Ivan Perišić addresses Croatian fans after elimination at the World Cup—what does it mean for PSV?
1 min readIvan Perišić has been eliminated with Croatia from the World Cup after the Croats lost 2-1 to Portugal in Toronto late on Friday night. The Balkan country seemed to force an extra time in stoppage time, but Joško Gvardiol’s equaliser was disallowed for offside because Igor Matanović would have lightly touched the ball.
Perišić was the train at rest well for the 0-1 on behalf of the Croats. This goal meant a special milestone for the PSV player.
The versatile attacker has now, in fact, scored at least one goal at a minimum of four different World Cups. Also at the 2014 World Cup, the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup, Perisic was responsible for at least one goal.
After the knockout, the 37-year-old Perišić spoke to Croatian media about his future with the national team. ''I hope that I am still available. I am not at an age where I can with 100 percent certainty say that I will continue. But as long as I do not pick up injuries, as long as I am healthy and as long as I can make a difference on the pitch, as I did again in this tournament, I think I will stay in the national team. I don’t know what the future holds, but I will do my best, I will work every day to be in top form. That is all I can promise,'' the PSV player said candidly.
Afterwards, Perišić was annoyed that Croatia, just like at the 2016 European Championship, had to bow to Portugal. “To be honest, it hurts more than in 2016, when we also dominated the entire match. This time we had better chances and I think we handed them goals. It’s very unfortunate, but life goes on,” said the Croatian.
Also, the PSV player addresses the disallowed goal by Gvardiol. ''They say the ball hit Matanovic, or maybe it didn't. I don't even know the rules anymore. I don't know. It was a good match, open on both sides. We have shown that we can play against big teams. They are a great team. I think we showed ourselves at our best'', Perišić concludes about the international against Portugal. The chance is small that Perišić has played his final international match for Croatia, meaning that the Croat, in his final contract year at PSV, will normally still travel to his homeland to play internationals.
Comments8
"Ik zal mijn best doen"... respect, echt. Maar als ze zelf zeggen dat ze kansen cadeau hebben gedaan dan ligt het probleem toch ook bij hun eigen slordigheid, niet alleen bij die VAR. 👀
Het is wel bizar dat Perisic op vier WK's scoorde. 2014, 2018, 2022 en nu weer raak, dat is echt goated ervaring... maar Kroatië moet gewoon strakker afmaken, die kansen weggeven tegen Portugal is dodelijk. 💀
Portugal again, another tournament where Croatia dominates and then loses it on details. "Het leven gaat verder" is true, but damn, that hurts. 💀
I get the rules discussion, but still... if Matanović nudged it and the line sees offside, that is game-changing. Perisic saying they had better chances and "we hebben ze doelpunten cadeau gedaan" is the exact kind of accountability i respect. 👀
Perisic has that killer instinct, 0-1 right after halftime was class. Four different World Cups with a goal, that is PEAK veteran stuff. But tbh PSV fans will be like, why did we let Portugal back in at the end.
That offside call on Gvardiol is just pure pain, bro... You can see how much Kroatians wanted extra time. Perisic saying "ik zal mijn best doen" hits, but still, giving Portugal those chances is costly. 🔥
tbh die buitenspelbeslissing is echt zo'n ding waar niemand blij van wordt. Even laten ze het checken en dan sta je alsnog met lege handen... 🔥
Perisic 0-1 was echt zo'n moment van klasse, maar die afgekeurde goal van Gvardiol blijft toch wrang. "ik zal mijn best doen" klinkt als pure Perisic, maar je voelt ook de pijn over Portugal.