Luka Modric's composure, Ivan Rakitic's skill and Ivica Olic's doggedness might have seen Croatia steal at least a point against Brazil had the referee not awarded Brazil a bizarre penalty at 1-1. Croatia had looked the slightly better side till then. Croatia's real problem was up front. Nikica Jelavic is a good forward but does not quite have the pedigree of Bayern's hitman Mario Mandzukic. Rakitic also could not influence the game as much as he would have liked due to the absence of the intelligent forward.
Modric will obviously be key to Croatia's hopes against Cameroon. He will be expected to control the midfield. However, Rakitic and Mandzukic are set to play very important roles. Rakitic now has a genuine outlet. While he did well in the opener, he can perform better. Rakitic can find pockets of space very well. He can also score many goals. Mandzukic is much mobile than Jelavic; the striker's movement might create just enough space for the former Sevilla midfielder to find the back of the net.
Against Brazil, even at 2-1 down, Croatia chased the game well. In the last twenty minutes, they could have definitely scored at least two goals had a center forward of the class of Mandzukic been present. His return will definitely improve Niko Kovac's mood. Kovac has been angered by a few issues in Brazil, not least the publication of photographs of his players in their private swimming pool.
He will hope to have something to smile about following this match. Kovac will probably set his team up in the manner in which he set them up against Brazil with the main change coming up front; Jelavic will in most likelihood give way to the aforementioned Mandzukic. Also, Kovac knows Mario will be goal hungry after being left out of Bayern's squad for the DFB Pokal final despite the number of goals he scored in the 2013-14 season due to disagreements with coach Pep Guardiola.
Can Rakitic and Mandzukic step up to the challenge?
