Dubai: Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has thanked his supporters in the UAE and Saudi Arabia for their support during the World Cup.
The Eastern Europeans take on England in the semi-finals on Wednesday in Russia.
The former Al Ain coach took to Twitter to say: “Thank you for supporting my national team Croatia,” along with a UAE and Saudi Arabia flag.
The 51-year-old was in charge of Al Ain from March 2014 to January 2017 and led the side to an Arabian Gulf League (AGL) title and two cup wins.
He was also coach of Saudi side Al Hilal in 2013.
He is fondly remembered in the UAE with hundreds of fans expressing their support for him and Croatia online.
Now he is guiding his native national team into their fifth World Cup appearance.
The UAE failed to qualify for the tournament, but some UAE fans have been following Croatia instead.
“I expect to find a lot of support from the UAE public,” he said before the tournament. “Most fans there are interested in Real Madrid and Barcelona, but there are few who encourage other teams.”
