Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić and Croatia midfielder Milan Badelj hosted a press conference the day before the last race of the World Cup group stage.
Croatia has already secured the round of 16 of the World Cup in Russia after their first two games (and wins). It is likely that Croatia will be first in the group, but that will only be known after their last game of the group stage when they will play against Iceland, reports Gol.hr on June 25. 2018.
The last press conference ahead of the match was held by the Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić, who answered many questions by domestic and foreign journalists.
Slobodan Kadić
Can this Croatian team measure against that of 1998? Is this an open championship? If it is, then this is a great chance for Croatia, Dalić was asked.
“It’s hard to compare, it’s different football, it’s all different. But we’ve got great players, maybe today’s players compete in bigger clubs. That generation has been ingrained in the memory of all of us. We’re trying to get close, it’s hard to do, but we will try.”
Are you bothered by the continuous complaints from the Argentinean camp that Croatia will not play with their first team against Iceland?
“We are preparing just like we did for the first two games. We came here to win and to not receive a goal. I do not know what the others are saying, I just know we are taking care of ourselves – whatever they are commenting, I do not care.”
The same question was given to Badelj.
“I do not think we can be bothered by what they are saying. We can ask them what they would do in our position? We have the right to prepare for the game in the way we think best.”
The Nigerian coach said that Croatia has to play on the counter to beat Iceland.
“We have our own way of playing. We all know about them, they all know about us. We have to defend from the long balls and breaks – we will cultivate our style, and the most important thing is to be compact. We appreciate Iceland, they were ahead of us in the qualifications.”
Slobodan Kadić
Will Luka Modrić play?
“We will see who will play and that I do not know yet. But you know my practice – I would never release the lineup this early.”
Does Milan Badelj believe that this generation can make a breakthrough?
“We believe we can. We are calm, it is not just an impression. We are aware of our strengths, we are not overwhelmed by the victories in the first two games, we know we have to keep going if we want a result.”
Iceland will have support from Russian fans, as most of the stadium will be for Iceland. Are you afraid that you could lose and get second in the group?
“In Nizhny, almost the entire stadium supported Argentina and we won. We will not lose, I will not even think about it,” Dalić concluded.
Slobodan Kadić
