Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic steps down after historic nine-year reign

[p]Under Dalic's tenure, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/K8aznggo/"]Croatia[/a] finished ​runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and ​third in the 2022 edition in Qatar, but ⁠the team ​exited the tournament without a medal this time around.[/p][p][b]"When I took over the national team, I believed in the players' quality and in myself, but I didn't dare dream that we'd achieve everything we have over these nearly nine years,"[/b] Dalic said.[/p][p][b]"I can't describe how proud I am of every victory, of qualifying for major tournaments, of the three medals, of those great nights in Croatian football like when we beat England or Brazil at World Cups."[/b][/p][embed guid="510560d9-7d53-4662-b8e6-c0830ca48952" url="https://x.com/Flashscorecom/status/2074826817098117610" social-type="twitter" /][p]Following his appointment in 2017, Dalic led Croatia in 111 matches, recording 62 wins. His team were also runners-up in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.[/p][p]In this year's World Cup campaign, the 59-year-old's side advanced to the round of 32 after finishing second in Group L, despite a 4-2 defeat by England, a narrow 1-0 win over Panama in which they managed only two shots on target, and a victory over Ghana.[/p][p]But their campaign ended with a 2-1 defeat by Portugal, after which Dali criticised what he described as poor officiating, citing a VAR-awarded penalty and a late offside decision that ruled out Josko Gvardiol's stoppage-time equaliser, though he said refereeing was not an excuse for Croatia's World Cup exit.[/p][p][b]"Head coach, thank you for everything – the victories, the achievements, the qualifying berths, the medals, the unity, the respect, and your unwavering commitment to fight for Croatia, both on and off the pitch,"[/b] the Croatian Football Federation said in a statement.[/p][embed guid="fd546d66-32ca-42e9-b68e-2b930ef486ac" url="https://x.com/HNS_CFF/status/2074808986738516322" social-type="twitter" /]