The Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic said that Croatia will be resting the six players who are already on yellow cards and are on the verge of a possible suspension along with some other players who are suffering from minor injuries against Iceland in their final match of the group stage, as reported by the Goal.com.
This could be a bad news for Argentina as they need to beat Nigeria and also hope that Croatia avoid a loss against Iceland to ensure their place in the second round of the tournament. In case Iceland do win against Croatia, Messi and Co wil have to better Iceland's result by two goals. If Iceland win 1-0, Argentina can go through with a 2-0 against Nigeria courtesy of a better goal-scoring record. Croatia is already guaranteed a place in the last 16 after two wins, while Argentina and Iceland are tied on one point.
“The players with yellow cards will not play against Iceland. Some players have minor injuries, so they will not play either.” Dalic said, according to the reports from Goal.com.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Dalic also added that Croatia will look to be first in the group but will be thinking about themselves and not any other team as they prepare for their final group stage game.
“We won’t calculate, we won’t choose opponents for the second round. We want to be first in the group. But we are also going to think about ourselves. Not about others.” Dalic concluded.
Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic, Sime Vrsaljko, Mario Mandzukic, Marcelo Brozovic and Vedran Corluka are the six Croatia players who are one booking away from being suspended for the last 16.
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