Rakitić: Young Croatia hungry for success
Saturday, March 28, 2015
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"We are on the right path to do something big," said Ivan Rakitić after his Croatia side thumped Norway 5-1 to open up a two-point advantage at the top of Group H.
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FC Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitić was in buoyant mood when he spoke to UEFA.com after Croatia's impressive 5-1 win over Norway made them outright leaders of Group H, but insisted there is yet more to come from his country's young side.
"A big victory with five goals and 20,000 fans supporting us; we are feeling great after that," said the 27-year-old playmaker. "It is a fact that this was not our best game, we have some things to improve on, but after a 5-1 victory over team like Norway, it would be strange to be unsatisfied and we have to be happy. We'll enjoy this for a while."
Saturday turned into a good day for the country, the players watching Italy draw in Bulgaria in Group H's late game to leave Croatia on their own at the top of the section. Undefeated and having scored 15 goals in their five outings, things are looking good when it comes to qualification for UEFA EURO 2016.
"Everything is going in the right direction, but we still have work to do," commented Rakitić, nicknamed Raketa – Rocket – in his homeland. "It's not over yet and that's the most important thought we have to keep in the next months. Today it was great that we showed even when we don't have our perfect day we are still winning and we are winning in style."
The most important match of the qualifying campaign comes next as Italy arrive on the 12 June, and it is a test coach Niko Kovač has his full attention on. "We cannot relax after this victory. We detected some things we need to work on, we definitely need to improve in some details, as Italy are coming," said the coach.
"That will be a crucial match and the fans can expect a beautiful and interesting game. I'm sure the stadium will be sold out, the fans will be our motivation and after everything we showed in this year's qualifying, we can continue in the same direction."
Those fans who will be there when Italy arrive packed out the Stadion Maksimir tonight, and Rakitić hopes the young and exciting squad he is currently at the centre of can live up to their expectations. "I hope the people enjoyed it tonight although we are aware we can do better and we have to work hard. We are young and we are hungry for success. And we are on the right path to do something big."