croatia’s best trio in the midfield will appear in the midfield at the same time. position. If Croatia chooses a 4-3-3 formation system, then the midfielder will be their biggest advantage to win the game.
Through the previous data analysis, we have reason to believe that Moro and Misic will get more opportunities in the national team. For Moro, who already has a record for the Croatian U21 national team, it may only be a matter of time before he enters the Croatian national team. The ability to read the game and work efficiency make Moreau not only outstanding in passing, but he can also contribute to the team on the defensive end. Misic, who has just completed the operation, is expected to return in December. If he can return to the form of last season, Zoric may give him a chance. Misic's excellent passing ability allows him to quickly integrate into the team, and his excellent confrontation ability will also bring hardness to the midfield. Considering that both Modric and Badelli are likely to retire next summer, Mišic may become a strong contender for the Croatian starting in the future.
Conclusion
Who can become the new partner of Magic Flute in the Croatian national team midfield?
Through the analysis of this article, we understand that Croatia seems to be fully prepared for Rakitic’s departure. Kovacic, Vlasic and Passalic seem to have the ability to fill the position after Rakitic left, and coach Dalic can also choose the right one from two different formation systems. Players. Although these substitutes may not be able to achieve the effect of Rakitic in the national team immediately, all players have enough opportunities to prove themselves in the game.
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