Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has identified Raheem Sterling as one of England’s most dangerous players ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final. Sterling, who has been widely criticised on social media by England fans, played a key role as Gareth Southgate’s men overcame Sweden 2-0 in Samara to set up a semi-final against Croatia.
Speaking to reporters Dalic was quizzed about England’s strengths and weaknesses. The 51-year-old coach, who has only been in charge of the national side since October, said: “I wouldn’t say there are any glaring weaknesses – they are in the semi-finals, that says it all.
They showed from the games I’ve seen so far that they play direct football and they are very fast.
“I think Raheem Sterling is an important player because he is really fast and his combination with Harry Kane is really dangerous.”
He also praised Sterling’s pace and power, and said he and his coaching team would be analysing England more closing over the next two days before passing that information on to his players.
“They dealt with Sweden relatively easily so we know they are going to be a difficult opponent and we respect them,” he said.