Netherlands-Croatia – M. Blazevic: “Our objective was to be the third-ranked team world-wide”

“In my mind, it was a well-deserved victory. It was very tough, particularly because the NETHERLANDS side is probably the best team in the world. We had to be both strong and intelligent to win. I would also like to congratulate our captain Zvonimir BOBAN (10) who was able to direct the offence and also, from a personal standpoint, battled admirably. Our objective was to be the third-ranked team world-wide. I decided on a counter-attack strategy because of the strength of our opponent. My players followed the game-plan perfectly. We are very proud of this victory. The show we put on during this World Cup enabled the entire world to become better acquainted with our little country.”