Dalic: Croatia ready for daunting task of facing France in World Cup final
Zlatko Dalic is confident that his Croatia will be ready for the challenge of winning the World Cup when they take on France in Sunday’s final in Moscow.
The former Al Ain manager’s men saw off England in extra-time at the Luzhniki Stadium, when they bounced back from Kieran Trippier’s fifth-minute opener to eventually triumph 2-1.
Ivan Perisic equalised in the second half before Mario Mandzukic grabbed the decisive goal in the second period of additional time.
It was the third game in a row that the Croatians have had to play extra time, the first team at a World Cup to do this, having needed penalties to get past Denmark and Russia in the last 16 and quarter-finals.
Asked about facing France, Dalic said he was not worried about player tiredness as he reflected on his country reaching their first World Cup final.
“There is no weakness in a team that is in the final. They are a top-drawer team with fantastic players. But we are going to discuss France tomorrow. We’re taking it step by step.
“We’ve entered the final today. We’re going to celebrate, to rest and then we will prepare for France. We’re facing another daunting task, but it’s going to be a fantastic match.
“We are ready for it. I am sure everybody will enjoy watching that match. I have huge respect for France.”
In getting to the final, Croatia have surpassed the country’s fabled 1998 side, who reached the semi-finals but lost to France before bouncing back to win the third-place play-off against the Netherlands.
Their route to the final in Russia has included a 3-0 win against Argentina in the groups, with Croatia finishing top of the group with a 100 per cent record.
“This was our best game,” said Dalic, who managed Al Ain for three years until January last year. “We played today better than against Argentina.
“We were motivated and what I told these players before the game was ‘there’s no pressure, no nerves, don’t lose your head – you’ve reached the semi-final, be proud and enjoy your football’. And this is exactly what they did – they enjoyed their football.”
Croatia had begun slowly on Wednesday, but it was England who looked the more tired for large swathes of the game from the second-half onwards, as Croatia finally made count their dominance of the ball.
Asked why his side had won, Dalic said: “Because we were the better team in all segments of the game. We did not underestimate them. We respected them because we analysed them.
“We knew what they were doing and where. We played a high press on their backline. We closed down [John] Stones and [Jordan] Henderson; we nullified them. During halftime, I told the players ‘calmly pass the ball, do not lose your heads’.”