Croatian international Martin Baturina reflected on his team's 2-1 defeat to England in the fifth round of the Nations League at Wembley. Baturina, who played all 90 minutes, was one of the best Croatian players on the pitch, and according to Sofascore ratings, he received the highest score among the Croatian internationals – 7.6.
Statistically, Baturina produced an impressive performance: he won 12 of 17 duels, successfully completed six of eight dribbles and made 38 accurate passes out of 41 attempts, resulting in a success rate of 93 per cent. He also recorded one key pass, won three fouls and hit the target once.
Although he was among the standouts, Baturina sustained a hand injury during the match. "He stepped on my boot, it is completely swollen, but I do not know exactly what it is. All of this is part of the sport," he said.
On the match itself, Baturina said: "We stood well for the entire game, a shame that luck does not always favour us a little. A shame about the result, that we did not at least draw at the end." He also reflected on the previous encounter with England at Rujevica, which ended 7-0 for England: "What happened at Rujevica, that was a catastrophic day for everyone."
Baturina praised his teammates: "All these players in the squad play at a top level, I think we showed that. A shame that we lost." On his position in the team, he said: "I played the same position tonight as in Como, I do not like to comment on my performances, I think we played very well as a complete unit."
Manager Bilić surprised with a starting line-up featuring a back five, Nikola Vlašić on the left wing and Josip Mišić instead of Luka Modrić in the midfield. Baturina played behind striker Igor Matanović. In such a formation, Croatia offered significantly better resistance to the English than in the previous mutual encounter.
On the new formation, Baturina said: "We played against England at the World Cup, we also looked good there until about the 60th minute. I think we can play this formation and I think we have good players for this formation."
England took the lead in the 24th minute with a goal from Morgan Rogers, and Petar Sučić equalised in the 59th minute. Just five minutes later, Harry Kane converted a penalty for the final 2-1 score.
In the final round of the Nations League, Croatia hosts the Czech Republic in Osijek on Sunday at 20:45. Ahead of that match, Croatia is third in the group with three points, while the Czech Republic is last without points. "We must hold together as a big team, which I think we are. We must go for the win," Baturina said.
