Doha – Zlatko Dalic, coach of the Croatian team, considers Brazil, his rival next Friday, in the quarterfinals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, “the strongest and best team in the tournament” and He puts the approach of Switzerland, in the group stage match, as an example to follow.
Zlatko Dalic, coach of the Croatian team, considers Brazil, his rival next Friday, in the quarterfinals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, “the strongest and best team in the tournament” and He puts the approach of Switzerland, in the group stage match, as an example to follow.
As usual, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic spoke the day after a game in Qatar 2022, after beating Japan from the penalty spot and reaching the quarterfinals.
Croatia lived on the edge once again. Since Euro 2008, they have gone through each tie in extra time or on penalties. They also emerged unscathed from the clash against the Japanese team, one of the revelations of the World Cup, who beat Germany and Spain in the group stage. Now the world runner-up is waiting for Brazil.
“Brazil is the strongest and best team in the tournament. When you look at the players, it’s scary. We have a big test ahead of us, a team that competes and has so many good players and we need to start the game well. We have nothing to fear, “We have to go into the game with a lot of faith and look for an opportunity. We want to enjoy ourselves, we played against Brazil in the World Cup. Of course, we won’t give up, we will try to rest and prepare, give our best,” Dalic said.
“Brazil is the favourite, they have confidence, a great atmosphere and top players. Neymar is back. But I think we can face them. I don’t think it’s smart to play one-on-one and it would also give them a lot of space. We’ll study the situation. The options They are not 50 per cent for each one, but that is not strange for us”, added the Croatian coach.
Zlatko Dalic highlighted that the team that played the best against Brazil was Switzerland. “I’ve seen it in all the matches. Switzerland played the best against them. Serbia were good in the first half, but fell off after the goal. The Swiss resisted better. It’s true that Cameroon beat them but Brazil played with a different line-up. For For us, it’s best to emulate Switzerland in preparation”.
The Balkan team came out on top once again on penalties. “Happiness is important in everything, but you can’t be happy and be second in the world. Mental strength, determination and courage of the players is important. Vlasic said that he would shoot first and everyone was ready to shoot. Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovačić were in the foreground. The day before we practiced penalties in training and Livakovic saved four or five and showed great form. He was very confident. There is also a bit of luck, but other factors like character and courage play a much more important role,” he analyzed.
Dalic highlighted that in his team there is a great “family atmosphere and camaraderie. Croatia is one of the most organized national teams in everything. There are no fights, there are no incidents, everyone respects everyone and works.” “I especially want to thank the players who didn’t play for a minute. We live as one big family, all those who were troublesome are no longer with us; the real team remains and they know how to behave and this is their reward,” he added.
Zlatko Dalic calmly analyzed the situation in Croatia. A day has passed since the match and he assimilates the situation of his team in the World Cup.
“We are among the eight best in the world deservedly and we won a difficult game. We celebrated for a while in the hotel but I didn’t watch the game again. No special analysis is needed, we played well, as we should have. In the first half, we imposed our style of play during the first half hour and then we became unnecessary nervous with a couple of mistakes”, indicated the coach who in the final stretch of the game withdrew veteran players like Modric, Ivan Perisic or Mateo Kovacic from the field.
“It is what was planned and we talked about it from the bench because we saw where the game was going. We were looking for intelligent solutions, we needed to save energy. Luka Modric and Kovacic had a lot of wear and tear, just like Perisic and we trusted the players on the bench”, revealed the Croatian coach who took Ante Budimir onto the field at the hour of play and then withdrew him again, in extra time
“Budimir came in after Petkovic because we needed to watch out for rejections. He played well. I didn’t replace him because he was bad; we wanted to try Marko Livaja. Everything we did was good. We ran more kilometers than our rival again, we are powerful and strong “, indicated the coach of the runner-up in the world.
Croatia finished the match against Japan with six players coming from the bench who did not appear in the starting eleven. “In the talk I already told everyone that it was a good opportunity for them to make history. Compared to Russia there are eighteen new players, a nine generation of Croatian football. You don’t have to compare generations but the best moment for these footballers is yet to come” .
“The match against Japan was a good test for them. They all work well and give their best in training. They deserve a chance and have the chance to do something more. They have already made history. This is the third best result in history but we are still in the tournament and we can do something more. The players deserved it. Four years ago the players were in the best teams in Europe. Now there are six in the Croatian League”, compared Dalic.
The doubts of the Croatian team have been, throughout the competition, at the point of attack. Dalic has not repeated the attack list in his matches played. “Everyone has a chance. We don’t have a number one striker, we don’t have strikers who have played for Atlético or Juventus like Mandzkic. Now we have strikers from Dinamo, Hajduk and Osasuna. In any case, they have quality and we will find the best solution.”
Perisic, however, became the Croatian with the most goals in major competitions. “It is often said that Perisic is still expected but he is always there. He always scores crucial goals and the most important ones. When it seems that we can’t score a goal or that the game is stuck, he appears. Against England, against France… “He scored an important goal against Japan. It’s very important for us and I’m glad he became the top scorer in major competitions. He’s doing his job, and Perisic and Kramaric have scored the most important goals in my time in the selection”.
Zlatko Dalic appears normal in extreme situations. In the penalty shootout against Japan he gave a natural feeling all the time. “We have always shown character and we needed to come back. Returning with the score against. Playing for a good club is a matter of contracts and prestige, but in the national team it is a matter of emotion and pride. Against England, four years ago, we showed quality and character, also against Japan. In eleven World Cup games we only lost the final against France”.
Croatia lives the last times of a great generation. It may be the last World Cup for many players. “We have a new generation that still needs to do something. It’s good that they grow up with experienced players like Modric, Perisic, Kovacic and Brozovic. We have always had talented players, I don’t fear for the future, but they will need time to mature. Russia’s generation played together for ten years and had successes and failures,” she recalled.
One of the most revalued players in recent times is the center-back Josko Gvardiol. “I’m not going to talk about Gvardiol now. I don’t want to talk individually about the players. Josko is 20 years old, he’s the best defense in the world. I want him to continue like this, he’s very smart, he thinks intelligently and he has to continue like this,” he concluded.