In the first round of the World Cup group stage, Croatia, the previous runners-up, will face African powerhouse Morocco. According to Croatia's Morning Post, head coach Zlatko Dalic has identified 10 starters, except for the right winger position, he still has to choose between Vlašic and Pašalić, and from the current situation, Vlašic still has a slight advantage in the competition.
Croatia team training
At the last World Cup, Dalic used Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic on the left and right wings respectively. After 4 years, the "Sabre" is still the first choice for the left winger position, but the Milan striker, who is in the prime of life, has long been excluded from the squad because of the conflict with head coach Dalich.
With Croatia's current 26 players, only Perisic and Oršić are pure wingers, but Dalic positions Oršic as Perisic's backup, it is impossible to let Dynamo start directly on the winger, in the right winger position, he prefers to use a player with central midfield attributes, and this starting choice will eventually be born between Vlašic and Pašalić.
Dalic and Perisic
As representatives of Croatia's Mesozoic generation, Vlašic and Pašalić are both central midfielders and both play as attacking midfielders at their respective clubs. However, Dalic did not set up a "number 10" for Croatia, and with Kramaric fixed in the center position, the two became two candidates for the right winger position.
Vlašić
In the last three group rounds of the UEFA Nations League, Vlašic started one and Pashalic started two, and in the warm-up match against Saudi Arabia, the two started at the same time (Pašalić left wing, Vlašic right wing). From the perception of Dalic and the rest of the coaching staff, Vlašic, who is strictly slimmed down, is more like a winger than Pashalic, and his straight up and down and wide range on the right wing are also more in line with the tactical requirements of the Croatian team.
Vlašić
With almost two days to go before his first group game, Vlašic has a head start in the starting line-up, but for Pashalic he is not without chance. In the next training, he must use a better performance to conquer Dalić.
Pashalic
Croatia expected to start: Livakovic/Yuranovic, Lovren, Gvadior, Sousa/Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic/Vlašic (Pašalić), Kramaric, Perisic