Fatigue Dalic’s main concern for England clash

LONDON, United Kingdom: Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said Saturday he was worried his players would still be feeling the effects of their thrilling 3- 2 win over Spain when they meet England in a decisive Nations League fixture on Saturday.

The 52-year- old, who will be without injured Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic, is yet to taste defeat to Gareth Southgate’s side having memorably beaten them 2-1 in the World Cup semi- final and then fought out a 0- 0 draw in Croatia in their opening Nations League encounter.

A win for Croatia would take Dalic’s men to the semi- finals of the Nations League and send England down to League B.

“We totally respect the England team,” Dalic told reporters on Saturday.

“We learned a lot in both matches. I’m more worried about our team because we played against Spain two days ago.

“I’ll try to get the best from my players.”

Dalic, who was a surprise choice for the Croatia job when he was plucked from United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ain in 2017, said his players would be up for the task given the historic stadium they would be playing in.

“We don’t need to be motivated,” said Dalic.

“We play at Wembley, one of the most important stadiums in the world.”

Ivan Perisic, one of the standout performers for Croatia at the World Cup and the scorer of the equaliser in the semi- final win over England, said it had taken a while for him and his team-mates to get over their efforts in Russia which ended with a 4-2 defeat to France in the final. — AFP