October 12, 2019 - Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic addressed the press after defeating Hungary in Split. On Saturday, Croatia set off to Wales, and Dalic will not settle for less than 3 points. 

“It would be nice to win and that's our goal. We have no right to enter any match calculated. In terms of quality, I cannot tell this team that we are going to play for a point, but rather try to secure a spot in the European Championships and have a peaceful November. In Wales, more challenging conditions await us, as there has been a lot of rain, and we are playing on a Sunday. No wonder players are often injured. I hope we didn't spend too much against Hungary, especially because not everyone played until the end. Still, I expect the players to say if they are not in top condition, Dalic said for HRT and commented on the convincing victory at Poljud.

“We acted well as a team; in arranging the lineup, the experience was taken into account, and everyone gave their best. I do not need to point out anyone. We managed to save ourselves a little bit and I'm thrilled we are continuing this series of good games. I received many congratulations, and in the end, we all have to be happy and proud, it was a great night for Croatian football.”

For Sunday's match in Cardiff, Dalic called on Hajduk midfielder Filip Bradaric instead of Marcelo Brozovic. We still do not know who will replace Brozovic. 

“We will miss Brozovic because of cards. We will miss his stamina and aggressiveness, but we will analyze Wales and find a solution, a replacement,” Dalic added.

Wales coach and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs commented on the match against Croatia after drawing to Slovakia 1:1 two days ago.

"Croatia is one of the best national teams, has fantastic players, and is a favorite in tomorrow's game," Giggs began on Index.hr.

"However, we are playing in front of our fans, and our chance of a positive result is even greater. We need to be as focused as possible throughout the game, be aggressive on the ball, and defend against their counterattacks. We have a plan for how to counter them and play against them. We will see if this brings us the victory we want,” Giggs emphasized.

Ethan Ampadu and Jonathan Williams are scheduled to start the match, as will striker Kieffer Moore who scored two days ago in Slovakia. Giggs hopes Aaron Ramsey will recover from his injury.

"We did not write him off. Aaron did not play in these qualifications, but every good player is necessary if we want to get to the Euro. We still have time and we will know more on matchday if he can help against Croatia. But we have players who can do a good job,” Giggs said.

Wales and Croatia have played five matches so far, with four Croatia wins and one draw. During the World Cup qualifications on March 26, 2013, Wales led in Cardiff thanks to a Bale goal, then lost 1:2 thanks to a Lovren goal in the 77th and Eduardo da Silva in the 87th minute. In this series of qualifications, Croatia celebrated 2:1 in Osijek with an own goal by Lawrence in the 17th minute and a Perisic goal in the 48th. Brooks scored for Wales in the 77th minute.

Wales have not lost their last nine home games in the Euro qualifications, with seven wins and two draws. They lost to England (0:2) in March 2011 in the fight for the Euros. On the other hand, Croatia has only won twice in the last seven European qualifying appearances played away, with three draws and two losses.

Croatia and Wales will meet in Cardiff on Sunday at 8:45 pm for the 8th round of Group E in the Euro 2020 qualifiers. Croatia is first in Group E with 13 points, which is three more than Slovakia, four more than Hungary, and six more than Wales, who has one game less. Azerbaijan is in the last place with one point.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

October 10, 2019 - Ever dreamed of owning a shirt worn by a Croatia national team member?

Not only can this be a reality, but you could soon be in possession of a Croatia shirt worn by Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, and other stars of the Croatia national team while supporting ahumanitarian cause! 

Namely, HNS announced on Wednesday that the Croatia national football team would be the first in the world to donate all worn jerseys from one competitive match to an online charity auction.

Thus,after the match against Hungary on Thursday, Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Lovren, Vida, and other members of the 2018 World Cup finalist squad will auction the match shirts they wore online. All proceeds will go to the Vatreno Srce Foundation, which was founded by the Croatia national team and coach. 

For many years, the Vatreno Srce Foundation has helped Croatia’s children and youth. You might recall that last year, they donated significant funds to the Children's Clinic as part of the Korak u život campaign.

All shirts worn during the Hungary match will be available for bidding online at www.matchwornshirt.com. Bids can be submitted from the start of the match, and the auction will end after four days. All shirts will start at 89 euro, with shipping included anywhere in the world.

And even better? Each shirt will be marked 'Croatia-Hungary' and will be signed by the national team member who wore it!

Get in on the action at www.matchwornshirt.com, support the work of the Vatreno Srce Foundation, and treat yourself or your loved ones to a lifetime of memories. 

