Lovren advances to World Cup semifinals and his decision to return to Liverpool

The drama unfolded in the quarterfinals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup when Croatia advanced to the semifinals after defeating Brazil on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the 120 minutes, where one of the biggest surprises came when the main favorite was eliminated. During the first 90 minutes it was Dominik Livakovic who took the plaudits from the spectators after he had up to five key saves, a performance he maintained in extra time after he saved a late Casemiro shot and the South Americans' first attempt of the shootout. Also of note was Dejan Lovren, the former Liverpool player, who for now is not considering a return to Anfield and will remain at Zenit in Russia.

Defender Dejan Lovren, one of the veterans of the Croatian team, runner-up in the World Cup four years ago, faces the third World Cup of his career in Qatar 2022 without having a possible retirement from his national team in mind. He is in his second season at Zenit St. Petersburg, joining from Liverpool, where he spent seven years and won a Champions League title. There he coincided with Mohamed Salah, who will not be at Qatar 2022 after being eliminated in the qualifying round.

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"Salah is 100 percent jealous but the same would happen to me. He told me he would support me and I'm sorry he's not here, with the Croatian flag," said Lovren, more than 70 times capped for Croatia. Croatia burst into Qatar 2022 next Wednesday against Morocco. "For me it is very special to be in a third World Cup. If someone had told me that when I was a kid I wouldn't have believed them. My first game for Croatia was in 2009, against Qatar," the Croatia center-back recalled.

"It's an ideal situation for the coach. He has five quality center-backs and they can all play in the starting line-up. We fight and give our best and in the end it's up to the coach to decide who plays. We have never had so much quality. We can be happy," insisted Lovren. Croatia is in the midst of a reconversion of its national team. Youngsters are gradually coming in alongside veteran regulars in the team. "I think the youngsters are going to give new strength to the team. It's new energy."

Lovren wants to be world champion 

"And when you join the national team you know what the standards are. They are clear for everyone. If Luka Modric, Ivan Perišić or Domagoj Vida can fail in a training session they can do that too. Young players do that, they are eager to prove themselves and they should continue to do that," he said. "We have everything we need; I like the combination of experienced veterans and youngsters. A lot of things need to come back together, everyone needs to be at their best. When we have faith in ourselves and our team, anything is possible. My thought when I came here was to win. I said something similar in 2018 when I lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final with Liverpool and a year later we won it. Everything is possible in soccer," the Zenit St. Petersburg player recalled.