Zlatko Dalic, the head coach of the Croatian national team, expressed his anger at the refereeing crew's performance following his team's 2-1 loss to Portugal and their exit from the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, asserting that his team did not deserve to leave the tournament in this manner.
Croatia had taken the lead with a goal scored by Ivan Perisic in the 53rd minute, before Cristiano Ronaldo equalized for Portugal with a penalty in the 68th minute, and then Gonçalo Ramos snatched the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Croatia almost forced extra time after Josko Gvardiol scored a goal in the 90+13 minute, but the referee disallowed it for offside after consulting video technology.
Dalic criticized the referee's decisions during the press conference, saying: "The refereeing was very bad. We were hardly awarded any fouls, and I didn't feel that the decisions were in our favor even once."
He added: "In the end, we lost the match, and we don't have much to say, but I feel sorry because we didn't deserve our journey in the tournament to end this way. Conceding a goal in the last minutes is painful, and we should have handled that moment better."
Regarding his future with the Croatian national team, Dalic hinted at the possibility of ending his tenure, saying: "I think a phase has ended, and perhaps it's time for a new beginning. What we have achieved over the past years was exceptional, and everyone is proud of these accomplishments."
Dalic has been leading the Croatian national team since 2017, achieving a runner-up position in the 2018 World Cup, before leading them to third place in the 2022 World Cup.
The Croatian coach concluded his statements by praising his players, saying: "This generation has performed miracles twice, and I can only thank them. They fought until the last moment, gave everything they had, and I cannot blame them for anything."
