Croatia arrived in Uzbekistan and did the first training session

Marinko Mavrović's team in Bukhari are expecting the first two games in the group, against Thailand on September 14 and against Brazil on September 17.

"After a long journey, we arrived at a hotel that meets all our requirements and conditions, we did a little easier training, purely to get rid of the fatigue after the hard journey to Bukhara. From tomorrow, we start with real work and we can't wait for the first game", said coach Marinko Mavrović.

The first match against Thailand is seen as crucial in the context of Croatia's placement in the second round of the competition.

"We absolutely consider it as such. It is a direct duel between the teams who want to win the second place in the group, the team that wins will have a much greater chance to qualify for the next round of the competition from position number 2. The match with Thailand will determine our ambitions in the championship in any case. We don't need to spend too many words on Brazil, he is a great favorite of our group and one of the contenders for the title of world champion".

The team has done its preparations and strongly wants to make a breakthrough in results at the world competition.

"You can see a big difference between the first part of our preparations in Prelog and those in Slavonski Brod. The boys and all of us around them are extremely motivated, it is no small thing to achieve a place in the world championship after 24 years, a little pressure is felt, but all this is due to the strong desire to present Croatia in Uzbekistan at its best", concluded Mavrović.

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