zlatko daliccoach of the Croatian national team, considered that “Messi’s quality decided the match” in favor of Argentina and his qualification for the World Cup final in Qatar 2022.
“I don’t think there is much more to say about the talent of Messi. He has been the best player in the world for the past fifteen years. Now very dangerous and his quality decided the match. He plays to the max. Is he Messi that we hope to see,” the Balkan coach said in a press conference.
Dalic gave “congratulations” to the group of Lionel Scaloni for their success and thanked their players “for everything they have done” in this championship, by qualifying for the second time in a row for the semifinals of the World Cup, but assured that now they have to compose themselves to achieve third place.
He explained that his team controlled the game and the ball in the first thirty minutes, but lacked the sense in the final meters to take advantage of the handling of the clash.
“Then they scored a goal for us and then they didn’t give us a corner, which according to my players was and the penalty came. Then we conceded another goal on the counterattack. I agree that we have the ball, but we have ‘ t also created important opportunities and when we reached the place, we did not complete it,” he stressed.
“I won’t go into what the referee did, but I can say that the first goal changed the course of the game,” he said. Dalicwho admitted that his team is in the worst situation when it reaches the semifinal and loses.
“But you have to accept this defeat and fight. It is very difficult to recover. I told the players to go out with their heads held high, be proud and prepare to fight for third place. We have to recover psychologically to face whoever loses in interval France Y Morocco. It’s difficult for the players, because they feel they can do more, but you have to be ready for third place.”
Dalic pointed out that Qatar 2022 “could be the end of a generation when it comes to World Cups. There are some players who are of a certain age and for World Cup 2026 We have to wait and see what happens.”
“We have achieved many things Croatiawe have players with a lot of potential and this generation will gradually retire at Euro 2024. It was a great generation that reached two consecutive semi-finals and it was incredible to take the bronze medal,” added he.
As for his future, he explained that he has a contract until Euro 2024, in which in six months he will have to face the final stage of the League of Nations and qualify for the continental tournament, which is his goal from now on.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
