MY ACCOUNT
Ivan Perisic believes “the sky is the limit” for his former Bayern Munich team-mate Alphonso Davies, who he is excited to face when Croatia take on Canada at the World Cup on Sunday.
The 2018 runners-up Croatia began their Group F campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco on Wednesday, failing to score in a World Cup match for the first time since 2006 (0-0 v Japan).
That result leaves Zlatko Dalic’s men needing a win when they face Canada, but Bayern’s all-action full-back Davies could represent a major threat to their hopes of victory.
Davies impressed despite seeing an early penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois in Canada’s 1-0 loss to Belgium, creating more chances (three) than all opposition players except Kevin De Bruyne (four), and Perisic is all too aware of the 22-year-old’s quality.
“It was a pleasure to play with him on the left side, he is a powerful runner, the sky is the limit for him,” Perisic said of Davies at Saturday’s pre-match press conference.
“I can’t wait to play against him and the others, to show what we can do. I hope for good success.
“We watched them against Belgium, how much they ran, Belgium could not respond. We have to be at that level in terms of running and aggressiveness.
“After all, we are Croatia and if we show our game, it will be positive. I think you will see the new, real Croatia.”
Meanwhile, only Luka Modric (156) and Darijo Srna (134) have bettered Perisic’s tally of 117 senior caps for Croatia, and the wing-back also scored his country’s first goal in their World Cup final defeat to France four years ago.
Perisic will be 35 by the time Euro 2024 comes around, but he is yet to give any consideration to whether this tournament will be his last.
“The focus is on this match, and I don’t know where I will be in two or four years,” he added.
“I’m going game by game, my goal is to play as much as possible and work slowly every day.”
