When Croatia Almost Did THE IMPOSSIBLE | A Tale Of Lies And Gold

Croatia's run to the finals of the 2018 World cup was an absolutely wild ride. A strong footballing nation- sure. But also a team that very few peope would've picked to go all the way.
This is especially considering the insane drama circulating around the team going into the tournament.
Today, we revisit the tale of Croatia 2018.
Transcript and sources: footballiconic.com/how-croati...
Twitter: / theofficial_fi
Instagram: / chips009
Background music:
Song 1 - (Prod. kosei) • [FREE FOR PROFIT]Chill...
Song 2 - (Prod Riddiman) • Hold On - Chill Hip Ho...
Song 3-5 (Prod Pink_
0:00 - Introduction
01:58 - Independent: Croatia comes to play
05:23 - Out with the Old
07:51 - Corruption, Perjury and Golden Croats
13:34 - The 2018 World Cup
18:22 - The Aftermath
Producer: Tinashe Chipako
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All non-licensed material used in this video falls under fair use for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes. No copyright infringement intended. If you are or represent the copyright owner of materials used in this video and have a problem with the use of said material, please send me an email at [e-mail] and we can sort it out.

[@kyriakos02]

Croatia, a country smaller than Greece, managed to get in the final. That alone deserves a round of applause

[@tiisetsoranamane6443]

Along with Japan for topping their group

[@yodaslovetoy]

Greece and Denmark have both won the euros, England hasn't...

[@bizzobrigante1588]

@@tiisetsoranamane6443 Japan has 126 millions, Croatia has 3.89 millions 😉

[@emp96ElminD]

@@tiisetsoranamane6443 Tokyo alone has 5 times the Croatian population. :D

[@txlmu]

Morocco topping group

[@bozidardbk3330]

As a Croatian football fanatic, I have to say, this is the most knowledgeable analysis of this team's 2018 campaign and the preceding situation I ever heard from a non-Croatian. Well done!

[@M3rv]

could not agree more, dobro je sve rekao

[@bocarskiklubnaklice8825]

Yes. Correct

[@Im_too_old_for_this_shit]

And he even managed to correctly prononunce all Croatian names, which is very rare.

[@orahovavucichitlerdacicgoe7223]

As far as it goes for the outsider for sure,but there is onother things to learn about Croatia it is it stamminer and as another Croatian I can confirm it and that they always underestimate Croatia..

[@D-A-A-]

Im English but Croatia could win be 200 quid if they win, dejan lovren winning world cup goal, it will be similar to vincent kompanys strike in his last season for city

[@fhincey]

As a Croatian, I have never felt so seen and appreciated in the World as I did in 2018. Thank you for this video. Know that we appreciate it a lot.

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

Agreed 🇭🇷🙌

[@hercegovac9999]

Opet ćeš se tako osjećat rodjo 💪

[@sam_sa09]

You should be proud of your team's work in this world cup too, as a moroccan I understand how you felt in 2018, even though we didn't go as far, but I hope we can be inspired by your further and further.

[@Ayagator]

@@sam_sa09 same here! I was just about to say that🎉

[@damirglavas7940]

@Rest in peace bro Sure with ref giving two goals to France from the non-existent foul for Griezmann's free kick goal and Perišić's handball for the French penalty 🤔 Sure it was too much for every fckn team on earth in finals🙄

[@rachichi4092]

Seeing Croatia defeat Brazil was refreshing. Congratulations from Algeria.

[@2pek77]

❤

[@karinielsen4592]

one of my favourite statistics is that since 2013, every single team that has won the champions league has had a croatian in their team.

[@Tony_M_86]

That's why spurs bought perisic,watch them taking cl this season 😉

[@AllstarFail]

@@Tony_M_86 ahahahhahahahahahhaha

[@axa2310]

No way, I didn't have a clue about that stat

[@kenwardkgarg]

The hierarchy at Man City would do well to read this...

[@cro_wiz]

love that stat as well, but we should also be fair/honest enough to mention that out of those 10 CL wins, five times that Croat was Luka Modric ;-) again shows what an incredible player he has been all that time ...

[@greninjafw]

Not really completely related, but Rakitic is hella underrated Man was a starter and important player for a trophy laden period of modern Barca Croatia really produces some class midfielders, wish he didn’t retire from international football so early

[@nemanacemu2024]

Modrić is from Bosnia

[@franopavlovic3991]

Wrong, Modric was born in Zadar, Croatia

[@vrcmf3172]

@@nemanacemu2024 what? Bro he was born in Croatia.

