THE FUSE

Qualifiers were easy for the Vatreni – the Blazers – as Czechia, far from their glory days, provided the only serious challenge in the group and were the only opponents to snatch at least a draw. So Zlatko Dalić used some of those games to experiment and deepen his pool of players. But when, last November, Croatia defeated the Faroe Islands to secure first place with one round to go, the manager said: “I will never try to play with three at the back again.”