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ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The goal that gave Croatia hope against England came from Martin Baturina — and according to the man who knows his game best, it was no accident.
In remarks published by the Croatian Football Federation from Saturday's press conference, midfielder Petar Sučić described a partnership with Baturina built over years of sharing a pitch, a locker room and a roommate's quarters. The two have played together for two and a half years across Dinamo Zagreb and the national team, Sučić said, and have roomed together the entire time. On the field, he said, he does not even need to look at Baturina to know where he is — and the same goes the other way. "We work extremely well together, and we've shown that," Sučić said.
For readers of The Alexandria Brief who followed the team's stay the past few weeks, that chemistry has a familiar ring: Baturina is the young Como midfielder whose long-range strike drew Croatia level against England, and the Sučić family name surfaced earlier in camp through Petar's cousin, Luka Sučić, who also features in the squad.
Learn from it, then move on
Petar Sučić, enjoying what he called the best stretch of his career after a strong season at Inter Milan, made his own World Cup debut against England. He preferred to dwell on the positives — that Croatia, set pieces aside, was the better team for much of the first half and proved it can compete with anyone. Coming from behind three times is not easy, he noted, but the takeaway was that the team is capable.
That theme — accountability on set pieces, optimism about everything else — ran through the second player the federation made available, Ajax defender Josip Šutalo.
Šutalo: focus, and a fix for the corners
Šutalo, a key figure in Croatia's defense, said the team's set pieces against England were not good enough, in remarks also published by the federation. The squad had a couple of days to clear its head, he said, and each player needs to take more initiative and execute better — adding that a back-four setup, which Croatia is expected to revert to, is nothing unfamiliar.
Turning to Panama, Šutalo offered an early scouting read: the opponent favors diagonals, long balls and plenty of crosses, and is a team-oriented side without many standout individuals. Croatia, he said, will have to stay focused.
Both players, like their teammates this week, paid tribute to captain Luka Modrić, set to make his 200th appearance for Croatia against Panama. Sučić marveled at the difficulty of not just reaching that level but sustaining it for so long; Šutalo said the squad can only admire what Modrić has done for the national team.
A camp that feels like home
Both also touched on what makes the national team different from club life — and, indirectly, on the closeness that has marked Croatia's weeks based in Alexandria. With the country's players gathered together, Sučić said, the group spends entire days in each other's company — table tennis, darts, video games, watching matches — building bonds that are harder to form at a club, where players train and go home. Šutalo echoed the sentiment, calling the all-domestic group a special feeling, with a shared mentality.
That togetherness now faces its biggest test of the tournament. Croatia, last in Group L after the England loss, continues training at its Alexandria base before traveling to Toronto to face Panama on Tuesday, returning to the Alexandria area afterward before closing the group stage against Ghana in Philadelphia on June 27. The Vatreni need results in both to keep their tournament alive.
