Croatia’s Legs of Steel

AP PHOTO/FRANK AUGSTEIN

Croatian players celebrate on Wednesday, July 11, after defeating England in its semifinal at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, and advancing to the 2018 World Cup final.

Nothing is impossible in soccer. Croatia, a country of only 4 million people, has successfully reached its first World Cup final this year after defeating England – supposedly the birthplace of modern soccer – in the semifinal early on Thursday (12/7/2018, Jakarta time) in Moscow. The “Vatreni” squad, with its nerves of steel, has completely turned logic upside down.

Croatian national team supporter Luka Mandic, 26, made the sign of the cross on his chest numerous times while looking up as he walked out of Luzhniki Stadium’s tribune. His tears had dried, yet his chin still trembled. “This is hard to believe. We’re a small country with many problems. However, we’ve reached the top of the world. We have shown that anything is possible with a strong will. This is a night I will never forget,” Mandic said, wiping away tears of joy.

The Vatreni squad has defied logic and reason on its journey towards its first World Cup final since it was founded in 1991. It is the smallest country ever to reach the World Cup final, after Uruguay, a country of 3.4 million people, reached the 1950 World Cup final. Ranked 20th in world soccer, Croatia is also the lowest-ranked country to reach the World Cup final.

Furthermore, as Mandic said, Croatian soccer has faced many problems ahead of and during this year’s World Cup. The Croatian Soccer Federation (NHS) is under public scrutiny, as its president Davor Suker, the former soccer star who took Croatia to the 1998 World Cup semifinals in France, is deemed a “puppet” of Dinamo Zagreb’s former president Zdravko Mamic, a corruption fugitive alleged to be a “mafioso” of player transfers.

The issue visibly affected the Vatreni squad’s performance in the World Cup qualifiers. Croatia almost did not make it to Russia after suffering defeats against Iceland and Turkey. Then-coach Ante Cacic was fired and replaced with Zlatko Dalic. Dalic, a religious individual who prioritized team unity above individual stardom, brought massive changes to the team.

Among these changes was the exit of striker Nikola Kalinic. The AC Milan star was kicked off the team and sent home after he refused to play in a Group D match against Nigeria. Kalinic had complained about back pain at the time, and was concerned that it would worsen if he played.

However, for a spartan coach like Dalic, such “cry-baby” excuses were unacceptable. During the semifinal, many Croatian players were not exactly 100 percent fit. “Tonight, no players want to be replaced, including those with minor injuries who may not be able to play in the next games. Two of them were playing with just ‘one leg’, but none of it was visible [on the pitch]. This character of persistence has made me proud,” said Dalic after the match.

Tired from running

It was hard to apply logic to Croatia’s semifinal performance. The players’ legs were visibly tired from running in the first half. This was understandable, as their matches had been longer than either England’s or France’s – the other finalist – in Russia. In two consecutive matches in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals, they went through injury times and penalty shootouts. Their exhaustion had tumbled top players in the match against Russia, including defender Sime Vrsaljko.

Surprisingly, Vrsaljko was still playing at Luzhniki despite his knee injury. The Atletico Madrid defender was seen visibly cringing to hold back his pain at Luzhniki. Still, he contributed to a goal for Croatia when scorer Ivan Perisic took advantage of his assist.

This spartan mentality was also seen in Mario Mandzukic, who refused to be replaced after his collision with English goalie Jordan Pickford. Mandzukic then scored the goal that sent millions of Croatians into joyous rapture.

“Many times, we fell behind at first in the last three matches. However, we picked ourselves up again. These are the fruits of our strong will and team solidarity. We all fight for one another and for the pride of [Croatia]. This is the identity of our generation,” said Perisic.

In its militant approach, the Croatian squad seems to have followed in Italy’s footsteps, which won the 2006 World Cup. Then, it was the underdog that emerged as a champion. Italy’s opponent at the 2006 final was France, which will also meet Croatia in this year’s final.

Dutch soccer legend Marco van Basten said that Croatia had a frightening power that could overcome France. Its players were militant and willing to make sacrifices for one another.