Zlatko Dalić takes over Croatia national team

HNS Executive Committee has unanimously decided on the termination of Ante Čačić's contract following the recent results of the Croatia national team in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

The appointment of Zlatko Dalić as his successor has also been unanimous. Dalić is a successful former Varteks, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo, Dinamo Tirana, Al-Faisaly, and Al-Hilal coach, with Al-Ain of United Arab Emirates as his last coaching career stop. Moreover, Dalić was a part of Croatia U-21 coaching staff until 2011.

Croatia slipped to Group I runner-up position after a 1:1 draw with Finland in Rijeka. A positive outcome on Monday in Kiev against Ukraine could secure Croatia a play-off spot, considering Iceland's two-point lead.

Dalić will take the reigns on Saturday and travel to Kiev with the rest of Croatia national team.

"We have analyzed the situation and decided to hire Dalić, who accepted the offer without hesitation. HNS wanted a Croatian coach, and now we have to support him and believe in a positive outcome in Ukraine. This will be a heroic decider, and we hope that our players, true professionals, will 'explode'. Regarding Ante Čačić, Croatia has since March won just four out of 12 possible points, and it was obvious that something was missing. Therefore, we needed a change, aware of the fact that results alone create managers' fates", explained HNS president Davor Šuker. 

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.