Dalić after Croatia's return to Zagreb: defeat by Portugal hurts, but a new national-team phase begins
The Croatian national football team returned to Zagreb on July 4, 2026, after being eliminated from the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. HRT reported that the national-team players landed in Croatia after the trip from Toronto, one day after the 2:1 defeat by Portugal in the round of 32. Fans welcomed them at Franjo Tuđman Airport, but the atmosphere was different from the great celebratory returns of 2018 and 2022. Instead of euphoria, what prevailed was regret over the way the match ended and the feeling that the team had played well enough in the second half to continue the tournament. Zlatko Dalić said that Croatia, in his view, did not get as much as it deserved, but at the same time he tried to avoid a simplified explanation according to which only VAR, the referees or new technology would be to blame for the elimination.
According to the official report of the Croatian Football Federation, the match in Toronto ended with a 2:1 Portuguese victory, with goals by Ivan Perišić in the 53rd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo from a penalty kick in the 68th minute and Gonçalo Ramos in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Croatia shook the net once more in the closing stages, when Joško Gvardiol scored for an apparent 2:2, but the goal was disallowed after a check for offside in an action that included an assist by Mario Pašalić. The HNS stated that the winner of that duel secured continued participation in the competition and a meeting with Spain in Dallas. For Croatia, however, the tournament ended earlier than at the previous two World Cups, at which, under Dalić's leadership, it won silver in Russia and bronze in Qatar. The defeat by Portugal thus gained the weight of a sporting result, but also of the symbolic end of one national-team period.
The match that changed the tone of Croatia's appearance at the tournament
After the match and upon his return, Dalić emphasized that the first half had been planned cautiously, but not as deep as the team looked on the pitch at certain moments. According to the HNS's transmission of his statements from the press conference, Croatia took the initiative in the second half, created more chances and played a period that the coach considered good enough for progression. Perišić's goal in the 53rd minute came after a cross by Josip Stanišić and gave the match a new rhythm, because Croatia then had room to control the result, but failed to keep the lead. Portugal equalized after a VAR intervention and a penalty kick converted by Ronaldo, and the final blow came in stoppage time, when Rafael Leão crossed and Ramos, jumping between Croatian defenders, scored for 2:1. It was precisely that second Portuguese goal that Dalić singled out as a situation that cannot be explained only by refereeing decisions, but also by Croatia's defensive reaction.
That assessment is important because it shows that the coach did not want to build the entire story on the disallowed goal and the debate about VAR. Dalić admitted that Croatia could have settled the match earlier, especially during the period when Mateo Kovačić, Petar Sučić and Igor Matanović were threatening dangerously, while Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa and the post kept Portugal in the game. The HNS report recalls that Croatia had several promising situations in the second half before Ramos's goal, including Kovačić's attempts and Mario Pašalić's chance just before stoppage time. The coach therefore described the defeat as a combination of unfortunate circumstances, missed chances and mistakes that are paid for dearly at that level of competition. Such an approach does not reduce the frustration over the finale, but it provides a broader framework: Croatia was not eliminated only because of one decision, but also because in the key minutes it did not close out a match that it had managed to turn in its favor.
VAR, the chip in the ball and the line between precision and emotion
The most reactions were caused by the disallowed goal in the 13th minute of stoppage time, when it looked as though Gvardiol had taken the match into extra time. HRT reported that the goal was disallowed after a VAR check for offside, and the discussion continued because of the way in which the technology registered a touch at the beginning of the action. FIFA had previously announced that the official tournament ball, TRIONDA, uses connected technology with a 500-hertz motion sensor, which sends real-time data to the video assistant referee system and helps with decisions, including offside situations. FIFA also announced that a more advanced semi-automated offside technology is being used at the 2026 World Cup, with digital player avatars and faster notification of referees in clear situations. In practice, it was precisely such a combination of video footage, sensors and interpretation of the rules that led to the moment that was extremely painful for Croatian players and fans.
In his public appearances, Dalić tried to distinguish between criticizing technology and refusing responsibility. According to the HNS, he said that he did not want to make excuses by blaming anyone, but stressed that VAR decisions strongly change the emotional flow of a match and break the spontaneity of football. His message was not that technology must be completely rejected, but that it increasingly produces situations in which the audience, players and coaches find it hard to accept a decision that is not clearly visible from standard television angles. HRT's analysis after the match also emphasized that Croatia's second half was its best of the tournament, but that it was not rewarded with a result, while the new chip technology in the ball opened an additional debate about how far precision can go before the feel of the game is lost. For FIFA, these systems are part of the modernization of refereeing, while for many participants in the match in Toronto there remained a dilemma about the balance between technical accuracy and football intelligibility.
