Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic explained his decision to take Glasgow Rangers' Borna Barisic off against Slovenia on Wednesday.

Dalic criticises Barisic

Barisic was named in the starting XI for the Balkan side in their first 2022 World Cup qualifier - they reached the final in the tournament's last edition in Russia.

However, he was hauled off after just 45 minutes as he was in danger of picking up a red card. Dalic revealed (via 24sata.hr):

"Borna received a yellow card early, then committed a foul on the edge of the red card. I was looking for more penetration on the left flank, so I transferred Perišić to the left back and introduced Oršić to the wing."

Harsh

Indeed, the £4.95m-valued 28-year-old (Transfermarkt) was on the edge of being dismissed against Slovenia and really gave Dalic no choice but to take him off. He must do more to make sure he does not put himself in such positions, especially so early on in the match.

However, his overall display was not that bad. He won two of his three duels, landed 86% of his passes and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles (SofaScore). Still, if he wants to play for Croatia both at the European Championships this summer and beyond, he must improve. After all, he has started just four of his nation's last 10 matches (Transfermarkt) as Dalic appears to be exploring other options.

In other news, this Rangers man's performance against Celtic has been hammered.