[@abineryebiohadgu8461]

@@nemanacemu2024 shut up

[@briannao9251]

I was so shocked when he retired from international football because I thought he would/could have played at least 2 more World Cups and Euro tournaments each

[@Mark-dy4yf]

I'm from Ireland 🇮🇪 and I love Croatia 🇭🇷

[@tipkovnica100]

Im from Croatia and I love Ireland, specially Athlone

[@nothing-vc2lu]

im from croatia and i love croatia

[@Mark-dy4yf]

@@nothing-vc2lu good for you mate, lovely place and people

[@milanpintar]

thank you ❤

[@toplobster]

we luv ya right back.

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

When you rewatch the final with France, besides the two horrendous calls ( the Griezman Dive that turned into an own goal + the double handball that went against Croatia) Croatia absolutely played much better for the first 60 Minutes of the match and had complete control of the possession. They made the French look like amateurs out there with how beautiful they were playing.

[@ok4350]

Nah you trippin

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

@@ok4350 rewatch the game bud. Without the refs france woudnt of scored two crucial goals, also rewatch the Last two goals and tell me the Croatian keeper didn’t let those in. It’s more then obvious, rewatch it 100 times if you have too it’s clear as day.

[@TheVexido]

@@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx coach knew of limitations of his goalkeeper ,and that similar shoots he will not be able to defend , unfortunately as he was monaco goalkeeper ,france knew that very well ,so they were shooting from any available positions , croatia got lucky that others didnt know that

[@bogihrvati]

@@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx keeper was hurt from something i think his ribs

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

@@bogihrvati it honestly look like Subasic let the final two goals in he doesn’t even try, doesn’t even attempt to save them actually. They were definitely save able shots too

[@ericawesomo]

Since it's practically impossible to achieve anything major on a club level for Croatia, national team is everything for our football fans. There is just some aura and trust around national team that people honestly believe in the players and always expect great results from them. And the players also know that none of them is above the team and take great pride in playing for Croatia. There is something special in wc tournaments because it happens every 4 years and it lasts whole month, so when Croatia reached semis in 98 and final in 2018, it was like the whole country was on a party for a month. To be a Croatian football fan those two summers it was just out of this world experience. Honestly when the commentator said in 2018 yes Croatia is in the final of football world championship i thought i was dreaming :)

[@markolalic3756]

Mislis

[@engineer1941]

Dinamo Zagreb last few years is nothing...

[@MrSatelit28]

Bravo Mario!

[@username_creates6991]

Not just fans of football it was EVERYONE. People who don't usually watch or play football were watching and even some started to learn how to play football. Its amazing how united they make us feel. Even now in 2022 we are still watching. Im in the capital city and I observed a bit the enviroment and when they went up against Argentina all the caffees restaurants, bars and. Even the main square was full of people. On the main square you have a big screen as you would see in the films. And everyone is standing and watching. In the caffees and bars there was more then one tv in the room... Caffees and bars that don't have a tv were closed for the night cus the owmers and workers were probably out watching football with their friends too. At uni when they played against Brazil we stopped the lectures and turned on the match from the projector and then after the penalties we all went to the caffee downstairs for a drink. When they played against Argentina the lectures were canceled. Football is like the holidays here. You celebrate even if you don't know a thing about football.

[@uzenicukadakrenemja]

It is impossible to win anything at club level, YES, but this is not in the least the reason that the Croatian NT is the be all and end all of Croatian football. The clubs are only there to keep our players ready for the national Team :) Anyway, we, as a small country of 4 million people, off course, we have to include other Croatians being born abroad who chose to represent Croatia over their birth countries (Ivan Rakitić, Niko Kovač, Robert Kovač, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovačić, Vedran Ćorluka, Ante Budimir, Mario Pašalić, Josip Šutalo, Luka Sučić, Josip Stanišić, and others.) which is a HUGE IMPULS for us. These players from abroad who chose their native country vs their adopted country did so because of HEART and this shows on the pitch. I too have been in a dream since 1996, and the first time our boys made me proud of being a Croatian (in a fotbaling sence of the word :) ), I hope the author of the video is right, and we will have more success even after the Modrić era, with new midfield players like Majer, Sučić, Baturina coming thru, and Kovačić having to play a much bigger role on the NT than he has thus far, mainly because of Modrić being the footballing God that he is.

