© Pool via REUTERS
Zlatko Dalić's led Croatian national team eleven had to withstand the siege of gates today. And they managed to do so for more than half of the match time, until the 57th minute when Raheem Sterling's ball towards the goal found the back of the net. After the match, Croatia's national team strategist Z. Dalić commented: "My players showed a good game today, it's a pity it wasn't productive. Due to one defensive mistake, we had to pull the ball out of our own goal. That's football, but it makes me upset." "England is a very strong team. They have come to this tournament changed and don't resemble the team we played against in the 2018 World Cup. They have many young players who play in the best English Premier League." "We knew we would face a lot of pressure and partly we managed to deal with it, and later even take control of the game, but it wasn't enough. Our defense didn't work as it should during the match, and R. Sterling and others took advantage of that. They seized the opportunities we allowed them to create. But now we need to focus on the next two upcoming matches and do what we came here for - fight," concluded team coach Z. Dalić.
