Rakitic: Croatia can make knowledge count

• Runners-up to Iceland in Group I, Croatia now face a play-offs
• The pull will be hold on Tuesday 17 Oct in Zurich
• They have won their dual prior play-off ties

Croatia’s highway to a 2018 FIFA World Cup Russiaâ„¢ European subordinate play-offs was not a candid one. After streamer their organisation for most of a campaign, Croatia suffered a dear slip-up in their penultimate game, being hold to a pull during home to Finland. This left them wanting to emerge from a footballing cauldron of Kiev with feat over Ukraine to keep alive their dreams of reaching a tellurian extravaganza, despite not by a involuntary route.

With a new coach, Zlatko Dalic, commissioned for this sink-or-swim encounter, and talismans Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Rakitic streamer a charge, a Croats rose to a charge and cumulative a convincing 2-0 win that will fill them with certainty streamer into a play-offs. At slightest that is a approach that Rakitic sees it, bullishly revelation FIFA.com: “We wish to be there in Russia.”

Big-game credentials
Rakitic is a male who knows all about delivering when a feverishness is on. The 29-year-old has played during a World Cup and contested UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals, not to discuss high-stakes La Liga showdowns. Accordingly, he was unruffled by a outing to Kiev, always desiring his side could get a pursuit done. “We played unequivocally well,” he said. “In a initial half, with them being during home, they attempted to raise a vigour on, yet we knew that if we hold organisation in those moments, we’d have a good chance. We constructed a unequivocally good second-half performance. We deserved a win and we’ll conflict to get by a play-offs subsequent month.”

An romantic night in Kiev. ⚪️⚪️#BeProud #Croatia #Vatreni @EuroQualifiers #WCQ pic.twitter.com/6t0tKNqv38

— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) October 10, 2017

Moreover, a Barcelona midfielder is distant from a usually Croatian actor with big-game experience. With stars sparse opposite Europe’s tip leagues, Croatia  have extraction aplenty to call on forward of November’s matches.

“Is that knowledge important? You bet! It’s a large help,” pronounced Rakitic. “It’s most improved to have that knowledge than not [laughing]. In Kiev, we were personification a do-or-die diversion in front of 70,000 fans and we never mislaid a cool, since we’ve already contested so many matches like that. Instead of being intimidated, it spurs us on.”

Seeds of hope
The pull for a European play-offs will be hold on Tuesday 17 Oct in Zurich. Croatia are in line to be one of a 4 seeds, nonetheless this will usually be reliable a prior day, when a updated FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking is released.

“That usually matters if we go on to qualify,” Rakitic insisted with a laugh. “Seriously, though, on paper, if we know you’re going to equivocate Italy or Switzerland, that apparently gives we some assent of mind. But they’re going to be dual games played on a knife-edge and if we make it through, it [being seeded] will have been good news. If we don’t, it clearly won’t have been of most use.”

As evidenced by these correct words, a No7, who has 86 caps to his name, is good wakeful of a risk of complacency. “In practice, we have to put a thought of being favourites – or not – to one side,” he went on, before holding his leave on an equally courteous note: “The pivotal will be to ready as entirely as probable and to be entirely focused on a pitch, irrespective of who a opponents are. What we wish is to be there in Russia and we mustn’t forget that.”

Given this attitude, and Rakitic and Co’s confidence, peculiarity and experience, a other teams will positively be fervent to drive transparent of a Croats in Tuesday’s draw.

EUROPEAN PLAY-OFFS
These 8⃣ have done it
Draw will take place in Zurich on Tues 17 Oct @ 14:00 CET
Info https://t.co/VhHD8CpVZ5 pic.twitter.com/7BM0cHIhdL

— #WCQ ⚽️ (@FIFAWorldCup) October 10, 2017

Article source: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2017/m=10/news=rakitic-croatia-can-make-experience-count-2914170.html