Wednesday’s win for Croatia over Saudi Arabia came with a start for Borna Barisic but there have been hints from their camp that the Rangers man will be disappointed in terms of World Cup action.
A 0-1 victory was secured in the Saudi capital by Zlatko Dalic’s side in what was their final warm up ahead of the start of the tournament in Qatar over the coming days.
Ibrox full-back Barisic played the full game, won with a late goal by Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramarić, but there have been claims that most of those who lined-up at the start of the match were given minutes as they will be on the fringes of the squad when the real stuff commences.
This was attributed to a line from the head coach Dalic, as reported by Croatia Week:
“Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić, who said before the match that he would give game time to players who needed it the most, started his only warm-up match ahead of the World Cup with largely a second-string side.”
“Only goal keeper Dominik Livaković and midfield Marcelo Brozović from the starting line-up are expected to start next week in Croatia’s World Cup opener against Morocco.”
Qatar awaits #Croatia.
Tomorrow, @FIFAWorldCup runners-up fly to Doha.📸 Cropix#WorldCup #Family #Vatreni❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/HrEbb18Bij
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) November 17, 2022
Fight
Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa and Celtic’s Josip Juranovic are likely to provide the formidable competition for Barisic in terms of a starting slot in their Group F contests with Morocco, Canada and Belgium.
In his favour, the former Osijek man is a tried and trusted option for the Croats with significant experiences amassed over the course of his 28 caps. The 30-year old appeared to get a bounce from his recent call-up with energetic performances against Hearts and St Mirren coming after the confirmation of his spot in the World Cup squad.
