Croatia Look to Second Place

September 8, 2009

Ivan Rakitić’s 24th minute goal sealed the deal for Croatia as they played Belarus in Zagreb on Saturday. Vedran Runje produced an excellent string of saves to ensure that the score stayed 1-0; it was a wonderful game on his part. As Croatia were without Luka Modrić and Belarus Alexander Hleb, both due to injury, both teams were at a bit of a disadvantage without their key playmakers.

After the match, Croatia boss Slaven Bilić reported, “For some inexplicable reason, we often lose concentration at home. We quickly become nervous and it is easy to detect. If, after 20 minutes, we do not take the lead, or if the opponents have two consecutive corner-kicks, we are nervous. The best teams - those in the world’s top 10 - do not fall apart and give up on what they’ve worked on in training. We need to show calm resolve, better communication, and a solid block in the middle of the field. We will aim not to deviate from our game plan - we will defend as a group of 10 players and attack with a block of players.”

To add to the loss of Luka Modrić and Stipe Pletikosa, Vedran Ćorluka received a red card and will miss the big upcoming qualifier with the English. Vedran apologized repeatedly to his team, coaches, and fans for the incident. He said, “I apologize to my team-mates, the coach, the fans, and the nation because I have left them in the lurch going into a difficult game. I’m very upset, but together with Luka Modrić, I will be a fan against England and I will be hoping we get a positive result.” When asked how he felt about their next qualifier, he said, “Maybe with Luka and I both out, England will underestimate us. But we still have enough quality players to do well at Wembley. We are not expected to win but we will go there to fight and to try.” He added, “We will not surrender because everything is possible.”

Despite not being able to use Luka and Vedran as options in the squad for Wednesday, Bilić is confident and optimistic about it all. He responded when asked about it, “They are a very different team. They have some advantages but they are also missing something from their game. They are missing some Englishness, some of the things that have always made England teams difficult to defend against and play against. All I will say is that they are definitely missing something and we know what it is. But of course I am not going to tell you now what it is. It is our secret.” He added, “That we will play without Modrić and Ćorluka is a great handicap for us. For the last three years, Ćorluka has played on a high level, the same as Luka. But we also have other great players, and I believe in them.”

Jill Guthrie

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