World Cup Russia 2018 has been nothing short of a spectacle for everyone around the world. In an age where club football has taken precedence and murmurs of the Champions League being the greatest football competition, Russia 2018 has managed to reinforce the notion that International football is very much alive, and that the World Cup is still football’s ultimate tournament.
Additionally this edition of the World Cup has had its fair share of thrills and spill. It certainly has been the tournament of the underdogs and surprise packages. No team has quite encapsulated this tournament quite like Croatia. By the time they had reached the final, the Vatreni’s valiant display had won the hearts of millions.
But few would have known that before the tournament started a string of unsavoury incidents had threatened to unravel the team’s unity. These unsavoury incidents included corruption cases where Captain Luka Modric and Dejan Lovren are involved in. In qualifying they had lost to Turkey and Iceland as well as drawing at home with Finland. They only clinched a place in the play-offs with a final victory over Ukraine and went on to beat Greece over two legs. Nikola Kalinic was sent home by the coach Zlatko Dalic after the first group game, having been accused of refusing to come on against Nigeria.
All of the aforementioned statements pointed to a crisis and yet somehow this team managed to soldier on casting their troubles aside. Besides showing mental strength, this country from the Balkans with a population of only four million proved that size doesn’t matter. It gives hopes to other nations who are smaller that they too can punch above their weight.
For a team that had a penchant for extra-time in this World Cup, we praise them for going the extra mile. This team made us football fans fall in love with the game all over again. At a time where money has become the deciding factor in football, leading to a coterie of elites dominating the game, Croatia was a breath of fresh air.
Yes, they will be going home without the World Cup but with pride. Just like Croatia’s class of 98 this team has infused happiness into Croats and people of other nations around the globe. And for that we thank them. As they say in Croatian “Hvala vam.” (Thank you).