English hearts were broken last night as their nations team were dumped out of the World Cup by Croatia. Neither team were predicted to get to the final before the tournament, as they were both well down in the pecking order for World Cup winning favourites with the bookies.
However, both teams put together great runs as they got to the semi-final. Croatia’s most notable game so far was the 3-0 annihilation of Argentina, where they looked the real deal. Luka Modric was the star of the show, as Lionel Messi struggled to find his feet on the biggest stage of world football.
Croatia certainly deserves their place in the final, although they will not be favourites to win against France. This is the first time they will appear in a World Cup final and we have the low-down on the history and key facts of the country:
What was Croatia before?
Yugoslavia was broken up to form independent countries including Croatia and Serbia. Croatia was one of six republics formerly known as Yugoslavia until 1991 when it was founded.
What is the Croatian national anthem?
Before the World Cup matches, the players and fans have been passionately singing the national anthem – Lijepa Nasa Domovino (Our Beautiful Homeland in English).
What language do Croatians speak?
Croatia has its own language, Croatian. English is a popular language there too.
How big is Croatia?
The area covered by the country of Croatia is 56,548 km2. and the population is 4,154,200.
Now that you know everything you need to about the country, you can go out and buy your Croatia football shirt in readiness for the World Cup final on Sunday. Imagine if this small nation was able to beat the giants of the football world, France and take the trophy home. Most neutral supporters will be hoping that they beat Pogba, Griezmann and co. to win the biggest football game of their lives. Good luck Croatia!
