MBABANE – Former Eswatini senior men’s national team, Sihlangu Semnikati Coach Zdravko ‘Loga’ Logarusic says his country have a 50/50 chance of eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.
On the other hand, the Croatian tactician believes it will be a stroll in the park for Lionel Messi’s Argentina when they face Cape Verde on Saturday.
This publication requested a prediction of his country’s tomorrow morning clash against Portugal in the Round of 32.
“Look, tactically and technically, we play the same as Portugal but it will be those small, simple mistakes in defence that high-alert strikers will eventually capitalise on to influence the outcome of the game,” he said.
Having watched both teams, he said that the game could go either way, but backed Croatia on the strength of their good run in the tournament.
‘Loga’, who guided Sihlangu during the World Cup qualifiers, brings to mind how Croatia once shocked Lionel Messi’s Argentina. He believes his country are capable of producing another upset when they face Ronaldo’s Portugal in the Last 32 on Friday at 1am.
Croatia have made six appearances in the FIFA World Cup since 1998, regularly punching above their weight. Their most notable achievements include finishing as runners-up in 2018 and third place in both 1998 and 2022.
In 2018, Croatia reached their first-ever World Cup final, finishing as runners-up after a hard-fought match against France. They sent shockwaves through the tournament by beating Argentina 3-0 in the group stage and coming from behind to eliminate England 2-1 in the semi-finals. In the previous edition, they again showed their resilience by finishing third after defeating Morocco in the third-place play-off.
Meanwhile, in their debut tournament, 1998, Croatia stunned the football world by beating the then-defending European champions Germany 3-0.
On another note, Logarusic predicted an end of the road for Cape Verde, the Group D World Cup qualifiers winners from Africa where also Eswatini was also drawn. Cape Verde have already sent shockwaves through the tournament by holding favourites Spain to a goalless draw in the group stage and advancing beyond the first round in their maiden appearance.
On Saturday, July 4, they face defending champions Argentina.
“Look, it’s good to have small teams like this one in the World Cup performing this way as they make it interesting. But they will not go any further now. They will be playing against too much quality and they have no way they can beat Argentina,” he said.
He also expressed pride at seeing Cape Verde perform at this level, saying he helped them qualify by holding Cameroon to a goalless draw in one of the qualifying matches.
“Cameroon needed those two points we robbed them. Otherwise, it would have been a different story. Cape Verde won’t be there if we didn’t frustrate Cameroon,” he added.
Former Sihlangu Semnikati Coach Zdravko Logarusic issues instructions . (Inset L-R) Two all-time greats: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ‘CR7’ showing their goal celebrations at the World Cup. (Pics: FIFA World Cup)