These are his first impressions of the next opponent after a brief analysis:

“We saw that they play diagonals, long balls, a lot of crosses. We’ll have to stay focused. They don’t have many individuals; they’re a team-oriented side.”

On set pieces against England...

“Our set pieces weren’t the best. We had two or three days to clear our heads, we’ll work on it, and each of us needs to take more initiative and execute those tasks at a higher level. And we’ve played with a back four before, so it’s not unfamiliar to us.”

On his large number of shared matches with Dominik Livaković...

“We all know what kind of goalkeeper Livaković is excellent! He does his job, I do mine. That’s it.”

On watching other World Cup matches...

“I sleep quite a lot, so I miss most of the matches.”

On Luka Modrić’s 200th appearance for Croatia...

“We can all only admire what kind of player and person he is, everything he has done for the national team—respect.”

On dreams...

“I know what kind of answer you expect, but I usually don’t remember my dreams.”

On differences between club and national team football...

“Here we’re all domestic players and we fit in better; the mentality is different than at club level. We know each other well, it’s a special feeling.”