DOHA: Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic called Brazil’s squad “scary” but says his team are not big underdogs in Friday’s quarter-final against the World Cup favorites.
Dalic’s side, runners-up at the 2018 World Cup, beat Japan on penalties on Monday to guarantee at least their third best finish at the tournament.
The coach said on Tuesday he was proud of his team for showing the character and mentality to get this far in Qatar, but knows that Brazil will be a whole different proposition.
“Brazil has (over) 200 million people, we only have four million, so we’re a bit like the suburb of a city in Brazil,” Dalic said.
“It will be a different game than against anyone we have played so far because Brazil likes to play football.
“If we are looking at it realistically, Brazil is the best team at the tournament, they have a great choice of players, a great squad, it’s scary, so it’s a great test for us.”
Dalic said “it doesn’t get better” than playing Brazil at a World Cup.
“Maybe we’d rather it was in the final than the quarter-final though,” he added.
“We want to give maximum effort — we won’t surrender before the game. We want to counter Brazil’s quality with our own and we want to play football against them.”
Croatia have refreshed their squad in the four years since the last World Cup, with only a handful of veterans remaining, including captain Luka Modric and winger Ivan Perisic.
Dalic said this generation should not be compared to the team beaten by France in the final in Russia because they largely included players sprinkled across elite club sides.
“We have already earned a historic result after getting silver in 2018 and bronze in 1998, this is our third best Croatian result at a World Cup,” said Dalic.
“I wouldn’t draw comparisons to the team from 2018, when you look at our players then, they played for clubs like Barcelona, Inter (Milan), Juventus, Liverpool, Real Madrid of course.
“When you compare it to today, we have six players from the Croatian first division, it’s a different team.
“But I take my hat off to this generation, because they are playing great.”
Brazil thrashed South Korea 4-1 on Monday with one of the best performances of the tournament so far, but Dalic thinks that his team can fight their corner against the five-time World Cup winners.
“Brazil are favorites, you can tell they have a great atmosphere in the team, they have top world-class players, Neymar is back from injury,” added Dalic.
“We have to be very smart in our approach. We can’t open up too much against Brazil, but we also can’t sit back.
“It’s not 50-50, but we are not some big underdogs.”
Croatia coach Dalic says Brazil World Cup squad ‘scary’
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Croatia coach Dalic says Brazil World Cup squad ‘scary’
- The coach said on Tuesday he was proud of his team for showing the character and mentality to get this far in Qatar, but knows that Brazil will be a whole different proposition
Campaigners demand action after 4 Premier League players racially abused on ‘appalling weekend’
- Anti-discrimination campaigners have bemoaned an “appalling weekend” in the Premier League after four players were targeted with racial abuse on their social media accounts following games
- It said “this has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they’ve received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly”
LONDON: Anti-discrimination campaigners bemoaned an “appalling weekend” in the Premier League after four players were targeted with racial abuse on their social media accounts following games.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri shared images of racist messages they were sent privately over Instagram following their teams’ match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday that finished 1-1.
Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare showed racially aggravated messages he received on Instagram after a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday, during which he had a penalty saved.
Sunderland said its winger, Romaine Mundle, was also subjected to “vile online racist abuse” after his substitute appearance in a 3-1 home loss to Fulham.
Kick It Out, a British-based anti-discrimination charity, repeated its calls for platforms to do more to address the problem.
“This has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they’ve received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly,” the organization said.
“The message from them is loud and clear: action must follow. Players cannot be expected to tolerate this behavior, and nor should anyone else.”
The Premier League also condemned the abuse of the players.
“There are serious consequences for anybody found guilty of discrimination and we will offer our full support with their investigations,” the competition said. “Football is for everyone — there is no room for racism.”
The 22-year-old Mundle has since deleted his Instagram account, the Sunderland Echo newspaper reported.
The incidents came days after UEFA began an investigation into claims by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior that he was racially abused on the field by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game in Lisbon.
