ZAGREB, Oct. 16-- Croatian Football Federation (CFF) confirmed on Monday that 50-year-old Zlatko Dalic would take the helm of the national team in the 2018 World Cup playoffs. "Dalic will lead the team in this playoff matches and after that we will sit and talk about the future," CFF president Davor Suker said at the press conference in CFF's headquarters in Zagreb. According to some unofficial sources, Dalic has been offered to sign a long term contract to lead the Croatian national team in the next two and a half years, but opted to wait after the November playoffs. It seems to be a smart decision because he will be in a much better position to negotiate his terms if he'll successfully finish the job and step in for Ante Cacic who led Croatia for two years but was dismissed after the string of poor results and performances. "Dalic took over the team and didn't ask any questions. He is so honest that he will not get a contract or be rewarded for these matches," Suker said, adding he doesn't want to think about a possible playoffs failure. "I believe that the team will show its quality, the true face of Croatia." Dalic will lead Croatian delegation to attend the draw for the 2018 World Cup European qualifiers playoff round on Tuesday in Zurich, Switzerland. Croatia, ranked 18th in the FIFA rankings published on Monday, will be among the four seeded teams with Italy, Switzerland and Denmark, and will play against Sweden, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland or Greece, one of the four teams that are ranked lower. |