Croatia’s World Cup ended in cruel fashion as Portugal struck in added time to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory.

For Zlatko Dalić, the defeat was difficult to accept.

The Croatia coach was visibly disappointed after the final whistle, particularly because he felt his team had grown into the match and produced enough after the break to deserve more.

Croatia punished late

According to TV 2 Sport, Dalić was clear that he had no complaints about the effort shown by his players, despite the painful nature of the defeat.

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“I don’t have much to say. I’m sad that we lost, especially because of the second half, where we were the better team and created chances,” Dalić told FIFA.

“We conceded a goal in added time, but I have nothing to fault the players for. They fought and gave everything they had.”

The late goal left Croatia with little time to respond and brought an abrupt end to a tournament in which expectations had again been high.

Dalić’s side have built a reputation for surviving difficult knockout matches, but this time the fine margins went against them.

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No blame for the players

The defeat was especially bitter because Croatia had pushed Portugal hard after half-time.

Dalić pointed to that second-half performance as a reason for his frustration, but he refused to criticise his squad.

For the Croatian coach, the disappointment was not about a lack of commitment. It was about the timing of the decisive moment.

Portugal found the goal when the match appeared to be heading towards another tense finish, leaving Croatia to process a defeat decided at the very end.

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Dalić avoids future question

After the match, attention quickly turned to Dalić’s own position.

The 57-year-old has led Croatia through one of the greatest periods in the country’s football history, including a World Cup final in 2018 and a third-place finish in 2022.

But after this latest exit, he gave no indication of what will happen next.

“What will happen after the World Cup? I have no comments on that. We’ll talk about it later,” Dalić said.

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That answer leaves uncertainty around Croatia’s next step.

For now, the pain of the defeat comes first. Decisions about the future can wait, but Croatia’s World Cup is over after one of the cruellest endings of the tournament.

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