RIJEKA • The Croatia side that took to the field for their final Group E Euro 2020 qualifier on Saturday night was unrecognisable from the one that beat the odds to reach last year's World Cup final.
In the wake of their historic feat, stalwarts like Danijel Subasic, Vedran Corluka and Mario Mandzukic hung up their international boots, while coach Zlatko Dalic has had to chop and change the team owing to a raft of injuries and the poor form of players previously regarded as regulars.
Only four players - captain Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic - were retained from the first XI that lost 4-2 to France last July as leaders Croatia hosted Slovakia in Rijeka.
While it proved to be tough going at first, with the visitors taking a 1-0 lead into the interval via Robert Bozenik, the Vatreni fought back in the second half, with goals from Nikola Vlasic, Bruno Petkovic and Perisic to confirm their place at next year's Finals.
Afterwards, Dalic dedicated the win to the victims of the Skabrnja and Vukovar Massacres, with remembrance of the wartime atrocities, which occurred 28 years ago, taking place this week.
He also hailed his burgeoning players as being capable of replicating the success of last year, saying: "I am proud and I congratulate the players for winning the group and qualifying. I wasn't worried when we fell behind because we were playing well and it was much easier after we equalised.
"All credit to the fans too who turned up in numbers and I hope we will bring more joy to Croatia in the European Championship."
Petkovic, who has taken Mandzukic's place as the team's first-choice striker, agreed with his boss, saying: "We vowed not to lose our heads if we conceded first and managed to turn it around because we kept our composure.
-
4
-
Croatia won all four of their home matches for the first time in qualifying, in four different cities:
• Zagreb (2-1 v Azerbaijan)
• Osijek (2-1 v Wales)
• Split (3-0 v Hungary)
• Rijeka (3-1 v Slovakia)
"This young team has a very good chemistry."
Defender Dino Peric, who made his debut against the Slovaks, also told local news website croatiaweek.com that the injection of new blood had given fresh impetus, adding: "Our young players are playing as good as the veterans, we have young strength and today, you can not notice they were new players.
"If I am not wrong, this is the best qualification we have had after (Euro) 2008.
REUTERS
