Mateo Kovacic, a midfielder for Chelsea, has given teammates in Croatia guidance on how to deal with Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian striker, who is now on loan from Chelsea to Inter Milan, is expected to make a full recovery from his injury in time to take against Kovacic's team in the Group F championship game. Kovacic is an old friend from Chelsea who was asked for guidance on how to handle Lukaku.
He told reporters on Wednesday, "I will leave things up to the coach. But I'll add, "Just don't wrestle him."
At Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Croatia merely needs a point to advance to the round of 16, while Belgium needs to win to ensure a knockout tie.
"We are playing against the second-best football team in the world, and they were number one," claimed Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic.
“They are a great team and if we could choose we would not have selected this match to be the decisive one. We will not fool ourselves by their under-performance in the last two games.
“We will play as we did against Canada, high quality, high tempo. It's going to be a difficult game.
“Belgium are a top team, they have [Kevin] De Bruyne and [Eden] Hazard and we will not be fooled by media stories and some rumours. We are expecting the best of Belgium, a top-notch national team.
“They haven't become a bad football players overnight. I am not focused on any other aspects, we are just focused on their strength and quality."
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