Ex-Croatia Goalkeeper: First Game Against Nigeria Will Be Crucial

Published: May 13, 2018

Croatia World Cup star Stipe Pletikosa is backing the national team to qualify for the last sixteen of the 2018 World Cup, and stressed that their first game against Nigeria will be very important.

Pletikosa played on the same Shakhtar Donetsk team as former Nigeria international striker Julius Aghahowa and also kept goal for Spartak Moscow and Deportivo La Coruña before retiring in 2016.

''All Croatian fans expect the team to pass through the group. It is difficult to predict what can then happen, depending on opponents at the knockout stage,'' Pletikosa told reporters.

''We have a team that is the best in recent years, players playing in top clubs.

''The first meeting against Nigeria will be crucial. I believe in our players and coaches, we will be in the second round and we can go far.''

Stipe Pletikosa was in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia on Saturday to open the World Cup football park in the city that will host the third match in Group D between Argentina and Croatia, a ceremony also attended by Roman Pavlyuchenko, Aleksandr Mostovoy and Dmitry Cheryshev.

He represented Croatia at the 2002, 2006 and 2014 World Cups, playing nine games in total.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : fifa.com