Croatian national team at the 2022 World Cup: checkered football sky
In 2018 in Russia, the Croats won the silver of the World Championship. Will it be possible not to lose face in Qatar?
It's time to present the last representative of group "F" at the World Championships in Qatar. This is the Croatian national team, the silver medalist of the last World Cup held in Russia.
Croatia
The newest history of Croatia counts from June 1991, when it withdrew from Yugoslavia. However, the history of Croatian statehood began in the 9th century. For many centuries, this territory was either under Hungarian or Venetian, or under Austrian and German rule.
Croatia is a fairly developed European country, where machine and shipbuilding, chemical, food and other enterprises successfully operate. One of the key articles of the economy is tourism: many come here to the resorts of the Adriatic Sea.
Football in the country is without a doubt the number one sport. In Yugoslavia, Croatian teams, in particular Dinamo Zagreb, have always been a powerful force, and now play regularly in the Champions League.
Croatia national football team
If we take the modern history of sovereign Croatia, then the first international tournament for her team was the 1996 European Championship, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to the future title holders, the Germans.
And two years later she won the first international award - the bronze of the World Cup-98 in France. The Croatian team then was excellent: Igor Shtimats, Dario Simic, Igor Tudor, Alyosha Asanovich, Robert Prosinechki, Zvonimir Boban, Mario Stanic, Davor Shuker, Goran Vlaovic... At the group stage, the "checkered" lost only to Argentina - 0:1, defeating Jamaica - 3:1 and stubborn Japan - 1:0. In the 1/8 finals, the Croats sent home the then strong Romanians - 1:0, and then again in the quarterfinals they hit the Germans. Then few people bet on the Balkans, but they created a sensation by destroying Germany - 3:0. In the semi-finals, Croatia led in a duel with the magnificent French, but still lost - 1:2, but in the bronze match they defeated the Netherlands with a similar score.
And four years ago in Russia, the Croatian team reached the final. Beautiful, fighting, swaggering Yugoslav football of the highest standard made it possible to defeat Nigeria - 2:0, Argentina - 3:0, Iceland - 2:1 in the group stage, and in the playoffs to deal with the Danes - 1:1, pen. 3:2, Russians - 2:2, pen. 3:4, the British - 2:1 extra. temp. Well, in the final everything was like in 1998: the French were too good - 2:4.
Croatian national team stars
The current generation of Croats, perhaps, is not inferior to what surprised in the nineties. With experienced players who are already over thirty - Domagoj Vida, Zenit Dejan Lovren, Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, Nikola Vlasic, Mario Pasalic, Marko Livaya, who are in their blooming age, coexist. There are also promising young people in the person of Yoshko Guardiola.
It is worth noting that in Croatia there are three players associated with Russia: the captain of Zenit Lovren, ex-soldier Vlašić and ex-Spartak Pasalic.
Opponents in Group "F"
Belgium, Canada, Morocco.
Forecast for the performance of the Croatian national team
The European Championship last year showed that the Croats are not getting younger - there are still too many older players, and this affects the game. The Belgians look stronger, and the Moroccans will have to tinker fairly. If the “checkered” still come out in the playoffs, every game will have to scratch out, like four years ago. But do not take away their will.