Croatia and Hungary will meet at Poljud stadium in Split on Thursday at 8:45 om local time for a crucial 2020 Euro qualifier.  It is the first time the national team has played in Split since 2015. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

September 25, 2019 - The Croatia national team will return to Split next month for the first time since 2015 - and based on the number of tickets sold in just over 24 hours, it's not hard to see just how eager Croatian football fans are to see the 2018 World Cup finalists in action at Poljud stadium. 

Croatia and Hungary will play one of the decisive matches for the 2020 European Championships on 10 October at Poljud stadium in Split, which will be played in front fo 34,000 fans.

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POLJUD JE RASPRODAN!!! Srušen je rekord prodaje u povijesti reprezentacije. U samo 24 sata prodane su 34 tisuće ulaznica za Mađare 10.10. SPLITE, SVAKA ČAST! ??❤? _______________________________________________ #Croatia #Hrvatska #LoveCroatia #VolimHrvatsku #Split #Poljud #Navijaci #Euro #Euro2020 #Hungary #Fans #Dalmacija _______________________________________________

A post shared by Love Croatia (@volimhrvatsku) on Sep 25, 2019 at 7:34am PDT

Namely, more than 30,000 tickets were sold on Tuesday after they went on sale at noon, while the remaining 3,977 tickets were snagged by Wednesday afternoon. Index.hr reports that the famous Split stadium is now officially sold out. 

The first sections to sell out at Poljud were the East and West, and on the second day of ticket sales, the only section with tickets available was the North. 

The last time Croatia played a match at a Poljud stadium in front of fans was in a friendly against Switzerland in 2012.

After four and a half years and the infamous swastika incident against Italy, the Croatia national team finally returns to Poljud. Split will host Croatia and Hungary in one of the key European Championship qualifying matches of Group E.

Tickets were initially available for a lower presale price until October 6, costing 250 kuna for the West, 200 for the East, and 125 for the North. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

September 25, 2019 - Although the Croatia national team was relegated to League B of the UEFA Nations League last year, a format change keeps them with the elite teams in the competition. 

A meeting of the UEFA Executive Board was held in Ljubljana on Tuesday, deciding that the Elite group of of the Nations League (League A) would be expanded to 16 teams instead of the previous 12 national teams.

Thus, Croatia will remain in the highest-ranking group,  irrespective of the fact that they placed last when they were grouped with England and Spain. Recall, Croatia opened the Nations League last year with a 6:0 loss to Spain, and drew against England in Rijeka behind closed doors. Croatia then fantastically topped Spain in Zagreb 3:2, and lost 2:1 to England at Wembley. 

“The UEFA Nations League will have a new league structure comprising 16 teams in Leagues A, B and C and 7 teams in League D, as of the 2020/21 edition. The teams are allocated to leagues based on the overall ranking following the 2018/19 inaugural UEFA Nations League.

This change to the format follows a consultation process which involved all of UEFA's 55 national associations and reflects upon their desire to further minimise the number of friendly matches.

In addition, it enhances sporting fairness as all teams in the same group will play their last match on the same day and at the same time,” writes UEFA. 

In addition to Croatia, who will again play against Europe's strongest teams, Germany, Poland and Iceland will remain in League A, though they should have also been relegated. It is not yet decided what exactly the Nations League standings will mean for the 2022 World Cup, but that should be known soon.

The teams will be divided into four groups of four teams, and the group winners will compete in the Nations League final tournament (semifinal, match for third place and the final) in June 2021. The group draw is scheduled for March 3, 2020, in Amsterdam. The competition itself will start in the autumn of 2020 and will be played in September, October, and November.

Nations League Groups:

League A: Croatia, Germany, Poland, Iceland, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark, Portugal, Netherlands, BiH, England, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy.

League B: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic, Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland, Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania.

League C: Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Georgia, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova

League D: Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Malta and San Marino.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

September 24, 2019 - Croatia and Hungary will meet for their next Euro 2020 qualifier at Poljud stadium in Split.

24 Sata reports that ticket sales for Croatia's long-awaited match against Hungary at Poljud begin on Tuesday at the Spaladium Arena and online, and interest is high. Recall, the Croatia national team hasn’t played in Split since 2015. 

A few hours before tickets went on sale for the crucial Euro 2020 qualifier between the national teams of Croatia and Hungary on October 10,a line in front of the box office at Spaladium Arena was formed, which was monitored by police.

