Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has transformed in 20 years. From a supporter in the stands to a coach who delivered his country to the 2018 World Cup final.

Zlatko Dalic is one of happiest people with Croatia's glory. He is very happy because his country surpasses its achievement at the 1998 World Cup.

Croatia managed to step into semifinals at the 1998 World cup. It faced France at the semifinal, but failed to the final after  2-1 defeat.

"At 1998, I was in France to watch Croatia's match as a supporter," Zlatko Dalic told FIFA.com after the semi-final against England on Wednesday (11/7/2018).

"Everyone Croatian remember of the semi-final match when Thuram got us defeated, the defeat has been being the topic of discussion in our country for 20 years," said Zlatko Dalic.

"I myself was happy when Suker scored, but I sat back when France made two goals later," said 51-year-old coach.

Lost to France, Croatia finally finished third at the 1998 World Cup after winning over the Netherlands. Between 1998 and 2014, Croatia entered the World Cup three times.

However, Croatia failed to go further than the group phase. The negative trend ended at the 2018 World Cup.

Croatia national team managed to beat the England team with a score of 2-1 at the semifinal through extra time in Luzhniki Stadium, Wednesday (11/7/2018).

England goal was scored by Kieran Trippier at the 5th minute. While Croatia scored the equalizer goal at 68th minute by Ivan Perisic, then Mario Mandzukic scored the winning goal at the 109th minute.

At the final match, Croatia will face the team that beat them at the 1998 World Cup semifinal. The final match will be held at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday (15/7/2018).

The game also become a chance for Dalic to revenge for defeat 20 years ago. When he was at the end of his career as a professional footballer, he saw his country failed to step into the final.

"No, it's not about revenge, it's about soccer," Dalic said.

"Our focus now is to prepare well to be able to show our best performance at the final," he said.

Source: Kompas