(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
#qatar 2022 #world cup teams The Peninsula
Doha: Croatia have made history again. Repeating their feat of Russia 2018, when they finished runners-up, was beyond them, but not by much.
In Qatar, four years on, they lost their FIFA World Cup semi-final against Argentina but bounced back to beat Morocco in the third place play-off, and can take home a souvenir of their stay in the shape of a bronze medal.
One thing that stood out on Saturday evening, along with the action on the field – the goals, tackles and technical excellence – was the Croatian players' celebrations. In those moments, Croatia showed the whole world the importance of family.
Andrej Kramaric with a child.
First Ivan Perisic went to find his children and take them by the hand, then the other players followed. It was a heart-warming moment and a dream come true no doubt for those youngsters celebrating with their dads, seemingly oblivious to the fact the eyes of the world were upon them.
“Celebrating with your family is the most beautiful thing there is,” said Perisic.“We're happy with what we've achieved and we couldn't help but celebrate it with the people we love the most. It was a lovely moment, it showed that what we do on the pitch is for them too.”
Bronze with a hint of gold
Defender Josip Juranovic spoke of the importance of the medal his team had won, their second bronze medal following their third-place finish in 1998.
“We've fought hard for this and tonight we're going to enjoy it, because we know we've made our people happy,” he said.
Croatia's Ante Budimir and Marcelo Brozovic celebrate with children on the pitch.
Croatia's captain, Luka Modric, expanded on the theme when he said:“Croatia has real quality. It's a pleasure to play for Croatia, it's a sacred thing for us.
Representing our country is special. We've always had great players, but this group is proud and confident, and when you add that to our qualities, it translates into these results.
“Our dream was to win the World Cup, it's a shame not to have reached the final. But we'll still go home as winners because of this.”
Modric, who confirmed afterwards that he would not be retiring from international football, added:“[There were] so many emotions in this match, I'm so proud of what we've been able to achieve, of how we fought right to the end. We're disappointed not to have reached the final but we've no regrets at all. When I play for Croatia it's a different kind of emotion, I feel so many beautiful things.”
Without doubt Croatia succeeded in making history once more in this World Cup giving those fans back in Zagreb reason to proudly and joyously celebrate an incredible achievement.