The men’s World Cup moves to the semi-finals. Croatia and Argentina are aiming for the first place in the World Cup final on Tuesday. will broadcast the match live on TV2 and Areena, the studio broadcast of the match starts at 20:05.
The club management of the big Italian club Inter Milan was frustrated with the Croatian national team in September.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, the Milanese club had been angry with the Croatians for the fact that the club’s Marcelo Brozovic was injured against Austria in the League of Nations match, but played a full game despite that.
The end result had been disappointing for both: Brozovic was diagnosed with a thigh injury, which would take several weeks to rehabilitate. For Inter, the loss of the midfielder was a disgusting blow in terms of the battle for the top spot. Croatia wondered if their national team player would be back to full fitness before November and the start of the World Cup.
“Brozo” ended up missing 40 days of the season rehabbing himself. He returned to action against Juventus on 6 November, playing nine minutes. Croatia got Brozovic to the Games, but he hasn’t played a full game since September.
When the games started, Croatian Dynamo started to run. After the first blocks alone, Brozovic recorded the most kilometers run, 39.62 km.
In the playoff phase, he has excelled and at the same time has continued to grind. Brozovic broke the World Cup single-game scoring record in the penalty shootout against Japan. During the match, 16.63 kilometers were recorded for him. The previous record was also in his name, as he ran 16.3 kilometers against England in the 2018 Games.
Buying a pack of cigarettes spread during the European Championships
After the match against Japan, Brozovic’s amazing performance was covered in various pictures on social media. In them, the Croatian anchor poses with a cigarette in his mouth after winning the Italian Cup in the spring of 2022.
For Brozovic, smoking is a habit that has caused astonishment on several occasions. As a lifestyle for top athletes, smoking raises eyebrows, and causes even more surprise for the Croat, who runs big numbers on the field.
In the summer of 2021, a video of Brozovic went viral in which he went to Copenhagen to buy a pack of cigarettes just hours before the quarter-final against Spain. At that time, the Croatian’s way of life was publicly questioned.
Spain beat Croatia in the match after extra time with goals 5–3. Brozovic played the full 120 minutes in the match.
After winning the Italian Cup, Brozovic himself posted on his Instagram account of the image (you will switch to another service) from the championship party, where he poses with a cigarette in his mouth with his teammate by Alex Cordazin with.
Brozovic’s former teammate Radja Nainggolan wondered the Inter midfielder’s face in the comments of the photo.
– Do you smoke? Nainggolan asked.
– Every now and then, Brozovic answered with tears in his eyes, confirmed with a laughing emoticon.
The role brings miles
Croatia will face Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup on Tuesday. Brozovic, the midfield trio of Croatia, which is aiming for a place in the finals of the World Cup for the second time in a row,Luka Modric–Mateo Kovacic has even been praised as the best in the tournament.
Brozovic’s role in this trio is to act as the anchor of the midfield. Urheilu’s football expert Jonne Kunnas in addition to the kilometers run, he admires the Croat’s ability to position himself almost constantly correctly in both offensive and defensive directions.
– He constantly works at the heart of Croatia’s game, rhythms and turns the game and protects and stops the opponent’s attacks. He works at the bottom of the midfield trio, thus offering Modric and Kovacic room to play more upwards, Kunnas sums up.
Kunnas describes Brozovic according to the role played by running kilometers.
– His endurance is the key thing in the formation of Croatia as a whole. The running kilometers are created through his good foresight. For example, when he tries to position himself correctly in advance and actively steals the ball.
Brozovic’s good placement is also indicated by his 13 blocked opponents’ shots, which is the highest number of the games.
According to Kunnas, the midfielder also accumulates running kilometers in the attacking direction. In the same way as in the defensive direction, Brozovic aims to operate between the opponent’s lines and support his teammates on the ball.
– However, he is on the ball himself a lot and distributes the ball with a good passing percentage.
As Messi’s main opponent in the World Cup semi-final
Meanwhile, Brozovic’s ability to deliver longer passes with an excellent hit rate is an important part of Croatia’s attacking play.
– Especially in the Brazil game, it was emphasized that Croatia tried to keep the midfield as close to each other as possible, close to the penalty area. This ensures that it is very difficult for them to get the ball away from them and at the same time creates space on the wings. They attack effectively through the wings, where his role as a player who “spreads” the ball is emphasized, Kunnas opens.
In the semi-final in Argentina, Brozovic will be thirsty for World Cup gold Lionel Messi’s “main opponent”, at least supposedly. The two meet especially when Argentina attacks in the core areas of the midfield. Brozovic’s role in suppressing Messi’s ball game is highlighted in the match.
– He will probably strive for Messi’s time with the ball both with his good positioning and, if necessary, with his aggressive defense. If Brozovic is able, with the help of other Croatian players, to steer Messi away from his favorite positions in the “10 area”, it will be more difficult for Argentina, Kunnas evaluates the methods of the checkered shirts.
– Croatia cannot force Messi completely off the ball, and that is not their goal. On an individual level, Brozovic will certainly not man guard Messi only, but he eats up space from here with his movement, he continues.
Brozovic also has his own weaknesses.
– The most dangerous situations against Argentina can arise if Argentina is able to force Brozovic to the sides of the field, where he is not in his place. If Argentina is then able to take possession of the ball, Croatia and especially the space often protected by Brozovic will be vulnerable.