The man who won the penalty that resulted to Croatia’s second goal against Nigeria has admitted that he wasn’t expecting the call to be made despite the fact that he was fouled by Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong.
Speaking to Croatia television, Mandzukic admitted that the call came to him as a surprise even though he was fouled in the box by Ekong who was trying to stop him from reaching a corner kick in the second half.
Luka Modric converted the resultant spot kick to seal a 2-0 win for Croatia but Mandzukic said he wouldn’t have been surprised if the call wasn’t made by the referee even though it was a correct decision.
” Some calls when you don’t get them you have to understand and this was one of such. I wouldn’t have complained if it wasn’t given but it was the right call and well spotted by the referee “, Mandzukic said in the interview monitored by Owngoalnigeria.com.
” Most of my teammates, myself inclusive thought the incident wasn’t seen by the referee. We were shock when he awarded it and it was the right call. I’m glad we took advantage of it and scored”.