Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has commented on the disputed penalty given to Argentina in their Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup semifinal clash.

The South Americans were awarded the penalty after Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic collided with Julian Alvarez.

Lionel Messi took the kick and converted it to open the scoring in the encounter.

Speaking after the game, Dalic said the penalty changed the complexion of the match as they went on to lose 3-0.

He said: “We conceded a goal, which was very suspicious. The situation leading to the penalty… it was a little too cheap, a bit too easy to be honest.

“Our goalkeeper did what he did and these are the new rules. This goal took the match in a different direction.”

On his team’s performance, Dalic added: “We have to pull ourselves together, raise our heads. I can’t blame the boys for anything – we are going into the fight for third place.

“We don’t have much to complain about.”