November 17, 2020 – Croatia national team coach Zlatko Dalic held a press conference before the final Nations League match this season when the 2018 World Cup finalists will host the 2016 European champions Portugal at Poljud in Split.
Everyone must do their best
“In Portugal and in the first half in Sweden, we were not aggressive, combative, compact, we ran a little, and against such quality rivals you can’t be at 80 percent, but everyone has to do their best. We were in trouble there. In Portugal, we didn’t manage: they played their game, and we were weak. This game means a lot to us, we want to stay in League A, and I hope for an interesting and solid game.”
We will be the pride of our people again
“I am aware that the results and our game are not good; no one has to tell me that. This is not the level of a year or two ago; this is our reality. This is the process of creating a new national team, and I stand behind it. I am sure that we will do everything to make it much better in March and at the Euros, to be competitive. I told the players that they must not stop believing in themselves and their quality and that one or two defeats cannot erase all the good from the past and that we will be at the level again, a national team that is the pride of our people. It doesn’t look like that now, but it is the best that Croatia has now. We are fighting, we agree, and we are going to get a good result tomorrow to finish this year nicely.”
A coach full of motivation and energy
“I am frustrated with the situation around me, but this is my job. I must not show dissatisfaction, and I have to get the most out of it because it was my dream to be the Croatia coach, and I am proud of it. I am full of motivation and energy to do something, and nothing will shake me. I’m a coach; I know the pressure is huge, but I’m not afraid of anything; I’m doing the best I can. I’ve done everything I imagined.”
Let them show and prove themselves
“Pongračić dropped out today, we don’t have seven or eight first-team players, and we have a lot of problems that we have to solve from hour to hour. I have an idea of the lineup; Bradarić will go to the left flank; I want to give him a chance at his stadium because I think he is the future. Lovren is our only stopper so far, so we called Škorić, there is also Juranović. Everyone is in rhythm, everyone is playing, and they will get a chance, let them show and prove themselves. Neither Budimir nor Petković can last the whole game. We miss the last midfielder; without that, we have problems, and we will try to find a solution so that Modrić and Kovačić can be turned towards the attack. We always want to win.”
Portugal is one of the best
“Portugal is a great team, it has quality players, and they want to win every game, just like us. We don’t expect an easy job, Portugal is one of the best. They have young players like Felix and Jota, who fit in well with the older ones like Ronaldo and Pepe. They rightly hope for a great result again. We are second in the world, and we try to stay that way. We are going through a change of generations, so we are not at the level we were, but we will be there again, and we will be competitive with the best like Portugal, Spain, and France.”
Cristiano Ronaldo
“The fact that Ronaldo came to play this game that is not the fight for first place spoke enough about his motivation and desire. He came to play against Croatia, he was not in previous matches, and he is a really great player. Like our Luka, he is doing his best at the age of 35.”
Source: HNS
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