Speaking after the friendly match with Mali and witnessing his team's 2:1 win, Niko Kovač announced Croatia's World Cup squad.

"It is a privilege and pleasure to be Croatia's head coach, but this is a difficult task, to announce which players will not travel to Brazil. Milan Badelj's ruptured muscle is an complicated issue and we have decided to take Ivan Močinić instead. We have only one true defensive midfielder, Ognjen Vukojević, and Močinić played and not just very good, but excellent season with Rijeka. Moreover, he proved himself during the training camp in Austria", he explained after Badelj, Bubnjić, Pašalić and Čop did not make it to the final list.

Ivan Perišić scored both goals in Osijek, and coach Kovač emphasized:

"We wanted to play direct football, with through balls to pierce opponent's lines. The first goal was an example of that, that is what we try to do. We have seen a good Croatia's performance, even though fatigue was obvious".

"It is important that we won, every victory brings more self-confidence. Mali is a tough team, difficult to break and take the ball back from them. The World Cup will be even more challenging task, but I am very satisfied", concluded Kovač.