Croatians relishing bronze medal target
Zlatko Dalic, Andrej Kramaric and Josko Gvardiol spoke of their desire to win the third place play-off against Morocco
The Croatia coach has, however, noted star player Luka Modric’s sadness at the semi-final defeat
Kramaric and Gvardiol explain what it’s like to play alongside a player who has inspired their careers
When you lose a semi-final, there are two ways you can look at it. Defeat, whatever your outlook, is crushingly disappointing, but it can either be met with optimism and determination or a despondency that leads to further misery. In the Croatian camp, the mood definitely seems to have turned towards the former. Though coach Zlatko Dalic noted that he had never seen his team’s talisman Luka Modric “as sad as this in a long time”, he and other key players are clearly ready to step up to claim a bronze medal by defeating Morocco in the World Cup™ third place play-off.
“People in Croatia are extremely proud,” Dalic told FIFA+, “and nobody is mad about [the semi-final] result. I know that people in Croatia are happy, and proud of us. This defeat hit the players hard, and my job, together with my coaching staff, is to get back on the right track. “The defeat really hit [Modric] hard. I haven’t seen him as sad as this in a long time, but that is understandable. He is aware he has to be the first one to bounce back and help us prepare the team.” Dalic also spoke of the impact Modric has had on Croatia’s status in world football. “The whole world talks about Luka Modric,” he continued, “He [has achieved] so many things that I don’t think anyone will ever achieve again in the future. A title of the best player at a World Cup, a silver medal from Russia, hopefully a bronze one from Qatar, at two World Cups in a row.
“He [also] found the strength after losing the game [against Argentina] to congratulate everybody, to support our players and to wish the Argentinian players good luck. That is a trait of great players and great humans.” Dalic’s sentiments are not only echoed but shouted from the rooftops by duo Josko Gvardiol and Andrej Kramaric, who have used Modric’s inspiration to excel at this tournament – desperate to make history by winning a bronze medal. “Croatia is among the top four teams in the world,” Gvardiol states proudly, “and we are fighting for the bronze medal – a historic success overall. It would be great to bring the medal back home with us – I don’t know which of us wouldn’t want that – but most importantly we want to end this tournament with a win.
“Looking back at it all now, it is hard for me to comprehend I am now a part of all this, that I play with Modric, and that we have a chance to win the bronze medal.” Kramaric concurs: “We’re happy to make it this far, but the third-place match means a lot to us and all Croatians. It’s not every day that teams get to play for third place. Owning a bronze medal, having it on your own home, would be a wonderful thing. It would be phenomenal, fantastic for us and also for our families.
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