Mandzukic played in the first two group-stage matches but failed to score. He did not come off the bench in Croatia’s final Group D match against Iceland on Tuesday.

“The fact that Mandzukic has yet to score at the World Cup doesn't bother me. The important thing is that he has a great spirit, he energizes the entire team… I hope his goalless drought will end during the match against Denmark, and he continues to show the results in the later stages of the tournament,” Dalic told journalists.

The 32-year-old striker has made a total of 85 international appearances scoring 30 goals and is currently the national team's second all-time leading goalscorer behind retired Davor Suker, who has 45 international goals to his name.

Croatia beat Iceland 2-1 at the Rostov Arena on Tuesday and topped off Group D table with a total of nine points. They are to face Group C runners-up Denmark in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday in the round of 16.