Croatia was on Full Throttle the whole Match, with the Tribunes filled to the Brim in Gradski Vrt.
The match was a friendly one, where the teams got to probe each other’s strategies, but the impression that the filled Gradski Vrt left on viewers will stick. 16,000 spectators gathered in Gradski Vrt, hailing from all parts of Croatia, even Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Hungary; all of them came to see Dalic’s chosen 8 days before Croatia’s first official game at the World Cup.
Because of that, the Croatian players will love playing in a home city, feeling the positive vibes of their fans. Friday spelled just that.
Victory was Secured
The win was important because it generated good vibrations and a beautiful atmosphere among the national team’s ranks, as well as among the fans. It wasn’t expected of Croatia to fire on all cylinders. Senegal used many chances with their swiftness and accuracy, almost scoring the critical difference. Things changed, though, as Croatia not only equalized, but turned the whole match and, finally, won.
Perisic, Kramaric scored, directed by Modric.
Questions Left Unanswered
There were good, bad, and ugly chances and missed opportunities, but in these kinds of matches that aren’t that competitive, nothing should be criticized rigorously. However, Dalic will still have a lot to think about in terms of tactics when it comes to the first official match Croatia will play vs. Nigeria in Russia 2018. Some questions are surely left unanswered for Croatia’s coach so that the Croatian squad will need to prepare accordingly.
It’s a fact, though, that Kramaric performed at his peak during his time on the pitch so that we wouldn’t mind him playing in the first roster. Maybe Dalic decides to change things up, but we leave it to him and his vision of how Croatia should look like in Russia. We all wish our Fiery Boys the best!
