#13-Croatia

#13-Croatia
Nickname-Vatreni (The Blazers)
UEFA
FIFA Ranking-#20
Group E (Brazil, Croatia, Cameroon, Mexico)
Projected Results...
Loss to Brazil
Tie to Cameroon
Win to Mexico
Manager-Nico Kovac
Qualified through UEFA playoff victory 2-0 on aggregate over Iceland
4th World Cup Appearance (1998, 2002, 2006)

This team is pretty sneaky good. Defensively, they'll struggle, but up front they have a lot of quality. Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic are both world class, and are currently playing in the Champions League semis against each other. A pretty easy draw for them in the playoff to get to Rio saw them beat Iceland twice, and I think this group is favorable for them to finish behind Brazil. This team works hard, and will be a pain for any team that they cross paths with. I think Mexico is going to crash out (HA!) of this World Cup, but Cameroon will be a difficult test. Brazil is Brazil, so I don't see Croatia beating them. But they should get results, and that should sit them in second, probably falling out of the tournament in a close game in the round of 16. Here are Croatia's three key players:

Luka Modric-Plays for Real Madrid, great holding midfielder. He's money, and has the occasionally fire-cracking goal in him. 28 years old, 73 appearances, 8 goals. He's world class, and will be so important to Croatia's chances. Check out this strike!

Mario Mandzukic-Striker for Bayern Munich, and man this guy is good. A really big body, just a great scorer, and is clutch. 48 appearances, 13 goals, aged 27. Modric and Mandzukic will work together nicely. Check this out.

Darijo Srna-Defender for Shaktar Donetsk in the Ukraine, really strong defensively. The captain of the side, will need to anchor down the defense. 111 appearances, 21 goals, and only 31 years old considering the amount of appearances. What a man.

Croatia will finish second in this group, and won't be an easy out for anyone.