The end of an era and talks about Dalić's future
The return to Zagreb also opened the question of Dalić's future on the Croatia bench. The coach said that he would discuss the continuation with the leadership of the Croatian Football Federation, and at the moment it has not been officially confirmed whether he will remain in his post for the next cycle. In its post-match announcement, the HNS conveyed his assessment that the end of a beautiful era had arrived and that new beginnings follow, which is a powerful sentence after almost a decade in which Croatia, under his leadership, became one of the most successful national teams at major competitions. Dalić took over the team in 2017, led it to the 2018 World Cup and then brought it to the final in Moscow, bronze in Qatar in 2022 and the final stages of the Nations League in 2023. For that reason, the debate about his status cannot be reduced only to the defeat by Portugal, but also concerns the question of how to manage a generational change after a period above expectations.
The match with Portugal probably also had a personal dimension for some of the players who marked the most successful cycle of the Croatian national team. According to the HNS, Dalić particularly singled out Luka Modrić, assessing that the captain had once again been one of the most important players and had led Croatia until the very end. After the match, Modrić said that it was not the moment for final decisions about the future, but he also emphasized that everything would be known quickly. With his goal against Portugal, Ivan Perišić once again confirmed his status as one of Croatia's most important players at World Cups, while Mateo Kovačić showed in the second half how much he can mean in the transitional phase toward a new hierarchy. It is precisely around such players, but also around the question of who takes over the leading roles, that the next strategic decision of the coach and the Federation will revolve.
Young players as a foundation, but not a guarantee of repeating the greatest successes
Despite the painful elimination, Dalić emphasized that Croatia has a foundation for the future. According to his statements published by the HNS, the national team has enough talent and young players coming through, but repeating the World Cup medals will be extremely difficult. That sentence sounds cautious, but also realistic: Croatia is a small football nation in terms of population, yet over recent decades it has built a reputation as a national team that can compete with the strongest. At this tournament, Petar Sučić, Martin Baturina and Igor Matanović received significant roles, and in the closing stages against Portugal players who should be part of the next cycle were also included. HRT commentators on the programme Americana Extra assessed that the second half against Portugal is a point from which a more optimistic view can be built, because Croatia showed against an extremely talented team that it can be an equal opponent.
Still, the transition from one generation to another is never a simple process, especially for a national team whose performance standards have grown because of the successes of 2018 and 2022. Dalić warned that young players must go through both victories and defeats, because international maturity is not acquired merely by entering the squad, but also through the experience of matches in which one detail decides a season, a tournament or a career. The defeat by Portugal can therefore have a double effect: in the short term it leaves a feeling of a missed opportunity, but in the long term it can serve as a difficult lesson about concentration, defensive responsibility and closing out matches. Croatia showed energy, character and the ability to rise after a weaker first half in Toronto, but at the same time it conceded a goal at the moment when the match had to be defended with the greatest discipline. It is precisely this combination of positive signs and painful mistakes that will determine the tone of the analyses that follow.
The broader context of the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup is the first in history with 48 national teams, 12 groups of four teams and an additional knockout round of 32, according to FIFA's official explanation. The tournament is being held in three host countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, and the expanded format means that the path to the final stages includes more matches, more travel and different management of players' energy. Croatia finished second in Group L and thus secured a duel with Portugal, but in the new format that meant that already in the first elimination round it would face one of the strongest European sides. Such an outcome also shows the unpredictability of the expanded tournament: advancing from the group is no longer as close to the quarter-finals as it was in the old format, but is only an entry into an additional layer of direct elimination matches. For national teams like Croatia, which at previous tournaments knew how to build rhythm through extra time and high-pressure series, the new structure also requires additional squad depth.
According to the HNS calendar, Croatia's next official match is scheduled in the Nations League against Czechia on September 26, 2026, which means that the period of analysis will not last long. By then, decisions about Dalić's status, the role of the most experienced players and the profile of the team that will enter the new cycle should be clearer. The defeat by Portugal will be remembered for the disallowed goal, the chip in the ball and great emotions, but for the coaching staff the colder question will be more important: how to preserve the competitive identity of the national team while at the same time opening space for new bearers of the game. Croatia welcomed the end of the tournament in Zagreb without celebration, but not without perspective. If the second half from Toronto proves to be the beginning of a new foundation, and not only the last flash of the old generation, then the painful elimination by Portugal will also remain as a turning point toward a different, younger Croatia.
Sources:
- Croatian Radiotelevision – report on the return of the Croatian national team to Zagreb and the basic circumstances after the defeat by Portugal (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – Zlatko Dalić's statements after the Portugal – Croatia match at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – official report, lineups, scorers and course of the Portugal – Croatia 2:1 match (link)
- Croatian Radiotelevision / Americana Extra – expert analysis of the match, Croatia's second half and the debate about the technology in the ball (link)
- FIFA – official announcement about the TRIONDA ball and connected technology with a 500-hertz motion sensor (link)
- FIFA – official explanation of the 2026 World Cup format with 48 national teams and 12 groups (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – overview of the national team, result of the previous match and announcement of the next official encounter (link)