Ivan Perišić, Ivan Rakitić and Nikola Kalinić all scored to crown quality Croatia's performance against Bulgaria. Never losing control of the match, Vatreni created chances and won 3:0.
"Of course I am happy that the national team put in this kind of performance in my first match. These three points keep us alive in the fight for the second place. We scored early, we were more motivated than Bulgaria, and in the end, with all due respect, Croatia has more quality", summarized Croatia head coach Ante Čačić after the match.
"As I've already said, this is the most talented generation of Croatian footballers, they are the pride of a nation. There is no point in discussing their quality, and they deserve all the credit for making this expected win a possibility", he added.
Vatreni played full of energy, and coach Čačić expressed his gratitude to everyone who pledged their support to the national team. However, there is no time to celebrate.
"This was just one step. We have to win at Malta to make these points valuable. I am focused on Croatia only, to repeat this performance in difficult weather conditions. Other teams struggled at Malta as well. I believe that the result from Italy will play in our favour, but I do not bother. With this passion, we can go even to play-offs in good spirits", concluded Čačić, saying that Modrić's muscle injury should not be serious.
