Zlatko Dalić and Ivan Perišić ahead of Canada: “We Need to Show the Real Croatia”

After drawing 0-0 against Morocco, expectations are high for Croatia to get a good result against Canada in their second match. The two teams meet at Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, November 27, at 19:00 local time. Canada lost their 2022 World Cup opener against Belgium 0-1. 

After Canada’s first match, coach John Herdman stirred the pot by saying, ‘eff Croatia.’

“I told them they belong here, and we’re going to go and eff Croatia. That’s as simple as it gets,” Herdman said. 

Dalić replied: 

“It’s not really nice to say something like that, but it’s his right. We need to show on the pitch that we are better.”

Will there be any lineup changes compared to Morocco?

“We changed our training to the evening. This is a crucial game. We need to be aggressive. Canada played great against Belgium. Vlašić didn’t train with us last night, so we will see the status at training tonight. We need to have a lot more energy than we had in the first game,” said Dalić.

“For every national team, this is something new. We need to show a lot more in the next two games. We were not good offensively. We need to maintain what we did defensively and fix our offense. We have another training tonight. We need to show the real Croatia.  That last game wasn’t us. We need to return to how we were in the Nations League,” said Perišić. 

Will this be Perišić’s last World Cup?

“The focus is on the next game. After that, what will be for the next 2-3 years, I don’t know,” said Perišić. 

On how the team was different four years ago in Russia

“Four years ago was different. Our starting lineup was together for ten years, playing for the biggest European clubs. It’s not the same now. The teams are different and can’t be compared. 6-7 players came from that generation. We have created a new team, but I want a result,” said Dalić. 

Who will be the #9 for Croatia?

“I won’t tell you the lineup or who will be the striker. We have four strikers; each plays in their way. For tomorrow we will choose the best we have. Four years ago, it was different. We have different player profiles now. We will choose the best we have for tomorrow,” added Dalić. 

“Canada played aggressively against Belgium. They have a lot of energy and might. We need to be careful. Many of these ‘smaller’ national teams are surprising everyone. We cannot look at the past. This is all new. We are playing in the middle of the club season. We had no real break. This means anything can happen,” he continued. 

“We watched Canada against Belgium. We need to be able to keep up with their speed and aggressiveness. They played well and did well against Belgium,” said Perišić. 

How did the Croatia team respond to the Canada coach’s comments?

“Croatia gives respect to everyone, no matter what, no matter who we play.”

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

 

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