Ahead of Croatia’s match against England, Indian football team’s head coach Igor Stimac has advised his countrymen to keep England’s striker Harry Kane ‘cold’. The WC2018 runners-up will begin their UEFA Euro 2020 campaign with a game against the Three Lions on Sunday at the Wembley Stadium in London.
Croatia and England are placed in the Group D of the competition, alongside Czech Republic and Scotland. Stimac has identified Harry Kane as the most lethal weapon in England’s armoury, and according to the former Croatia head coach, the only way to keep him quiet will be to cut the distribution lines towards him.
“Harry (Kane) is an amazing player and, with such players, the best option is to cut distribution towards him, to keep him cold,”
the 53-year-old said, as quoted by Mirror.
With rumours suggesting Harry Kane is looking for a move away from Tottenham Hotspur, Stimac has expressed his surprise at his elongated stay at the London-based club.
As for the outcome of the match, Stimac hailed England as the favourites. “The game is a close call. I’m not sure what to expect from both teams but at least I am sure England are favourites to win it this time. It is always difficult to play against Croatia, though, you never know what can hit you.”
Like Stimac, most pundits and fans have given England the tag of ‘favourites’ ahead of the match, but the Three Lions will be wary of what Croatia can do. The Checkered Ones knocked England out of the 2018 World Cup by beating them in the semi-final, and while some crucial members from that team are not a part of the current Croatian team, the likes of Luka Modric can come back to haunt England once again.
“He is unbelievable, still holding the team on his shoulders with such passion and energy, just magnificent. If I was asked who’d I’d pay any price to watch I’d say Luka, obviously,”
Stimac had to say on the Croatian skipper.
Speaking about his team’s chances, Stimac said
“So the boys should get there and enjoy the games. Many players from 2018 are not there anymore and our team has passed through a rebuilding phase in the last two years. It’s time to see where we stand now.”
Luka Modric terms England as favourites
Mind games have started ahead of the big occasion. While Stimac and Croatian fans are pinning their hopes on their talismanic skipper Luka Modric to pull off an upset, the Real Madrid player himself has termed England as one of the favourites to win this competition.
“They will be very dangerous at this Euros and for me they are one of the favourites,”
said Modric, as quoted by Football365.
Modric was quick to acknowledge that fact, as he stated,
“Especially that they are playing at home, which is also a good part for them. (It will be an) advantage, not a huge one, but it (still) is because there will not be away fans and that’s why I think they are certainly one of the favourites.”
After their game against England, the Croatians will set up their camp in Scotland. They will play their remaining two group stage matches against Czech Republic and Scotland at the Hampden Park in Glasgow, on 18th and 22nd June respectively. As for England, their second game will be against neighbours Scotland, while they will finish their group stage campaign with a match against Czechs.
