Croatian national football team coach Zlatko Dalić believes that opening the World Cup against England is key to success in the tournament, admitting that an easier opponent at the start might be preferable for a team struggling with the form and fitness of some players.
Croatia beat Slovenia 2:1 in the last warm-up game before leaving for the USA, but Dalić is facing challenges ahead of the match against England on June 17, writes The Guardian.
The first game can ruin everything
Manchester City duo, Mateo Kovačić and Josko Guardiolare returning after injuries, which reinforces the impression that the team that was third in 2022, and second in the world four years earlier, risks a bad start to the tournament. When asked if he would prefer to play against England later in the group stage, Dalić was clear.
Maybe because the first game can ruin everythinghe said.
At Euro 2024. we lost 3:0 against Spain in the first game and we fell, we couldn’t come back. But in the past we beat Nigeria in 2018 and drew with Morocco in 2022.
He concluded that there was no choice now.
The first game is the most important. We will play against England fight, try to do your best and try to win.
Problems with the form of key players
Luka Modricwho was wearing a protective mask due to his recovery from a broken cheekbone, scored a nice goal in Varaždin, but he is also among the veterans who lack competitive rhythm.
Kovacic, Guardiol and Modric they haven’t played much for a long time and are not in optimal shapeDalic said.
Especially Kovačić, he barely played this season, and now we need him. It is not easy and we need time. We don’t have a wide staff, and these are some of our most important players.
Dalić on the strength of England
Dalić led Croatia to victory against England in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, but he did not want to comment on possible psychological consequences of that defeat for their rivals, pointing out that England have beaten Croatia twice since then. He expressed his respect for the strength of Thomas Tuchel’s team and praised it their lengthy preparations in the USA.
England arrived in Miami a week ago, although the match in Dallas is not played until June 17.
A very strong team whose league it is the best in the world and who plays very offensively, very fastsaid Dalić.
We will have to do something more. I watched their game against New Zealand, but it was not a real situation, it was something different. It shows how serious your team is when they come to America almost 20 days early to get everything ready. But I am always an optimist, I will push my team and do everything in my power to win.
(www.jabuka.tv | Goran Stanzl / Pixsell)
