Croatia: The Least Surprising Dark Horses of Russia 2018

Croatia’s 3-0 win over Argentina in their second World Cup group game may have come as a shock to many in the footballing world, but to those who have kept a keen eye on the recent performances, the scoreline would have been the perfect example of how well they can play.

Six wins in their ten matches during qualifying saw Croatia finish runners-up to Iceland. Their reward was a playoff with Greece, and they made light work of their Mediterranean opponents, running out 4-1 winners in Zagreb. Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric were amongst the scorers and the outstanding performance in the first leg meant the trip to Greece had more of an exhibition feel to it.

They kicked off their campaign in Russia with a straightforward and efficient victory over Nigeria. It was an own goal and a penalty from Luka Modric which saw them home but in all fairness, they all count. This left Croatia on top of the group after the first round of games and put them in good stead to take on the two tougher sides in their group, on paper at least; this is no disrespect to a highly entertaining Nigeria side.

On the world stage, Croatia has only progressed past the group stages on one occasion. The 1998 tournament in France saw them reach the semi-finals beating Germany 3-0 along the way, their magical run being brought to an end by the hosts. The squad of 2018 has arguably more talent and depth than that of 1998 and this unique group of players is getting their reward. A place in the last 16 is hopefully just the first of many milestones they earn at this tournament.

Croatia had a strong squad on paper before the tournament kicked. Modric and Perisic have lined up with other big names such as Dejan Lovren, Nikola Kovacic, and Andrej Kramaric; unsurprising that they were tipped to do well. Fast forward two weeks and they have lived up to the expectation and blitzed to three wins in the first round. None of their group D opponents threatened to derail the Croatia bandwagon. Their 3-0 defeat of Argentina was particularly ruthless and each of their victories were examples of just how good this side is.

Group D has ended with little surprise in the sides who have gone through but the way in which Argentina and Croatia qualified would have raised a few eyebrows. The South American side stuttered to the second round whereas Croatia blitzed to the top spot. Three wins, seven goals scored, and only one conceded makes for impressive reading, their dominant performances being fully rewarded. It would have been a surprise if they didn’t reach the last 16, but they’ve arguably done it with more style than many would have expected.

The last-minute win against Iceland to maintain their 100 percent start set up a last 16 tie with Denmark. It is a favourable draw for Croatia and if they can keep Christian Eriksen quiet then they’ll be a long way towards booking a place in the quarterfinals. No one can doubt that they are a classy side and with some of the bigger nations stuttering, Germany being the prime candidate in this section, then you’d be unwise to rule Croatia out of making a charge to the latter stages of the tournament.

Croatia has had a solid squad in the last decade but it is their class of 2018 which has the capability of really achieving something on the world scene. It is a beautiful country with lots of amazing scenery, yet what is most pleasing to the eye about this nation at present is its footballing ability. It is an exciting time to be a Croatian football fan; they have no doubt won a lot more fans in Russia over the last two weeks and this is sure to continue into the knock out stages.