After four and a half years, the Croatia national team returns to Split after lengthy negotiations between the City of Split, Hajduk and the Croatian Football Federation (HNS). Hajduk tacitly approved the arrival of the national team, but withdrew from partaking in the organization of the match.

Ticket presales begin on Tuesday at 12 pm at the Spaladium Arena box office (weekdays 12 pm to 6 pm) and online. The presale runs until October 6.

Tickets for the north stands cost 100 kuna, while it is 150 kuna to sit in the east and 200 kuna for the west. After the presale ends, prices go up to 125, 200 and 250 kuna. Tickets for the game against Wales in Cardiff are also on sale for 260 kuna each.

The national team schedule for their week in Split is also known. Namely, the national team will gather on Monday, October 7, at the Le Meridien Lav Hotel. The team will hold their training before the match in Omis. The only activity at Poljud will be a training and press conference the day before the match.

The day after the game, the national team will hold their usual stretch at the hotel gym, and takeoff for Cardiff on a charter flight on Saturday, the day before the match against Wales.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

September 23, 2019 - Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has announced the list of players for the October qualifying matches against Hungary and Wales.

HNS reports that the 2018 World Cup finalists will gather on Monday, October 7 in Split to begin preparations for the games against Hungary and Wales as part of their qualifiers for the 2020 European Championship.

The meeting against Hungary is scheduled for Thursday, October 10 at Poljud stadium, after which the team will travel to Cardiff on Saturday for the game against Wales on Sunday, October 13.

Recall, Hungary defeated Croatia 2:1 in Budapest, while Croatia beat Wales in Osijek with the same result. Dalic’s squad welcomes the October qualifiers as the first-placed team in Group E, with one point ahead of Slovakia and Hungary and four ahead of Wales.

Zlatko Dalic opted for the following players in this national team action:

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livaković (Dinamo), Lovre Kalinić (Aston Villa), Simon Sluga (Luton Town)

Defenders: Domagoj Vida (Bešiktaš), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Tin Jedvaj (Augsburg), Borna Barišić (Rangers), Matej Mitrović (Club Brugge), Dario Melnjak (Rizespor), Mile Škorić (Osijek), Karlo Bartolec (Kobenhavn)

Midfielders: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitić (Barcelona), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozović (Inter), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Nikola Vlašić (CSKA Moskva)

Attackers: Ivan Perišić (Bayern), Ante Rebić (Milan), Bruno Petković (Dinamo), Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Mislav Oršić (Dinamo)

Call-ups: Marko Rog (Cagliari), Dino Perić (Dinamo), Filip Bradarić (Hajduk), Mijo Caktaš (Hajduk)

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? #Croatia squad for the upcoming #EURO2020 qualifiers against @MLSZhivatalos and @Cymru ?#BeProud #Family #Vatreni pic.twitter.com/AEgU81FYav

— HNS (@HNS_CFF) September 23, 2019

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

September 19, 2019 - Croatia and Hungary will meet at Poljud Stadium next month for a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier. The City of Split and HNS sat down at Poljud on Wednesday to discuss the details. 

Slobodna Dalmacija and Gol.hr report that a five-hour marathon meeting was held on Wednesday at Poljud on the topic of the upcoming Croatia-Hungary match, which will be played on Thursday 10 October. The media learned at 3 pm on Wednesday that everything is going according to plan, and that they are moving to the City Administration where they will finalize the contract they had not yet signed.

Just after 10 am, executive chairman Marijan Kustic arrived at the head of a large HNS delegation, including Vlado Iveta, Niksa Martinac, Zoran Cvrk, and female representatives and match managers Helena Pushkar and Antonia Burazer, who runs the VIP.

“What are the points in the contract? The organization of the match, the items that HNS is taking over, that is what we spoke about. There is no controversy, but there are a lot of details, a lot of points, so everything took five hours,” Kustic said pleased after the meeting.

Is Hajduk still not participating in the organization of the match?

“I’d be the happiest if they chose to participate. But, we are negotiating with the City and signing a contract with them,” Kustic added.

Split Mayor of Andro Krustolovic Opara was only at the beginning of the meeting to welcome the HNS delegation to Poljud, before hurrying back to the City Administration. Thus, the details were agreed by Mate Omazic and Domagoj Maroevic, and Kustic was to join Opara at the City Administration later. 

