Croatia's exit from Euro 2016 down to muddled strategies, confused team selection by coach Ante Cacic

Croatia imploded against Portugal on Saturday night, but their tale of woe began right at the moment the line-up was announced. The worst fears about manager Ante Cacic were coming true; he had raised fans’ expectations by getting Croatia to sparkle against Spain and by topping a tough group.

Against Spain, their side featured five changes from the line-up he used in the previous games against Turkey and Czech Republic; some forced by injury, some by suspension. Yet, Cacic’s second-choice squad impressed everybody. Winger Marko Pjaca and centre-forward Nikola Kalinic were particularly good. Why Cacic chose to leave both for Saturday’s game against Portugal, we’ll never know. Why the introduction of Kalinic (after 88 minutes) and Pjaca (110 minutes) was held back in favour of an hour and a half of listlessness, we’ll never know.

That Portugal were wary of Croatia — runaway stars of the group stage — was understandable. Why Croatia were muted and unimaginative against a team that qualified by the skin of its teeth, we’ll never know. What we do know is: Cacic’s preferences were known to nobody. There were fears Cacic himself didn’t know his preferred XI. When a second-string line-up does better than the first-choice, it indicates a managerial problem.

Coming into this tournament, this talented Croatia squad had three apparent weaknesses: Unruly fans, a lack of defensive solidity, and a manager who did not inspire confidence.

The unruliness of the fans showed up in the game against the Czech Republic, and was controlled subsequently. The defence rose under the leadership of the ageing Darijo Srna, who became an inspired and an inspirational figure in the three games of the group stage. There was the feeling that, if manager Cacic found his groove, Croatia would lose the underachievers’ tag.

On Saturday, against Portugal, it was Cacic’s decisions that cost them. Let’s say it again: It was their manager who let them down.

Preferring Marcelo Brozovic over Pjaca can be put down to the need to be solid. Pjaca is happier in attack, while Brozovic is a more versatile midfielder, adaptable and astute. But we saw Pjaca fall back in defence with energy and purpose against Spain, the only game he started. His enterprise and defensive duties were critical in keeping Andres Iniesta on a leash. The upshot: Pjaca’s pace and commitment to run at defenders makes the opponents wary. That itself if a form of defence.

Cacic has preferred to use Pjaca as a substitute; again, not difficult to understand. But why wait till 20 minutes into added extra time to put him in? The moment Pjaca came on, his first involvement was a breathtaking run on the right flank, which ended in Portugal’s box. Suddenly, Croatia looked different.

That also had to do with Kalinic, who was himself much better than Mario Mandzukic as a centre-forward. Whether Mandzukic is injured or just out of form is a mystery. What was clear in the two games he started was that he didn’t have the look of a champion leading the line of a talented team. When injury ruled him out of the game against Spain, Croatia acquired purpose and enterprise in the No 9 slot, thanks to Kalinic. The difference between the two was just too stark to explain Cacic’s preference for Mandzukic against Portugal, a game in which the experienced attacker was entirely ineffective. If he was supposed to occupy and mislead the defenders in order to make room for the attacking midfielders, he did not cause Portugal any trouble. Croatia were playing with 10 players and a passenger.

For a large part of the game, Cacic was holding a piece of paper in his hand. Looking at how dour the game was going, one got the impression that it was the list for the penalty shootout. Both teams seemed to be playing for a shootout. In the last minutes of extra time, however, Croatia found another gear. There was a sudden shift, as much in personnel as in tactics. Croatia seemed desperate for a winner. Portugal’s late winner — their only shot on target — came in response to Croatia’s own desperation.

Did Cacic order the seige? If the players decided upon it themselves, why didn’t the manager warn them? Admittedly, nobody knew that Portugal have one of the best counter-attackers in football. After Renato Sanches’ induction in the 50th minute, it looked likely that he would find Ronaldo or Nani with a pass.

After 110 minutes of dull, close, tactical football, Cacic’s wards suddenly realised that it wasn’t just the team ranked 27th up against the team ranked eighth. It is as if they were hit by a realisation that they were the dark horses before the tournament, one of the darlings of the competition, especially after the show they put up against Spain. This shift came a little too late. They missed their chances, Portugal took the only chance it had.

“What went wrong? Everything was perfect, except we didn’t score. We were not successful in attack, we expected Portugal to play on the counter,” Cacic told reporters after the game. “We controlled the match for 120 minutes, we didn’t concede any chances except the last one, when they punished our mistake. That’s football. The better team often doesn’t win, and this was the case tonight.”

True, Croatia looked better on the ball. With the kind of quality they have, that was never in question. The poser was: What will they choose to do with the ball? On Saturday, Cacic’s team did little with it. There was little enterprise or adventure. The invisible Mandzukic was supported by Ivan Rakitic in the middle of the attack. He was fouled relentlessly and tactically by Portugal. The referee’s reluctance to show cards gave the Portuguese players more confidence. When he didn’t have defenders snapping at his shins, Rakitic was poor in the service he provided, especially his aerial deliveries.

Most of Croatia’s attacks came from the left, in the shape of the tireless Ivan Perisic. All balls were fed to him. Right-back Srna did not run down the wing to attack; he seemed pegged back by the presence of Ronaldo in his area of the pitch. When Srna did move forward, he cut inside, rather than running wide and sending his trademark crosses. Portuguese left-back Raphael Gurreiro seemed to have Srna’s number.

Luka Modric was closed down for space by Portugal, but when he managed to get away, there seemed a lack of purpose in attack.

Does Cacic prefer to approach games as an underdog, buckling under in games in which his team are the favourites? Croatia’s exit from Euro 2016 followed a toothless, directionless performance, totally unbecoming of the talented pool of players under his command. After the game, he talked of preparing for the World Cup. He inspires about as much confidence as Croatia’s besieged football association.