In the Nations League quarter-finals, even if Scotland didn’t make life easy for them Croatia. The 2-1 success achieved at the end by Clarke’s men with the signing of Robertson could have turned into a sensational snatch of second place in the table behind Portugal, but a draw was enough for the crew of Zlatko Dalic to complete the passage of the round with a point of distance. The Croatian coach, at the end of the 1-1 draw with A Seleção das Quinasspoke at the press conference to comment on the result obtained.
“Congratulations to the boys for moving up to the eight best teams in the Nations League and for their place in the first group for the World Cup draw. It was difficult, there were periods of crisis in the results, nervousness, but there was no it was a crisis in the game. In the first half it went badly, we stayed away from the players and left them too much space. There was little aggression, we let them move too freely. Kovačić felt a muscle problem, Sosa was replaced for reasons tactics to make Gvardiol play on the left, and this paid off for Jakić and Pašalić, we were more aggressive and closer to the opposing players. After the change of system it went much better. Thanks to the Split fans for their support. Who knows, maybe we’ll come back again.”
The difficulties before the draw: “We can play anyone, but maybe I would avoid Spain. That’s when we will be even stronger and more experienced after these matches, it’s an advantage for the younger players to see how difficult it is, they have to go through this experience too.”
What he gained from the Nations League: “We achieved a lot of good things, several young people who will become even better. They have quality, and they are lucky to have players like Modrić, Kovačić and the others as an example. I would not have been happy if we had passed, but we had lost, because it would have remained a bitter taste. We have 8 points, but we should have had 13. Better that this crisis in the results is over now. I’m sorry that we didn’t crown everything with a victory, but when you take stock, you can’t ask for more.”
A comment on Ivan Perisic: “We were left without a right back, we tried with several players, but he plays more forward, and I hope that in the spring we will have Stanišić and Juranović, although today Jakić really stood out. We will try to get Perišić back to his position natural. I know what the emotions and love of the Hajduk fans are for the club, I understand how things are, but Ivan didn’t deserve the boos. He is one of the greatest in the history of the national team, he did a lot, and we must look to unity. Croatia is above all of us, and I hope it doesn’t happen again.”
Instead, a thought on Luka Sucic: “Luka will be the future of the national team, together with Baturina and others. He is showing great quality, he has a fantastic left foot and great calm, he is already present in our team.”
The central striker position: “I think that for the central striker position we are not yet close to the definitive solution. Budimir has brought dynamism and liveliness, Matanović is being sought, but he doesn’t play much in his club, however he is the future. Kramarić is always ready when needed. The Nations League also serves this purpose, to evaluate, but from March there will no longer be rotations like this.”
Finally the comment on Josko Gvardiol: “I said that, at 21, the world has opened up to the boy. Everyone talks about him, about the money he will earn, and it is difficult to deal with all this. At City he is a star one week, the next week he is criticized for a mistake, but he must be supported. Huge potential, he can do anything, I praised him this week and today he responded great, and today he was exceptional.”