Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic has revealed that his team has spent time analyzing Brazil’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of this afternoon’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match at the Education City Stadium.
Croatia, who finished second in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after losing to France in the final, will face Brazil at 17:00 CAT.
Brazil has not lost any of their previous meetings with Croatia, with the Selecao winning 2-0 in a friendly match in June 2018 in their last meeting.
The Samba Boys also defeated Croatia 1-0 in the 2006 World Cup, followed by a 3-1 thrashing on home soil in 2014 when they hosted the showpiece, with both victories coming during the competition’s group stages.
However, Kovacic is determined to change the narrative this time when the two sides meet, stating that there is a need to play with unity and aggression in order to impose their possession style of play, which will frustrate the Brazilians.
“What we need to do now is focus on us. We need to be united and aggressive. We are a talented team. Brazil is not too happy when the opposing team keeps possession of the ball, so we will try to impose our style of play. We will attack and try to make it through.”
The Chelsea midfielder, however, has stated that the match against Brazil will not be easy, as there is no such thing as an “easy” match at the World Cup.
He added that the Croatians had already been tested at this year’s edition, having faced some strong teams in the group stage, where they played Canada, Belgium, and Morocco.
“Yes, we are facing a big team, which is normal for the World Cup quarterfinal. The opposition is strong, and they play great football. We want to prove we play great football too and try to make it to the semis,” he said.
“I think there is no such thing as an easy opponent in the World Cup. It will always be tough, no matter who you play against. We experienced this with the great teams of Morocco, Belgium, Canada, and Japan. Japan played a great match and a great tournament.”
Kovacic believes Brazil is an exceptional side, hence Croatia has to play high-quality football to stand a chance of progressing to the semifinals of the World Cup, a feat they have achieved on the previous two occasions they have made it past the group stages and the Round of 16 (in 1998 World Cup and the 2018 World Cup), winning bronze in 1998 and silver medals in 2018.
“We fight. We fight, and we always stick together. What keeps us going is the pride we have in playing for our country. We can’t wait to get together, and I think that has been obvious to everyone. This has been the case for several years now.” “We need to beat Brazil, and what happens afterward is in God’s hands.”