"It is important that the people and services work and cooperate and look for the best model for this to be a win-win situation," said Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara. Recall, Dalmatinski Portal reported that the message ‘Opara liar - choose a side' welcomed the Split Mayor in front of Poljud Stadium on Wednesday. 

While some might think the most important win would entail qualifying points, the victories the mayor speaks of is normalizing relationships in Croatian football - and with Hajduk specifically. 

"I want both Hajduk and HNS to come to the situation they announced two months ago, and I believe we are on the right track," Opara added.

"The items that HNS itself is taking over are in regards to the organization, and they are taking over some of the things that we have discussed. But in the end, we agreed on everything," he said.

Thus, the return of the Croatia national team and 2018 World Cup finalists to Poljud in Split goes its course. Tickets will be on sale from Monday and run between 100 to 250 kuna. In responding to media reports, Kustic does not believe that ticket prices are unusually high (up to 250 kuna on the day of the match). 

Recall, the match at Poljud on October 10 is the return of the national team to Split for the first time since 2015. The World Cup finalists last played at Poljud in 2015 against Italy behind closed doors. Before that, they met Georgia in 2011. Both matches were played as qualifiers for the European Championships, in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

Croatia is on the verge of qualifying for the Euro once again, and every four years the national team seems to arrive back in Split.

This will be the 13th ever match played in Split, at Poljud Stadium, since Croatia gained independence. 

The meeting on Wednesday was the second of such a gathering at Poljud.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

September 10, 2019 - The Croatia national team has three remaining Euro 2020 qualifiers this fall. 

HRT reports that the unexpected result against Azerbaijan spoiled Croatia's excellent performance against Slovakia last Friday, and made the path to qualifying for the European Championship next summer a bit more difficult. However, the World Cup finalists still decide their destiny.

There are still three more rounds in the qualifications and two wins should surely secure the Euros for Croatia. However, in the event Croatia falls short, there is always Plan B - the Nations League playoffs.

The most important thing for Croatia is that they remain at the top of the group once the qualifiers finish. Croatia currently has 10 points, which is one more than Slovakia and Hungary and four more than Wales, while Azerbaijan is in the last place with one point after Monday's draw.

The two best teams in the group will go directly to the Euro, and ahead of the last 270 minutes, Croatia tops the table in first. 

Zlatko Dalic's squad will play two of their remaining three games at home with the direct competitors for one of the first two spots in the group - on October 10 in Split against Hungary and November 16 in Rijeka against Slovakia. Between the two games, Croatia will play Wales away on October 13.

On several occasions during the qualifications, coach Dalic said that it would take 15 points to qualify. Given the current situation, ending the group with 15 points would mean that Croatia will have one win and two draws in the matches to come - and such results may or may not be sufficient.

Victories against Hungary and Wales would certainly secure the Euros, though there is always the chance that Croatia does not end up among the two best teams in the group.

Croatia could, however, qualify for Euro via the Nations League playoffs. Namely, from each of the four Nations League paths, one national team will be eligible for the European Championship. There will be four national teams in each playoff path for those who failed to qualify for the Euro through qualifications. 

“Each league will have its own play-off path if at least four teams have not already qualified in the conventional qualifying group stage. The Nations League group winners will automatically qualify for the play-off path of their league. If a group winner has already qualified through the qualifying group stage, they will be replaced by the next best-ranked team in the same league. However, if there are not enough non-qualified teams in the same league, then the spot will go to the next best team in the overall ranking. However, group winners cannot face teams from a higher league,” explains UEFA. 

“Each play-off path will feature two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The best-ranked team will host the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will host the third-ranked team. The host of the final will be decided by a draw, with semi-final winner 1 or 2 hosting the final. The four play-off path winners will join the 20 teams which have already qualified for UEFA Euro 2020,” UEFA adds. 

Remaining Euro 2020 Qualifiers in Group E:

10 October

Croatia - Hungary

Slovakia - Wales

13 October

Wales - Croatia

Hungary - Azerbaijan

16 November

Azerbaijan - Wales

Croatia - Slovakia

19 November 

Slovakia - Azerbaijan

Wales - Hungary

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

September 9, 2019 - The Croatia national team met Azerbaijan in Baku on Monday for the 6th round of the EURO 2020 qualifications.

After a critical victory against Slovakia on Friday, Croatia came to Baku for their second crucial match in three days. Zlatko Dalic's side faced an Azerbaijan squad led by Croatian Nikola Jurcevic. Before the match on Monday, Croatia had so far played Azerbaijan three times, registering two wins and one draw with a goal difference of 8:1.

