Jubilant Croatia gears up for next challenge
IN MOSCOW heroes have hailed the monumental achievement of reaching a World Cup final for the first time in their short history.
But coach Zlatko Dalic declared the job wasn’t done after his side fought back from a goal down to beat England 2-1 in Moscow yesterday.
Dalic vowed there were “no alibis” against favourites France, who have an extra day’s rest and have played 90 minutes less en route to the final. Dalic was proud to lead his country to a historic first final, having only claimed independence in 1991 and only has a population of 4.17 million.
“This is a proud moment for our country – I’m not sure a country this small has ever made the final,” he said.
“It was suggested that we had only prepared just for the group stage – that’s untrue. We prepared to reach the final.
“There can be no excuses or alibis for the final – nothing about a day’s less rest, three more extra-time games.
“We’ll approach this game as if it’s our first game (of the World Cup).
“They (France) can’t have a weakness if they’re in the final.
“It will be another tough job, but we’re ready.”
England manager Gareth Southgate declared that the future was bright but urged his players to feel the pain of the loss before moving on.
He admitted it would be tough picking up his wounded Three Lions players for Sunday’s third-place playoff against Belgium.
Kieran Tripper’s fifth-minute free kick put England ahead before Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic secured a stunning Croatian comeback.
Asked to put England’s semi-final run into context – their first appearance in the last four since 1990 – Southgate said the loss was too fresh.
“It’s something for a couple of days’ time,” he said.
“At the moment, we all feel the pain of defeat.
“The dressing room and all of the staff – it’s a very difficult place.
“Did we expect to be in this position?
“Realistically, I don’t think any of us did. But you want to take those opportunities in life.
“There will, in time, be lots of positives to take out (from Russia 2018). But you have to suffer the result – sometimes you can move on too quickly.
“It’s too easy to move on immediately from what we’ve just been through.”
Man-of-the-match Perisic was beaming after the win.
“This means so much for a small country like Croatia,” Perisic said.
“We showed our character like we did in the quarters and second round. That’s important for this team.”
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FORMER Australia vice-captain David Warner led from the front as his Winnipeg Hawks team eased to an eight-wicket win against Edmonton Royals at the Global T20 Canada tournament.
Chasing a target of 142, Warner made 42 off 35 balls to set the Hawks on the road to a second-round victory yesterday.
The Hawks captain shared an opening stand of 90 in 11.4 overs with Lendl Simmons before the West Indian had to retire hurt on 38. West Indian paceman Fidel Edwards picked up the man of the match award after taking 4-19 in 3.5 overs for Winnipeg.
Fukushima to star
ORGANISERS of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics say the torch relay will start in Fukushima, an area hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The route was approved by the organising committee at a meeting with relevant governments yesterday. The relay will start on March 26, 2020 in Fukushima and will head south to Okinawa before making its way north again and arriving in Tokyo on July 10. Organisers want the Olympics to help showcase Japan’s recovery from the disaster that took more than 18,000 lives.