Pundit explains why he thinks Ivan Perisic was likely frustrated this week
Danny Murphy has claimed that Ivan Perisic would not have been too pleased by the fact that he was asked to play at left-back in Croatia’s third-place playoff against Morocco. Although Perisic has been converted into a left wing-back over the past couple of seasons, the Croat has played as an out-and-out winger for most […]
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Danny Murphy has claimed that Ivan Perisic would not have been too pleased by the fact that he was asked to play at left-back in Croatia’s third-place playoff against Morocco.
Although Perisic has been converted into a left wing-back over the past couple of seasons, the Croat has played as an out-and-out winger for most of his career.
(Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
He has primarily featured either as a winger or as a wide forward in the 123 caps he has won for Croatia, including in this World Cup, where he played on the left of a front three.
The 33-year-old scored once and provided three assists in Qatar (transfermarkt), which takes his goal contributions to 11 across the last three tournaments, which is second only to Lionel Messi’s 16 (Eurofoot).
However, Zlatko Dalic’s reduced Perisic’s chance of adding to his tally by starting him as a left-back against Morocco. Perisic is just one goal away from overtaking Mario Mandzukic in Croatia’s all-time goalscorer list – with both sitting on 33 (TransferMarket).
Although Croatia emerged 2-1 winners against the North African side, Murphy believes that the Tottenham man would not have been too pleased with Dalic’s decision.
The former Spurs and Liverpool midfielder said while commentating on the game for BBC Sport (17/12/22 – from 15:00 onwards) HITC): “He’ll (Perisic) have walked into the dressing room and thought, come on, why am I playing left-back?”
Spurs Web Opinion
Perisic is an ultimate professional, who puts the needs of the team over his own personal ambitions. So, I doubt the Croat would have raised any complaints at being asked to play at left-back for his country on Saturday.
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