The coach of the Croatian national team, Zlatko Dalic, recognized that the 2-1 defeat against Portugal in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup represents the closing of a stage for the Balkan team, although he made it clear that he maintains full confidence in the team's future.

Since taking over as coach in 2017, Dalic led Croatia to the final of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and third place in Qatar 2022, results that marked one of the most successful eras in the recent history of Croatian football.

"The end of this magnificent ten-year era has come, new beginnings await us. It is the end of an era, at least as far as World Cups are concerned, because who knows what will happen in the next 4 years."

Luka Modric says goodbye to the World Cup with a defeat

The strategist also expressed his sadness at the way in which Luka Modric ended his World Cup participation. The Croatian captain played in his fifth World Cup, but could not avoid the elimination of his team.

"I regret that Modric ended like this, with a defeat. He has shown his quality and led Croatia until the end," he said at a press conference.

Dalic avoids criticizing the VAR after the disallowed goal

One of the most controversial moments of the match was the annulment of Croatia's goal in the final moments of added time, an action that would have sent the match to extra time. However, the coach preferred not to delve into the referee's decision.

“Football should be fair and these decisions should be like that, but I don't want to get into a debate about VAR.”

The coach highlights the effort of his players

Despite the elimination, Dalic fully supported the performance of his players and assured that the group left everything on the field during the match.

“I have nothing to reproach the boys, they fought, they made an effort, they gave everything,” he said with visible bitterness.

The coach acknowledged that the result caused great frustration in the squad, especially because they were not able to extend the advantage achieved thanks to Iván Perisic's goal in the 53rd minute.

In addition, he described the elimination as a cruel defeat against a rival whom, he assured, they managed to control for large periods of the match.

Croatia paid the physical cost against Portugal

Finally, Dalic explained that matches of this magnitude are usually defined by small details and considered that the physical effort made by his team ended up tipping the balance in favor of Portugal.

"I'm sorry we lost. We had many good opportunities, but we couldn't score 2-0. Congratulations to Portugal," he said.