FOOTBALL – Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic was unhappy with what he called the “bad refereeing” in his team’s 2-1 loss to Portugal in their round of 32 clash yesterday that eliminated them from the World Cup but said he did not want to use it as an excuse.
Portugal were awarded a penalty after a Video Assistant Referee review, which Cristiano Ronaldo slotted home to tie the game before Goncalo Ramos fired them ahead in the 94th minute.
Drama ensued late in stoppage time when Josko Gvardiol thought he had equalised but a review showed the ball touched Igor Matanovic on the way through, which made Gvardiol offside, and Norwegian referee Espen Eskas awarded a penalty.
“It was very bad refereeing,” Dalic told reporters, saying he felt his team should have been given more free kicks.
“But Croatia lost. I’m not going to find any excuses,” the 59-year-old added.
“We could have won this earlier.”
Dalic said his team did not create enough chances in the first half and looked much better in the second but ultimately their luck from the previous two World Cups had run out.
Croatia finished runners-up in 2018 and third in 2022 but will leave without a medal this time around.
It was also likely 40-year-old captain Luka Modric’s last chance to win the sport’s greatest prize -- and his final match at the tournament -- after being Croatia’s heartbeat for years.
“Well, this was probably his last World Cup,” Dalic said “And I’m sorry that it ended this way.”
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