Following Croatia's draw with Albania in the Europa League group stage, Croatian boss Dalic attended a press conference to give an insight into the match and share his thoughts on his team's performance and future outlook.
Dalic first mentioned the very different performances in the first and second halves. He admitted that the team's performance in the first half was really bad, "We moved too slowly and the opponent looked very motivated in defense. We made a lot of mistakes and missed a lot of shots." However, in the second half, the team's form picked up significantly, "We were more decisive and changed some tactics and staffing. The players really fought hard to get a 2-1 lead." He specifically mentioned that it was really unfortunate that in stoppage time, Albania suddenly came out of nowhere, broke through the Croatian defense and scored a goal.
Talking about the last minutes of the game, Dalic believes that the team's retreat strategy was problematic, "We retreated unnecessarily and stood poorly, even giving the opponent the opportunity to score the third goal." He emphasized that this retreat was not an active choice by the team, but rather an unconscious and more conservative stance in the effort to find a third goal. However, this strategy was a disaster for Croatia in extra time.
Speaking about Croatia's overall performance in the Europa League, Dalic said that the Europa League is a completely different tournament from the World Cup, and that the team's primary goal was to get through the group stage, not to impress. He admitted that the team did not expect the tournament to be so tough, but it is this spirit of hard work that may make the team better. He cited the tough wins of other strong teams such as Portugal, England and France in the Euros, emphasizing that it was a very close and evenly matched tournament.
Dalic concluded, "The most important thing is that we are still alive and this game decided everything. We are used to taking the toughest road, but the second half performance was really encouraging. We will continue to work hard and be well prepared for the next game."
