Croatia midfielder Luka Modric says coach Zlatko Dalic, who was appointed at the difficult time for the team, must be given the merit he deserves for getting the country into the 2018 World Cup final.
Zlatko Dalic was named the Croatia national football team's head coach in October prior to their final World Cup qualifier and helped the team beat Ukraine and Greece 2-0 and 4-1 respectively, thus securing their place in World Cup Finals.
Croatia, whose previous best result was their third place at the 1998 World Cup, beat England 2-1 on Wednesday and advanced to the final for the first time in their history.
"This [reaching the World Cup final] is the direct consequence of the coach leading us," Modric said.
"He came in a very difficult moment when the results of the qualifiers were doubtful.
"He talked to us in the very first match and gave us confidence."
Croatia will take on France in the World Cup final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.
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