Dalić and Santini discuss Portugal draw

Zlatko Dalić

"I did not expect a beautiful match since it was our first appearance following the World Cup, and I was pleasantly surprised by Portugal and their young, quick players, especially wingers. They have quality and forced us to defend, creating chances to score. They are doing a good job preparing for the European Qualifiers - and that's our objective too. We have tried to give an opportunity to as many players as possible, and this was a good test for the future, an appropriate encounter in the current situation. We have managed to secure a draw at Portugal despite lacking possession and not doing enough in attack in the second half. The outcome is important, but it isn't a priority, and we'll try to improve, especially in set-pieces. Everybody did their best, we need every quality player, and Croatia will do better against Spain"

Ivan Santini

"It was a tough match, against technically skilled Portugal who kept possession. Considering a number of new players in Croatia squad and just a couple of practice sessions we did together, it is good we managed to defend. I did my defensive assignments, and hope to show more in the attacking play in the future. We have to search for positives, since the visit to Spain will also be tough - they are among the best teams in the world, and play similar to Portugal, with lot of possession, and at home. With a bit of luck, however, we can score some points at Elche"

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