Olić: "We showed how to fight for Croatia"

Croatia secured the win at NK Rudeš with penalty goals from Marin Ljubičić (39') and Franjo Ivanović (89'), while the visitors reduced the deficit through Beinir Nolsoe (90+3').

"Honestly, I thought we would calmly finish this game after our second goal, but in the end, we had to be nervous. However, this is an important win, three crucial points after three losses and 13 goals conceded. I must personally thank and praise our captain Nikola, who had a very turbulent night and day after the problems at his club and all the newspaper reports. We all know what it's about, but he showed that he is a man of great character and a true captain", said head coach Ivica Olić.

"Given that I've had a lot of stress recently with Albania and Italy in the final seconds, it was a very difficult and specific situation, but with a happy ending. I’m glad we secured three points, which were very important to stay in the race for the EURO. We also identified many problems from this match. In five days, we face a completely different opponent, the group favorite, Portugal, a leader who will certainly punish us even more if we allow them to break through so easily. I think our biggest problem was that they were simply better in all duels, better and faster. I must also praise the substitutes. Soldo did an excellent job controlling the midfield and won countless aerial duels, really hats off to him. This is an example of how to fight for Croatia", Olić added.

Franjo Ivanović came on in the second half and contributed to the victory.

"The most important thing is that we won. It was tricky; we complicated things a bit at the end, and we should have been more decisive and smarter in some situations. The win is here, and we are one step closer to our goal. I'm happy about the goal, even if it was from a penalty—it doesn’t matter", said Ivanović, adding that the Faroe Islands were more dangerous than expected:

"If we had taken our chances and been more resolute, it wouldn't have been dangerous. Set-pieces, long throws, crosses—we knew that’s where they were the most dangerous, and that’s how we conceded the goal".

The Croatian U-21 team will play their second match in this qualifying cycle for the 2025 European Championship against Portugal on Tuesday, September 10, in Karlovac at 7 PM.

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