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Dalić announces major changes for Croatia's next match, Džeko's comments spark debate
🇭🇷 Croatia /Sports

Dalić announces major changes for Croatia's next match, Džeko's comments spark debate

From Večernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Croatia's coach Zlatko Dalić plans significant team changes for the upcoming match against Panama, including starting Ante Budimir over Petar Musa.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina captain Edin Džeko expressed disappointment after their heavy loss to Switzerland, with his comments interpreted as a critique of coach Sergeja Barbarez's tactics.
  • Canada's Ismaël Koné suffered a severe double leg fracture during their World Cup match against Qatar, ending his tournament.

Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić is set to implement major changes for their next World Cup fixture against Panama. While acknowledging Petar Musa's performance against England, Dalić confirmed Ante Budimir will be the starting striker for the Panama match. The team will maintain a four-man defense but will see alterations in the attacking lineup.

Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina faces internal scrutiny following a significant 1-4 defeat to Switzerland. Captain Edin Džeko's post-match remarks, where he lamented conceding goals naively and failing to manage the game's final minutes, have been widely interpreted as a direct criticism of coach Sergeja Barbarez's tactical decisions. Džeko suggested the team should have adopted a more defensive approach after going down to 10 men.

Musa scored and used his minutes. He got the advantage over Budimir due to his defensive play. Against Panama, we will use Budimir.

— Zlatko DalićCroatian coach Zlatko Dalić explaining his decision to start Ante Budimir over Petar Musa in the upcoming match.

In a concerning development at the tournament, Canadian midfielder Ismaël Koné sustained a severe double leg fracture during their dominant 6-0 victory over Qatar. The injury occurred after a brutal tackle, leading to his immediate removal from the field and subsequent hospitalization. The 24-year-old's World Cup campaign is over due to the broken tibia and fibula.

The result is certainly too high, a heavy defeat in the end. We didn't last the last 20 minutes. We conceded goals naively, this is a competition where you cannot underestimate any ball. When Switzerland led 1-0, after we were left with one player less, we should have closed ourselves down more and thought about not conceding another goal, while trying to use one or two chances up front.

— Edin DžekoBosnia and Herzegovina captain Edin Džeko reflecting on his team's loss to Switzerland.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.