Croatian newspaper believes the home team will reach the final against Morocco
Sportske Novosti - a Croatian daily sports newspaper based in Zagreb - points out four reasons to believe in victory for Zlatko Dalic's army. The first is the fact that Croatia always plays with unlimited passion and gets the energy from its fans. "Croatians can only unite by two things - war and football", is a popular saying in Croatia. Even domestic problems have temporarily subsided when Croatia continuously won at the 2022 World Cup.
The second is the fact that Coach Dalic builds a team of solidarity and mutual trust with a family atmosphere in the dressing room. Sportske Novosti stressed that Croatia currently has no "deviant behavior" or "private opinions" that could affect the group's goals.
Technically, Sportske Novosti believes Croatia currently has the best midfield trio in the world, with Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, and has a balance between the lines. In defense, centre-back Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic shined from the start of the tournament to help Croatia keep their unbeaten run, draw with Morocco 0-0, beat Canada 4-1, draw Belgium 0-0 in the group stage, and then beat Japan. Ban and Brazil in the knockout round. In addition, the combination of Mislav Orsic and Bruno Petkovic to tear Brazil's net at the end of the second period showed that Croatia had no shortage of attacking options.
Finally, Sportske Novosti believes that Croatia is under no pressure when it has exceeded expectations. "Before the 2022 World Cup, no one thought that Croatia could enter the round of four of the strongest teams. Not many people even put Croatia on the list of 'dark horses', teams that can create surprises. But Croatia proved it. has become a world football power, and the Brazilian team can definitely win the gold cup," the daily emphasized.
Similarly, the daily also pointed out four reasons to believe that Morocco will create another shock against the defending champion France. Morocco made history when the African team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, but is a collection of players born, raised and even competed in Europe. In the list of Morocco for the 2022 World Cup, there are 17 players born abroad and 20 are playing in Europe. In particular, Morocco owns players who are playing for clubs in Europe's top five leagues in three lines, including Achraf Hakimi for PSG, Hakim Ziyech for Chelsea, Noussair Mazraoui at Bayern or Yassine Bounou in Sevilla.
Like Croatia, Morocco exceeded all expectations and played with a relaxed mentality in the semi-finals. Therefore, the players are likely to continue to shine to attract the attention of the top clubs, when the winter transfer window opens just two weeks after the 2022 World Cup. Among them, Ziyech and Youssef En- Nesyri fell before the tournament and could find a new destination.
Coach Walid Regragui is being hailed as a hero when he brought Morocco to the semi-finals. But according to Sportske Novosti, he more or less still benefits from the foundation left by his predecessor Vahid Halilhodzic - who led the Morocco team in the 2019-2022 period. Under Halilhodzi, Morocco played defensive football - counter-attacking very uncomfortable. Regragui took over, promoting more strength for that collective by evoking patriotism and solidarity. The 52-year-old coach also has great merit when convincing Hakim Ziyech - the star who retired from international career because of conflicts with Halilhodzic - to return to the national team.
Finally, of the four remaining teams at the 2022 World Cup, Morocco received the biggest support from the stands. There are currently about 10,000 Moroccans living in Qatar, and Regragui's troops also receive support from the Arab world and African countries.
