Tenacity and penalties, keys to Croatia’s deep World Cup run

DOHA: With a population of around four million people, the magnitude of Croatia’s win against Brazil was not lost on Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić. To reach back-to-back World Cup semifinals was “unimaginable” he said. The runner-up from 2018 are going deep again in Qatar — defeating Neymar and Co.

4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw through extra time at Education City Stadium on Friday. “To eliminate a massive tournament favorite and probably the best team as well... Only Croatia could’ve done this,” added Dalić.

Okay, this wasn’t Saudi Arabia shocking Argentina. But on the face of it, Croatia’s victory against the five-time world champions could rank among a host of upsets already produced by a tournament that is refusing to stick to the script. And by looking at the faces of Brazil’s distraught fans and inconsolable players afterwards, they certainly didn’t seem prepared to be heading home at this early stage.

Perhaps they should have taken a closer look at Croatia’s pedigree at the World Cup – and the spirit of a team that doesn’t seem to know how to give up. Croatia may have been the underdog against Brazil, but it did reach the final in Russia four years ago and was a semifinalist in their very first World Cup as an independent nation in 1998 – losing to France on both occasions. Compare that to Brazil, which have only made it past the quarterfinals once since last winning the tournament in 2002.