The “fiery” ones arrived in Zagreb at midnight, half an hour after the start of Sunday. Although they didn’t get enough sleep, they had been through worse sleepless nights in their careers.
Just 30 minutes before training began, a rookie named Dion Drena Beljo arrived by car. Despite being included in the call-up by coach Zlatko Dalić, Beljo was overlooked by youth coach Dragan Skočić because he did not play for the club. Beljo had scored three goals for a third division team in a friendly match with Augsburg and had no idea why he wasn’t invited by any coach. On Saturday evening, however, Dalić called to say that they needed another striker because Budimir was the only one available.
The other players arrived by bus and were looking for a suitable field for training when Mandžukić and Ćorluka noticed Luka Modrić’s field. They decided to use it instead of the main field because assistant Hitrec-Kacian was in poor condition. Meanwhile, the boys from Lokomotiva who had just finished their match jumped on Mandžukić and Ćarli for a photo, while children from Dinamo’s open school lined the fence to greet Livaković and Modrić as they got off the bus.
Ivica Olić announced that Vida was missing the field and went to Hitrec with laughter as he held her hand. Ola joked about punishing himself anyway. Dalić noted that everyone did well in Riga and kept Kramarić on the field for 80 minutes despite his recent injury recovery. Therefore, Livaković – Stanišić, Šutalo, Erlić, Gvardiol – Modrić, Brozović – Majer, Kramarić, Ivanušec – Budimir should start on Tuesday. And knowing that they have match-winners like both Pašalić and Baturina on the bench gives Dalić and fans great security.