Čačić: "Croatia to present motivation, responsibility, and discipline"

Croatia travelled to Estonia without the injured Ćorluka and Vrsaljko, while head coach Ante Čačić allowed Subašić, Modrić, Rakitić, Mandžukić, N. Kalinić and Brozović to return to their clubs. Youngster Ante Ćorić joined the squad, and Čačić expects another quality performance of his team.

"This is an opportunity for all the players to confirm they were called-up for a good reason and that they are a part of the national team. They can all contribute - as they did before - and I expect Croatia to present motivation, responsibility, and discipline, searching for a positive result in the process", he said.

"I hope my players have rested following the Ukraine encounter, and I like to play these friendlies. They can provide many answers, if we ask the right questions. We can prepare the team for the rest of the qualifying. Estonia is a tough nut to crack when playing at home, even Croatia had a rough time here. However, we will give our best, focusing on our own capabilities, knowing that playing Croatia is a significant motivation for anyone. I want my players to respond at a maximum level", added Čačić.

Inter winger Ivan Perišić will take over the captain's armband for the night.

"It was difficult for me not to play against Ukraine, I really wanted to, but now we turn to Estonia with me leading the national team as the captain. No one is more proud than me, I can hardly wait. I am convinced that this team is strong, that we can replace the missing players, and that all of us will play at 100 percent", said Perišić.

Copyright by Croatian Football Federation. Quoting text from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to HNS as a source and providing direct link to the original content at hns.family. Re-use of the photographs is not permitted.