Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic compared his side’s World Cup quarter-final against Brazil to the final itself from four years ago on Thursday as he looked ahead to a “most demanding” showdown with the ‘Selecao’.
“Brazil are a very strong opponent and a great challenge for us,” he said. “But our ambitions will not rest there and we will try to get the win tomorrow.”
The 2018 runners-up have lost just one of their last 11 matches at a World Cup and that was the final against France. Brazil have already been beaten in Qatar and went out of the last tournament in the last eight to Belgium.
Tite’s squad looks very much like one of the favourites here though and they are playing – and celebrating – in style.
Dalic said he didn’t mind all the dancing, but it didn’t suit Croatia.
“They have their own way of celebrating,” he said. “They are sowing unity. They are demonstrating their character and their tradition and it’s their right. Does that mean that it’s respect or a disrespect towards the opponent? I cannot say. I would not like to see my players celebrate like that.”
Transcript
00:00 (Croatian): Zlatko Dalic, Croatia head coach:
(on the task ahead against Brazil and Croatia’s place at the top world football)
“I believe that the match ahead of us will be most demanding. I can compare it to the final match against France at the previous World Cup. Brazil are a great opponent, a very strong opponent and a great challenge for us. Yes, we’ve had 11 matches in a row (at a World Cup) and we lost one against the French. And so I can draw comparisons and analogies between this quarter-final match and the match at the previous World Cup. And I wish it came a bit later. I wish such a difficult match waited for us a bit later on. But such is life, I shall repeat. Croatia is a small country. After reaching success into two World Cups. We hope we can claim that we are one of the rare teams that managed to come to this stage. Our ambitions will not rest there and we will try to get the win tomorrow.”
01:09 (Croatian): Zlatko Dalic, Croatia head coach:
(on Brazilian players dancing in celebration after a goal, whether this is disrespectful to the opposition and whether he would dance with his players if they score against Brazil)
“They have their own way of celebrating, what they know. It’s actually festive. They are sowing unity. They are demonstrating their character and their tradition and it’s their right. Does that mean that it’s respect or a disrespect towards the opponent? I cannot say. I would not like to see my players celebrate like that, but they’re a different culture. They like to dance and it’s nice, you know, looking at them. It’s nice.”
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