The selector of the Croatian national team, Hrvoje Horvat, is looking forward to the outcome of the last match of the qualifying group in Montpellier, in which he hopes that the French will be better, or at least draw with the Portuguese.
It depends on whether his first challenge in his new position, which could not have been more difficult and responsible, will be successfully completed. The „Cowboys“ managed to justify the role of the favorite against Tunisia and do what is up to them. In order to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, they need Portugal not to beat France by less than eight goals. In any other case, Croatia will be the only Balkan team in the Olympic tournament.
– We won, we didn’t break our nerves as much today as in the previous two days. We knew that Tunisia was honored and would play to the maximum, we missed the goals in the beginning and the result was not cosmetically good, but we knew that we would separate if the defense was right, that’s what happened – Horvat began his presentation after the triumph and the Tunisians , and continued:
-There were any black holes in the game, they are awkward and stronger opponents punish them. We have to go into a lot of rotations because we have players specialized in defense or attack and we have to find a better balance, but through longer preparations such things are ironed out.
– Once a wise man said: „God, give me the strength to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I need and I can change, and the wisdom to distinguish the two.“ We came here to do our part, get Portugal and Tunisia and try to surprise France, I believe that France, as one strong and great national team, will win tonight.
What is the future of the national team if it goes to Tokyo, what will be the roster?
– We have the backbone, we need to work on details that can be sharpened during a longer period of preparation for the Olympics. It is a good time for us to analyze, and when the emotions calm down, we will see which moves we will make – the selector Horvat concluded.
