In the race of world cup no one have notice Croatia, the country of only four million people has reached the final of world cup. the underdogs not only reached the finals but also showed their fighting sprite. a huge number of crotia has visted mosco along with their president.
Reasons why Croatia is in the World Cup
The reason why the players pushed their bodies to the limit to reach the world cup final was their fighting spirit which engrained in a group of players by the war in 1990s and made us to say "The people who ,dares to win".
The final against France on Sunday could be the defining moment for Croatia ,as Dalic said,"Without courage and fortitude,they wouldn't have reached this final. And Croatia can end its remarkable World Cup trip by collecting first major soccer trophy.
COMEBACKS: The history of this World Cup is not to write off Croatia. The group stage was smooth, with 3-0 victory over Argentina . Then it became tougher. In all three knockout games so far, Croatia fell behind but came through.
It's hard to suppress Mario Mandzukic, who forced the game against Denmark to a penalty shootout and Host Russia also defeated in another shootout. But the match against England was even more tougher in the semifinals after the fifth-minute goal. The Croatia put their full afford. their bodies were more composed on the ball and created more chances as the game against England progressed and ends with an extra-time win.
ENERGY: Don't tell Croatians they are too tired . They'll just use it as inspiration.
When English media moked Croatia that" they seem more tired ".Modriced the players before the semifinals by claiming the English media was underestimating Croatia and told them: "Today we will see who will be tired."
Even after the reporter hired by FIFA to cover Croatia for the tournament on their offical website: "Exhausted players pose the biggest problem for the Croatia coach." Modric's mind games worked, stirring the players.
But how much energy do they have left for the final against a France squad that was among the three youngest of the 32 finalists? Mandzukic and Modric both are 32. Ivan Rakitic is only two years younger but remains influential the midfield. While the average age of Croatia's squad is pushing 28, for France it's 26.
" When my players tells me whether they are not 100 percent fit," Dalic said. "They will concede and tell me if they're not fit and they will miss the final. If they will be unable to give their all during the match I expect them to tell me." Croatia wouldn't be in final without the creativity of Modric and energetic attacking drive of Mandzukic, allied with Rakitic.
"If you took two or three players out of that, they wouldn't be the same," said Andy Roxburgh, a former Scotland player and coach who became technical director at UEFA and the Asian confederation. "They are almost like gelling the whole thing together, pulling the strings."
The orchestrator is Modric with
"He's got some good foils around him," Roxburgh said. "But he is the guy waving the baton and making it all function."
Mandzukic's power and determination to regain the ball epitomizes the team's spirit in its 4-2-3-1 formation.
"His qualities are beyond question. His character, his fight, his commitment," Modric said. "When you see him run himself into the ground, he really perks up his teammates."
PHYSICALITY: If Dejan continues to use a physical approach to block the path of opponents, he could pay the price against France.
Harry Kane's path to penalty area was blocked at one point in the semifinals by being bundled over by Lovren. The 30-year-old defender has to be the video assistant referees will be watching if he tries any rough treatment to impede 19-year-old France forward Kylian Mbappe.
