In the last match for the Croatian national team of 2016, Croatia defeated Northern Ireland 3:0 in Belfast with just a roster of 16 players, and with no major stars Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić, Vedran Ćorluka and Ivan Rakitić who received exemption after the victory over Iceland on Saturday.
"I announced that we were hungry for a victory and that Croatia would try to stop the unbeaten hosts," said Ante Čačić. Croatia's victory in the first mutual clash with Northern Ireland came with goals by Mario Mandžukić (9), Duje Čop (35) and Andrej Kramarić (67), reports Index.hr.
"We managed thanks to an engaged team, despite the large number of new players. We had control of the game, although Northern Ireland shattered the rhythm of the game at times. I am satisfied with with what I saw with respect to the tension of real competitive matches," added Čačić.
The “Man of the Match” was Andrej Kramarić who hit a spectacular goal to make the score 3:0.
"Kramarić going to the Bundesliga has made an evident step forward in his game. The last performances for the national team really are a distinctive, including today. He does a lot of the work for the team."
Čačić praised several players.
"Furthermore, for some, the players lacked in the match, like the Rog, but their quality is not in question. I have no objections to the players, I am happy to have observed the Bradarić debut, it seemed like he has been playing with us for a long time. Leovac played good game, his movements and behavior told me he can rightly compete for his position. I can not skip Mandžukić, who scored, and during the game had been commendable, the real captain. However, there is no need to dissect each player, this is our game I said a lot of good.”
This was Croatia’s last game in 2016, with the next in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in 2017.
