I believe that these friendly games are not valuable at all to derive any conclusions from them. Who in the world would risk to get injured right before everything starts in such a game? Hell, I would definitely play at 70% maximum unless I still have to lose something and might not make it into the best 11 of the squad.
Friendly matches cannot be an accurate indicator. No player cares about friendlies. Teams play mainly as substitutes to avoid injury before the cup. Nobody gives 100% to the field. There are no players playing abroad in the Saudi Arabian squad. The quality of the Arab league is obvious, it's difficult to get a good player from there. Croatia won the match without difficulty. Even if the match had ended in a draw or Croatia had lost, nothing would have changed. Dalic tried a few tactics he had in mind, that's all. We should not attach too much meaning to these matches.
Yeah, but friendly matches are also a good opportunity for players who are not in the starting lineup to show their performance. I know that no one wants to get injured in a friendly match just before the startbof the World Cup but I really expected a better game. I guess I just can't wait for the World Cup to begin and to see the real performance of all players.