'Croatian Beckham' Sosa targets World Cup progress
The Croatian defender spoke to FIFA+ after his side's 0-0 draw against Morocco, talking tactics, pride and tournament favourites.
Borna Sosa fell in love with football watching David Beckham at France 1998
The left-sided defender almost provided a Beckham-esque assist as Croatia drew 0-0 with Morocco
Sosa lists France and England as the best sides he's seen at the tournament so far
Every Croatian remembers France ’98. Robert Jarni, a former sprinter, whizzed down the flanks like Donovan Bailey. Robert Prosinecki and Zvonimir Boban masqueraded as Dan Marino and Steve Young. And Davor Suker was a lethal as a ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed uppercut. A 10-year-old from Zagreb loved all of that, but the player he was most wowed by at that tournament was born in London. It was the beginning of David Beckham-veneration for Borna Sosa. He remembers watching and studying Beckham’s technique on repeat, then going out and practising shifting the ball out and whipping it into an imaginary box – on repeat.
Practise, they say, makes perfect. Sosa’s nickname pays an inarguable testimony to the footballing jury. Despite playing on the left rather than the right, and in defence rather than in midfield, Sosa is known as ‘The Croatian Beckham’. It's as deserved as the consensus that Beckham is one of the greatest delivers of a football ever known. On the first day of last season’s Bundesliga, indeed, Sosa registered a hat-trick of assists in 21 minutes for Stuttgart, and finished 2021/22 having set up more goals than most playmakers. Sosa thought he’d cooked up a patented assist on no lesser occasion than his FIFA World Cup™ debut today. After he executed an impeccable, low cross on to the boot of Nikola Vlasic on the stroke of half-time, his arms were already air-bound when the Torino man’s effort from five yards out was saved by Yassine Bounou. Nil-nil is how it finished.
“It was a really tough, intense game,” Sosa told FIFA+ post-match. “The game was compact, so there weren’t many chances. But we had one – a 100-per-cent-chance – and if you want to win a game like this, you have to score chances like that. “It was a big chance. When I crossed it I thought it was in. In these types of games – Morocco were packing their box, really compact – you have to put those chances away. “Our performance wasn’t perfect-perfect, but at the same time we’re happy that we didn’t give them chances. In my opinion they didn’t have any full chances, which is a good reflection on us because Morocco have quality attacking players. But now we have to score goals.” On a personal level, Sosa, who made Zlatko Dalic’s 32-man preliminary squad for the last World Cup but was cut from the plane list for Russia, was thrilled to step out on to the big stage.
“It was a really big feeling walking out there,” he said. “Playing in the World Cup is the biggest thing you can achieve as a footballer. Everyone is watching – your family and friends. It’s really emotional to represent your country in the World Cup.”
Next up for Croatia is a game against Canada they will be expected to win on Sunday. Sosa, however, “Every team that comes to a World Cup is a good team,” he stressed. “We were already fully aware of this, but I think people realised this yesterday with Saudi Arabia beating Argentina. “These ‘smaller’ teams are playing really good, intense football. You have to be ready. You can’t take any team lightly and I know we won’t.” Canada’s VIP is undoubtedly Alphonso Davies, the Bayern Munich phenom Sosa is well acquainted with.
“I know Davies from the Bundesliga,” said the Croatia No19. “He’s an exceptional player - really, really fast. He’s one of the best at what he does in the world. “But I think he’s a player who needs space. If we’re compact as a team, and don’t allow him to have space, I think he will find it tough against us. I think we are a tough team to play against.” Sosa revealed the Croatia squad have been watching as much of the other games as possible. A couple of teams in particular have stood out. “England and France were really impressive,” he said. “I didn’t feel for one second that England could lose that game. They have a lot of good players. And France were really good too, and I feel that it was good for them that they showed their mental strength to come from behind.
“I think England and France have a lot of good players. Great teams, great squads. Argentina lost of course, but I feel they will come back really strong. I still feel they’ll qualify. “And I feel we’ll qualify too. We’re confident. It’s a great feeling to play in the World Cup, but I really want to achieve something in it too. It’s a competition I’ve loved since I was a boy.” That is, of course, indebted to Beckham. Since the England legend made his World Cup bow, no player – not Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Andrea Pirlo, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti or Zinedine Zidane – has registered more assists than he has in the competition. How ‘The Croatian Beckham’ would love to do what he does best in front of the original Beckham at Qatar 2022.
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