The game on Monday was also unique for another reason - captain Luka Modric celebrated his 34th birthday. 

Croatia came out playing the same attacking game coach Zlatko Dalic favored in the game against Slovakia - and by the third minute, it wasn’t hard to see that Croatia would be giving Azerbaijan’s defense no easy job. After a few attacks which resulted in no goals, the ref whistled to the penalty spot after a handball by an Azerbaijani defender. Luka stepped up to the challenge and scored for 0:1 Croatia in the 11th minute. 

Azerbaijan’s keeper was brilliant in the minutes that followed - blocking chances from Perisic, Rebic and Vlasic to keep the game 0:1. 

Azerbaijan had their first real chance in the 17th minute, forcing Livakovic to make a stellar save - though the ref called the player offside in the end. 

Nikola Vlasic, who opened the scoring spree against Slovakia, dangerously shot from outside the penalty box, which forced the keeper to make a difficult save. 

By the 26th minute, Croatia had 60 percent of the ball possession, with eight shots on goal.

Azerbaijan had an almost alarming counter-attack in the 32nd minute which was ultimately saved by Livakovic’s leg - and in the 37th minute, Azerbaijan hit over the goal. 

A dance around the defense by Ante Rebic found the foot of Nikola Vlasic in the 41st, who hit another stunner from outside the penalty area, though the game remained 0:1. 

A free-kick by Perisic in the 44th went just over the goal, and an offside goal by Azerbaijan ended the game 0:1 for Croatia at the half. 

Azerbaijan had their first corner of the game in the 54th minute, which was cleared by Croatia's defense. Croatia's kept the forceful attacking game from the first half at the start, though Azerbaijan's defense was making it more difficult for Perisic, Petkovic, Vlasic, and Rebic. Dalic's side needed a new burst of energy to carry them through the half. 

Azerbaijan picked up the pace considerably in the second half, giving Croatia's defense more work in the first 15 minutes of it than they had all of the first. Petkovic had a chance in the 61st minute that hit just shy of the goal, and Croatia continued hunting for their second goal. 

In the 66th minute, Croatia was lucky another Azerbaijan goal was called offside to keep the result in Croatia's favor; however, that didn't last long. In the 72nd minute, Tamkin Khalilza dribbled through Croatia's defense to equalize for Azerbaijan 1:1. 

Dalic brought young blood Brekalo on for Bartolec in the 76th minute in the hope of some momentum, though Azerbaijan kept on pressing. Orsic came on for Rebic in the 86th. Croatia's energy continued to dwindle.

Croatia had a corner in the 89th minute, though Vida hit over. Four minutes of extra time were added, though neither team was able to score. The game ended 1:1. 

Croatia's next Euro qualifier will be the decisive match against Hungary at Poljud stadium in Split on October 10, 2019.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

September 8, 2019 - Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic talks Trnava, staying humble, and the young talents leading the way through Croatia's Euro 2020 qualifications. 

Many Croatian football fans may still be wondering if that Croatia team we saw crush Slovakia 0:4 in Trnava was made of magic, or if we’re still dreaming. Sure, a team like Croatia should have had no problem winning that game, but when you take into consideration the players missing (Rakitic, Kovacic), that half of the starting lineup was a team of young reserves, and that it was perhaps the best game of football played under coach Zlatko Dalic, the shock seems a bit more warranted. 

Zlatko Dalic revealed his feelings in the aftermath for Jutarnji List.

“Everything's fine now. We played superbly, all 90 minutes, I said it was one of our best games since I have been the coach. I wouldn't single out any players because they were all great. We played decisively, aggressively, dominated, we were what Croatia should be,” Zlatko Dalic said on Saturday morning before heading to Baku. 

In public appearances before Trnava, Dalic announced a solid Croatia, however, during the week, some doubts were raised about how it would all end. Did Dalic believe this would be the result?

“This was intensified in the media, journalists emphasized the problems, but it wasn’t like that among us. I said the atmosphere was great, we were ready, and that I believed we would play the right game. We held a meeting together talking about where we are and what awaits us. Of course, the atmosphere is not like the World Cup, because the World Cup is something completely different, but the atmosphere in the team is great, and what Dejan Lovren said was not interpreted correctly, it was put in the wrong context.”

Recall, ahead of the game against Slovakia, Lovren revealed that the atmosphere in the team was poor, and far from the positivity that carried the team through Russia. 

Dalic said that he'd let these two games pass, then deal with Rakitic. What will the outcome be?

