Mateo Kovacic Alex Sandro Dejan Lovren Zlatko Dalić Croatia Brazil Doha Japan South Korea Sandro rowing mountaineering Mateo Kovacic Alex Sandro Dejan Lovren Zlatko Dalić Croatia Brazil Doha Japan South Korea Sandro

Favourites Brazil have enough quality to field two teams -Croatia

channelnewsasia.com

DOHA : Croatia's World Cup quarter-final opponents ooze quality and could field two starting 11s in the tournament but despite the respect they feel, the Balkan nation can play even better than they have so far, defender Dejan Lovren and midfielder Mateo Kovacic said.The 2018 World Cup finalists, aiming to make it two semi-final appearances in a row, have a mountain to climb with pre-tournament favourites Brazil confirming their status with a 4-1 Round of 16 demolition of South Korea."Brazil were favourites before the tournament.

They have two teams that can play at this level," Lovren said on Wednesday. "Any of their substitutes can come on and make an instant impact.

We respect everybody and that is how we work."Croatia, whose coach Zlatko Dalic described Brazil as "terrifying", have had a tougher road to the last eight, needing penalties to oust Japan after a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, but fitness is no issue."We showed that we are in great physical shape," Kovacic said. "We worked a lot during these World Cup games.

The Japanese team were very disciplined and it was difficult to break them down.""But we showed a lot of physical fitness and I believe we can play even better."What will be key for Croatia is to manage to keep possession against the Brazilians, no easy feat with Brazil coach Tite ready to field his first choice team for the first time in this tournament.With talisman Neymar and key defender Danilo returning against South Korea after missing two games to injuries and due to ankle problems, coach Tite could also have Alex Sandro back for the game on Friday."How we can stop them?," Lovren said. "It is simple.

Related News
DOHA : Croatia ended their World Cup campaign with the pride of claiming third place in a 2-1 win against Morocco, which marked the end of a journey but also promised a bright future, coach Zlatko Dalic said on Saturday.
AL RAYYAN : Croatia's 37-year-old captain Luka Modric is likely to feature for the national team at the Euro 2024 tournament despite his age should the team qualify, coach Zlatko Dalic said on Friday.
DOHA : Croatia's run to the semi-finals of a second consecutive World Cup was nothing short of remarkable for the small Balkan nation and even Tuesday's 3-0 defeat by Argentina does not overshadow their achievements on football's biggest stage.
LUSAIL, Qatar :Argentina made two changes in the starting eleven that won on penalties against the Netherlands for Tuesday's World Cup semi-final against Croatia, who named an unchanged line-up.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.