Quote from: Sithara007 on May 11, 2023, 02:55:08 AM

Quote from: KTChampions on May 10, 2023, 04:24:36 PM

You keep being biased against Argentina Wink

"Destroyed" by Argentina is that what they call a miserable lottery win now? Grin

Regarding Croatia, I think the bookies rate them so low because this team is on a downtrend (due to age), while the Netherlands, on the contrary, have a young team and theoretically they should be getting stronger. I can’t say anything about Denmark, but the fact that they haven’t won anything for a long time is not an argument for European teams - there is too much competition and even top teams can be without titles for decades.

All I am saying is that Netherlands in an over-rated team, while everyone underestimates the potential of Croatia. Netherlands have a long history in participating in FIFA and UEFA tournaments. That is taken in to account, when people estimate their chances. On the other hand, there was no Croatia before 1991 (when Yugoslavia was dissolved). They are a relatively new team, and a lot of people have difficulty in admitting that a country of 4 million people can compete at the same level as France or England, who have a population of more than 60 million. And now coming to the case of younger players, I can't see a lot of promising youngsters coming up through the ranks in Dutch football.

It seems to me that many people predict the success of national teams in major competitions based on the size of the country and past sporting success, rather than the current reality.
What have the Netherlands, Spain, Germany or Denmark achieved in the last 10 years in any competition? On what basis are they favorites compared to Croatia, which is the current participant in the final tournament of the League of Nations in June and the winner of two consecutive medals at the last 2 world cups in football?
When I read the sports predictions on this forum ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, some members even predicted that Croatia had no chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, and they considered Belgium and Canada to be favorites in the group. We know very well how it ended, from the group, Croatia and Morocco advanced to the knockout phase of the competition.
Such sports predictions, which are not based on concrete facts and reality but on the size and popularity of some country, should not be taken seriously.
As for the story of the age of the Croatian national team, just look at this list:
- Livakovic, 28 years old, according to many statistical indicators, the best goalkeeper at the world cup in Qatar
- Stanisic, defender in Bayern, 23 years old
- Guardiol, defender in Leipzig, 21 years old, will soon become the most expensive defender in the world
- Sosa, a defender in Stuttgart, 25 years old, the German Football Association wanted him to play for the German national team
- Lovro Majer, currently one of the best young midfielders in the world, 20 years old, Rennes
- Kovacic, 28 years old, Chelsea, one of the best midfielders in the world

I could continue the list with a few more very young and promising young Croatian players. Croatia, a team with old players? Think again, but let's talk based on facts, not opinions, please.