"It will be important who scores the first goal" says Czechia's Tomáš Koudelka ahead of today's return match against Croatia that will decide which team qualifies for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania next year.
Koudelka added for Czech FA that the Czech futsal team "went to Zadar for a good result, which we did, and now we want to confirm it at home in Brno and progress to the World Cup."
Radim Záruba, who scored the first goal in the first match-up duel in Zadar which ended in a 2-2 draw, said for Czech FA: "I think the result is quite acceptable. If someone told us before the match, we would take it and prepare for the home match. But based on the course of the game, I think we also had a chance to win. Of course, the Croats played at home and also had their opportunities, but in the end we were able to take a better result."
"Judging from statistical data, objectively, we were a better team." said Mato Stanković, Croatia's head coach. "We are getting prepared for any scenario that may come today. All players are healthy, atmosphere in the locker-room is great. I think we have more to show attacking-wise and that we need to 'loosen the breaks' a little bit more." said Stanković ahead of today's match.
If you're fluent in Croatian, you can watch full statement of coach Stanković, but also from players Davor Kanjuh and Luka Suton, in the video below:
Croatia's star player, Jimbee Cartagena's Dario Marinović commented that the result of the first match was not what Croatia was expecting. "Every team in every sport hopes for a positive result, especially when the duel is played on two matches. We were 'paper favorites' in the first match and now the second match comes as an additional weight." said Marinović for crofutsal.com
"It won't be easy for us, but I believe we are a better team. We need to be more agressive and hope to create enough opportunities to 'break' the match in our favor." Marinović added.
Deciding match between Czechia and Croatia is on schedule today in Brno, at 18:10 local time.
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