Čačić and Modrić agree: "Croatia will stay focused"

Croatia national team tops the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying Group I, but only both wins in the two remaining matches - against Finland in Rijeka and against Ukraine in Kiev - can guarantee the final tournament berth.

"The game versus Finland will be a tough one. Three points are the key to our objective. Finland is defensively strong, loses only by a narrow scoreline, and moreover, won its two previous matches. They are feeling good, but the outcome must be determined by Croatia's performance. Croatia deserves to go to the World Cup, and the players are aware of this crucial moment. The pitch condition is excellent and that suits us, since Finland will wait for our mistakes. We have to stay focused and aggressive in order to overcome this first October obstacle", says Croatia head coach Ante Čačić.

Croatia will be without the injured Ćorluka, Lovren, Kovačić, N. Kalinić, Pjaca, Jedvaj, and Barišić, but will not change the usual formation. 

"It is difficult to change the system in this short period of time. We have players that can meet this challenge, and I expect fans' support since Croatian people can really be proud of their national team", added Čačić.

Captain Luka Modrić will celebrate its 100th cap for Croatia.

"This is a very emotional week for me, considering the birth of my third child, daughter Sofija, and the 100th cap for Croatia. That makes me very happy and proud. To be honest, I have never expected to reach this number, my dream was only to play for Croatia at least once. This jubilee is beyond all expectations. Let us hope for a positive outcome to complete this week. We are aware of the situtation in our group, aware of the expectations, and we know what we have to do to reach Russia. I believe we'll put in a quality performance in both matches, that we will be tough, focused and play even better than in previous matches. Quality is on our side, but we need to present it on the field of play".

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