Ivan Perisic has spoken of his joy at Croatia reaching the World Cup Final and believes his side stand a chance of lifting the trophy on Sunday afternoon.
Perisic was named as FIFA’s official Man of the Match in Wednesday night’s second semi-final tie in Moscow, providing first a goal and then an assist as Zlatko Dalic’s side came from behind to defeat England 2-1 after extra time.
“England were a little unlucky,” Perisic told reporters in the mixed zone after the match, “but we earned our place in the final and now we hope to win it.
“We need to study France [Croatia’s opponents in Sunday’s final] well now, but I think we have a chance.”
Croatia’s previous best result at a major tournament was the semi-final they reached at the World Cup in 1998, which means that Perisic and his team-mates have already written an important page in the national team’s history, whatever happens on Sunday.
“We’ve always been stuck in the shadows of that team,” he said, “but I hope with this win we’ve finally come out of it. Everyone has been talking about it constantly but the only thing that matters now is that Croatia have made it to the final.”
