Croatia 'lucky' to draw with England, says Zlatko Dalic
Saturday 13 October 2018 09:33, UK
Zlatko Dalic admitted Croatia were "lucky" to draw 0-0 with England, after twice being saved by the post in Rijeka.
Eric Dier and Harry Kane struck the woodwork in either half while Marcus Rashford missed two clear chances to open the scoring in the eerily quiet Stadion Rujevica on Friday night, leaving England unable to exact revenge for their World Cup semi-final defeat in July.
Croatia managed seven shots on target in that game, but in this Nations League encounter they had just three, and did not cause Jordan Pickford any major problems.
"The game was difficult as we expected," head coach Dalic said. "We played much better than in the previous game against Spain. It's still not our top level that we want to play at, but it was much better. We were braver and more decisive.
"We were also a bit lucky with England hitting the post two times, but overall I am satisfied. I think our game organisation was fine."
The game was played in front of an empty stadium as a result of a UEFA ban imposed on Croatia, but Dalic refused to discuss the justification of excluding both country's fans from the ground.
But he did add: "The atmosphere is not easy for anybody. It's kind of sad for football. But hopefully this was our last time and the next match against Spain is going to be 30,000 people, and it's going to be more fun than today."