“They're not over yet. We have a game against Azerbaijan, and now we only have to think about that. No, it doesn't make sense to emphasize anything about Rakitic right now. That's what the media does.”

Ivan Perisic said that Croatia never played the way did against Slovakia in the World Cup, never for 90 minutes at that level of intensity.

“It is true that we kept a high pace for all 90 minutes, that we did not stop even when the result was very favorable. We could have scored far more goals. Slovakia is a good quality team, but they are not like Argentina or England, it wasn’t that kind of high profile match, or like some others in Russia, which had their peculiarities. The World Cup is something extraordinary, but Slovakia looked bad because we didn't let them play. We blocked them, they exploited themselves, they couldn't develop their game. The development of the match was based on our merit.”

What was the shock of being left without Tin Jedvaj on match day?

“When we were told that Tin Jedvaj had a more series injury, we didn't want to risk anything. It happened to us three times that one of our backs had to come out early in the game and that disrupted us. We played great in Elche twenty minutes into the game against Spain, then Sime Vrsaljko was injured and we fell dramatically. The same thing happened with Vrsaljako at Wembley, where we were also good at the start, and Borna Barisic leaving Budapest is the third case. These forced substitutions turned out to have a bad effect on the team, and we were defeated every time. I didn't want to gamble with Jedvaj, so it wouldn't happen again.”

Is Dalic satisfied with Bartolec?

“I did not like the option of putting Vida on the right back and Mitrovic as the stopper as it would not affect the team well. Let the stopper play stopper; the right back play right back. If one falls, another specialist comes in the position. Bartolec was trying to make an impression at first, but later he let loose, fit in, played as I asked. He is our gain and we can certainly rely on him in the future.”

Why were the attacking three Perisic - Petkovic - Rebic selected and Brekalo only introduced in the second half?

“I decided to play as we did at the World Cup, with Rebic and Perisic on . the wings, as they can give the most. Rebic was a midfielder at Eintracht, however, he plays there in the center, facing the opponent's goal and has plenty of space. In the national team it is different, he is closer to the net, in a dense space, and does not do so well. This was evident during the match in Budapest when he was imprisoned and could not reap the benefits. That's why I opted for such a variant.”

Petkovic was one of the best players in the match.

“We need a striker who can hold the ball, and he is the only one in that picture. He is a great player, he danced around his opponents, created chances, scored. We prepared with these tactics and Petkovic executed perfectly. In Petkovic, we have the type of striker we didn't have. I've said it could bring us a lot.”

In addition to qualifying for Euro, it will also be a huge benefit to form a new core of the national team for years to come. But maybe already for 2020.

“If we qualify for Euro, then rejuvenating the national team will make sense. But one thing is clear: they need new aces, hungry, ambitious young men. I said that right after Russia. Brekalo, Petkovic, Vlasic and some others are increasingly important to us.”

Could Croatia be very dangerous at Euro 2020?

“I could tell you something, but this is not the time for such stories. First, we need to collect 15 points, and then we will talk about ambitions for the Euro. We need to stay with our feet on the ground. We only have nine points; this is not enough to qualify.” 

How did Dalic conclude that 15 points would be enough? Isn’t Croatia going to need more?

“I looked at the final qualification tables in earlier cycles. In a six-team group, more points are needed, 21 or 22, but when there are five teams in the group, 15 points are always enough to pass. That is why I say that this is the limit we must reach.”

So, according to Dalic’s estimation, if Croatia defeats Azerbaijan and Hungary, they will celebrate qualifying for the Euros on October 10th in Split?

“That would be the best. According to our wishes. It doesn't matter how we get those points, just get them in the account, but we want them as soon as possible.”

It is not always easy for a mentality like Croatia’s to continue in a duel against the last-placed team in the table after a significant victory. Azerbaijan doesn’t have a single point, but we must remember what happened in 2015, when the two teams played 0-0.

“The focus must be completely on Azerbaijan; they are motivated, they have shown in Zagreb that they are good and we have no right to relax. This situation reminds me of the post-Argentina atmosphere, when I said we had to be humble. We need to stay firm on the ground. If we don't get Azerbaijan, we have done nothing.”

And who congratulated Dalic after the big win in Trnava apart from Mario Mandzukic?

“Rakltic also congratulated me; he sent a message. Not only Ivan, but also Corluka, Vrsaljko, and many others. Most of the messages I have not been able to read, my phone is full.”

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.