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

Croatia reached the World Cup semifinals after beating Brazil on penalties. The team has a population of around four million people. Croatia reached a World cup final in Russia four years ago and the semifinals in their first World Cups as an independent nation in 1998. Brazil have only made it past the quarterfinals once since winning the tournament in 2002. Croatia's fighting spirit is a theme frequently referenced by their players. They believe in themselves. It comes from their fight for independence following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Their goalkeeper was born in 1995. He was seven months before Croatia took control of the city of Knin.