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Croatia’s new formation shows promise despite Portugal defeat 

Croatia suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in their opening UEFA Nations League match in Lisbon tonight.

Portugal’s goals came from Diogo Dolot and Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal, whilst Croatia managed to pull one back through an own goal.

Dalić tries new formation

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić decided to introduce a new formation, using a 3-4-2-1 setup when in possession and shifting to a 3-5-2 without the ball with Luka Modrić moving up to help the high-press.

The high-press, with Modrić joining Andrej Kramarić up top, worked well at times and made it difficult for Portugal to create attacks.

Kovačić quality 

Mateo Kovačić was outstanding tonight, putting in a performance reminiscent of Modrić in his prime.

Kovačić, who has been in excellent form from Manchester City, never lost possession, made pin-point passes, dictated play and was creative, shaking off his markers on a regular basis tonight.

Modrić, as always, was influential, bringing leadership and organisation on the pitch.

Borna Sosa and Martin Baturina, however, struggled in this new system. Sosa was not attacking enough and lacks pace to beat his man down the flank and put in dangerous balls in the box, whilst Baturina looked a yard off the pace and a nervous.

Joško Gvardiol was another standout, contributing well to attacks, but defensive issues for Croatia from Euro 2024 in Germany still remain. Marin Pongračić and Josip Šutalo struggled again with communication, and it was this breakdown that allowed Ronaldo to sneak in and score his historic 900th goal.

New striker 

One of the other highlights was Igor Matanović, the German-born Croatian who made his debut in the second half. A big man, Matanović was a strong presence up front, throwing himself around, causing problems for the Portuguese defence and showing shades of Mario Mandžukić with his physical play.

Despite the loss, overall there were promising signs with the new formation. Croatia kept possession for long periods had plenty of chances to get something out of the game, although they had Dominik Livaković to thank for keeping them in it.

Once again though, the slow start will be a concern for coach Dalić as they once again went a goal behind early. 

Croatia faces Poland next on Sunday. 

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