In the group stage of the European Championship, Croatia took first place, but they will have to play against the Portuguese with Cristiano Ronaldo in the lead in the quarterfinals.
Before the match, the coach of the Balkan football national team, Ante Čačić, emphasized the importance of defense.
"Of course, we must be careful and defend attentively. The Portuguese team has many individually talented players and of course, their leader is C.Ronaldo. We will have to make sure that he does not show his strengths," said the specialist.
"We cannot allow the Croats to feel their game and we will have to defend firmly against Ronaldo," emphasized Čačić.
Although some of the key Croatian players, Luka Modrić and Mario Mandžukić, have started training, the coach remained cautious.
"I cannot guarantee that they will be ready to play the full 90 minutes. For now, everything looks good, but I will decide before the match," he said.
