Zlatko Dalic received a reward for his leadership of the Croatian national football team, to finish third in the 2022 World Cup, by obtaining a new contract that keeps him at the head of the coaching staff until the 2026 World Cup.
Dalic initially took charge of the national team for a short period in 2017, proving successful in this position.
Dalic first led the Croatian national team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, an achievement that earned him a permanent contract, and then led the golden generation of the Croatian national team to reach the final match before losing 2-4 to the French national team.
But the most exciting thing was the team’s access to the semi-finals in the World Cup in Qatar, which was held last year, where the team qualified for this role, although the team was less talented than it was four years ago.
Croatia’s hopes of lifting the cup ended in front of the Argentine national team, who won the title, but the Croatian team defeated the Moroccan national team 2-1 to finish third, ensuring that the team returned to Croatia, winning the bronze medal.
The president of the Croatian Football Association, Marian Kostić, said: “Certainly Dalic achieved all the goals that were set for him in the five and a half years, and at the same time he achieved two great achievements in the World Cups in Russia and Qatar and led Croatia to win the silver and bronze medals, and this made him the most successful coach.” in our history.
He added: Therefore, I am very happy that we have reached an agreement to continue the cooperation, which has been very impressive so far.
Dalic said: I have made it clear many times that this job is the greatest honor and the greatest happiness I can have as a coach, and I am really looking forward to the future with the Croatian national team.
He added, “Apart from the wonderful success we have already achieved, I have great passion and ambition to continue working with Croatia, and I believe that there are still many challenges ahead of us.”
Dalic hopes that the Croatian team will have a strong start with the start of the Euro 2024 qualifiers, when the Croatian team will face Wales and Turkey later this month, before turning its focus to the European Nations League finals, where it will face the Dutch team in the semi-finals next June.
