In March, Croatia is to visit North America once again, following the Mexico friendly in Los Angeles last year. In Miami, Zlatko Dalić's men face Peru, and in Dallas, they will play another match against the Mexicans. Head coach Dalić spoke to media representatives.
"These will be important matches, and we have had a couple of more player in mind, such as U-21 internationals Vlašić, Ćaleta-Car, Benković, Moro, Sosa, or Livaja who has performed well, and we will keep track of them all. There are three months until the World Cup, and I believe we can be in a proper shape in Russia. The key is to avoid injuries. In the US, we will have a clearer picture of what comes next, everybody will get a chance and we will use these seven days to communicate and create even stronger team spirit. One can not expect a perfect performance, but we are not planning to lose against Peru and Mexico", says Dalić.
"Our objective is to test a couple of things, since we need two basic game models for the World Cup. I will not give up on the 4-2-3-1 formation we used against Greece, but we need to have a more defensive plan in our sleeves. I'll decide after talking to the players. Considering my coaching staff, everything will be complete before the final preparations - right now we need to stay positive - this is necessary for improvement and a quality result", he added.
foto: Drago Sopta/HNS
"Vedran Ćorluka is fit to play and I need him. Teammates need him, Croatia needs him. He can hardly wait to rejoin the national team, and we are ready to wait for one of our leaders. Nikola Vlašić, regretfully, does not get enough opportunity at Everton, but I still count on him in the future and expect him to come back. Marko Livaja and his goalscoring record is also of interest, and if he continues to score we'll have in focus. Nikola Kalinić scores less than before, but he does an excellent job in Milan's defensive tasks, Mario Mandžukić is good as a winger, while Ivan Perišić's level of performances has slightly decreased, but this is normal in a long season. They will all be at their maximum against Nigeria. I am overjoyed seeing Andrej Kramarić score, everybody knows I hold him in high regard. Moreover, I am well aware of Marko Pjaca's value in Croatia national team and I told him not to worry about his status at Schalke. We need him, he just has to keep working", concluded Croatia head coach.
