With little bit over 4 million citizens, Croatia is the second smallest nation to reach a World Cup final as Uruguay hold the record. Last night, 15 of those citizens helped the national football team reach its first ever World Cup final with a 2-1 comeback victory over favourite England.
Croatia vs England review
Thousands of England fans flew to Moscow during these past few days in hopes of watching their team play in a World Cup final for the second time in history. Instead, they witnessed a magnficent comeback by an extraordinary Croatian team which despite participating in two consecutive penalty shootouts, looked better prepared both physically and mentally in extra time against The Three Lions.
When Kieran Trippier scored from a free kick in the 4th minute, the thoughts in everyone’s minds were: “There’s no way Croatia can come back”. Croatia might not have done it if England would’ve tried to score a second goal instead of trying to protect the first one. As time went by, Luka Modric and Co. found their groove and were the far better opponents in the second half. Eventually, Ivan Perisic tied the game, activating panic mode for England.
Cramps, injuries, altercations, disagreements – the extra period had everything. Gareth Southgate’s men were fresher, but they were also unable to organize. Their youthful inexperience showed for the first time in this World Cup. John Stones lost track of Mario Mandzukic and the Croatian forward scored what turned out to be the winning goal. Teamwork and determination were key in the victory in which Dalic’s men out-shot England 22-11 and completed over 100 passes more in the match.
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Croatia’s Cinderella story continues
The win over England adds another chapter to Croatia’s Cinderella story which already has a famous victory over Argentina written in the opening pages with two excruciating penalty kick victories against Denmark and Russia in the later ones. Even though Croatia’s roster is made up of stars who shine for their clubs, not many expected they would find a way to the final. After all, they’ve been playing together for a while, yet haven’t been able to gel in previous competitions.
This time is different. Zlatko Dalic, who was hired at the end of the qualification campaign in an attempt to save Croatia from the embarrassment of missing the World Cup, has managed to steer all the characters in the locker room in the right direction. He might not be a tactical genius or a coaching mastermind, but he is a player’s coach, the type Croatia needs.
2018 World Cup final
The final is up next. There, an arch nemesis awaits – France, the team which eliminated Croatia in the 1998 semi-finals. It’ll take place in Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow in front of a crowd of over 80,000 fans. Kick off is at 17:00 o’clock on Sunday. Millions around the world will be watching to see whether Croatia can give their Cinderella story the end it really deserves.
