The Importance of England's Third Goal

"Congratulations to England on the victory. It was a very strange match, and as difficult as we expected. In the first half we played quite well and carried out everything we had planned, but unfortunately we were at our worst in the area where the danger was greatest: set pieces. Those were our mistakes and poor reactions. Still, we managed to come back twice in a very good way and gained confidence.

However, England's third goal really stopped us in our tracks and knocked the wind out of us. We then went through a very poor ten-minute spell. After that, we tried to fight our way back into the game again, but we were unable to do so."

Defensive Phase

"We were good in our positioning and in the attacking phase, but we were very poor defensively, especially on set pieces, and that is something we must improve. We prepared for it, we know the kinds of blocks England uses and how strong they are in those situations—they have scored many goals from set pieces—but we were unable to control them.

We wanted our defensive phase to be at a high level, but we conceded four goals, which is far too many. Our performance was not bad overall, but it was full of mistakes that were punished. Up until now, we had not been conceding goals from set pieces so easily."

The Challenge of the Opening Match

"We said before the tournament that the first match is the most difficult one. It always sets the tone for the rest of the competition, and it is never easy to lose it. You also lose some confidence, and now we must focus on the matches that are more important for us.

We no longer have room for mistakes. We need good results against Panama and Ghana if we want to advance to the next round."

Tactical Change

"We switched to a four-man defense specifically to strengthen our attack, bringing Kramarić on in an attempt to equalize. Marco Pašalić once again brought energy and liveliness to the team, and once again he performed well."

Need for Improvement in Attack

"We scored two goals, but it was not enough. Against opponents of this caliber, you need to make more runs in behind and attack with greater intent. We have to be much better offensively if we want to beat Panama and Ghana."