[@greatestsportslegends]

Full disclosure. I'm Canadian with a Croatian dad. My dad played competitive football in Yugoslavia before moving to Canada. I played competitive football until I was 20. We have a deep, profound and proud love for the beautiful game. I've watched a bunch of videos on the history of Croatian football. But, somehow, in 20 minutes, you've done better than anyone else in capturing the essence, the complexity and the proud tradition the country has as it relates to this game. Without a million dollar budget, you did better than national television networks or large studios. Well done. Now I'm going to go share this with my dad, who is absolutely going to love this video. And that's saying a lot! Thank you for making this video. Thank you for sharing it with all of us. Another interesting game tomorrow, when Croatia faces a very determined and skillful Japan in the round of 16 at World Cup 2022. Fingers crossed for a great game, and, a Croatian win.

[@marincickaj6471]

And we won !!!!!!!!!!!

[@mariokovac9572]

Now we can win even against Brazil because we didn't give best game yet..I could easily happen just now. After that nobody can't stop us 🇭🇷🏆

[@marijaparlov2101]

❤

[@TheMarijek]

Nice to see someone who shares the same surname as myself :)

[@allthingscroatia]

💪🇭🇷

[@domagojpecar1496]

Hello! Very good video! Just one little corection. No one in Croatia was devastaded after losing from France. When our team came home that was the biggest celebration our country has seen except celebration after winning the war. Half milion people (and that is a lot for country of 4 milion) came to Zagreb to welcome our team.

[@LeoBezan]

Zagreb već ima oko 800 tisuća, zar ne?

[@domagojpecar1496]

@@LeoBezan Zagreb s okolicom ima i preko milijun, a procjnjuju da je na samom dočeku bilo pola milijuna.

[@mardenhill]

not completely true. the team wanted to win the title, that was the goal as they were among the tournament favorites. so naturally, the disappointment and anger at the dubious refereeing was there.

[@domagojpecar1496]

@@mardenhill I am just saying what I saw. And everyone who I talked to. You must take in consideration that no one in Croatia expected us to went that far, no one expected that our national anthem will be sung on the finals of world cup. It was natural that there was a bit of sadness when France won, but I am trying to say that no one was devastated because that is the furthest we got in world cup so far. It is not easy for a little nation of under 4 milion to compete with giants and favorites like England, Brazil, Spain, etc.

[@juliacoburn7455]

Ma sto milijuna ljudi su ih čekali. 100 💯 Vatreni lipi. Best in the world.

[@LeniYikes]

This made me tear up. As a kid born in Sweden to Croatian parents football has played such an important roll in my life. Watching that final with family and friends made me so proud, thank you for making this vid.

[@realtalk675]

Just like Ibrahimovic . His mother was croatian his father bosnian

[@marco0445]

I can relate, born in Germany though. All my friends rooted for us bc Die Mannschaft disqualified so early :P

[@LeniYikes]

@@marco0445 😆

[@hrvojekordic3696]

Imagine if we had Ibrahimović up there paired with Manđukić. Jesus Christ

[@fowchiiiliedpuppiesdied]

I was lucky enough to watch the entire thing, in the main square, in Zagreb, 2018. It was incredible. The celebration was, the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, let alone for a 2nd place finish. Indescribable. Back in Croatia again, not by plan, by fate, I guess. Surprised FIFA sacrificed the fans, for money, and moved the WC to the winter, in order to patronize Qatar. Absurd. And no Russia, equally absurd. I’ve been rooting for this team, since I was a grad student, in 1998. I’m American, and will root for them, for life. Love Croatians with all my heart, wonderful, genuine, no b.s. people.

[@twentytwo138]

I want to salute you for being American + watching European football + agreeing that forbidding Russians on World Cup is absurd. They literally used the Call of Duty logic: 'Remember, no Russian'' lol.. I don't support Russia but i think football and politics should not be connected.

[@mardenhill]

to be fair, the world cup should have never been awarded with the usa as a host nation. atrocious record of crimes against humanity and a democracy by appearance only, not too remote from russia or china. qatar so far is actually a wonderful affair.

[@jerzywysocki667]

I'm from Poland but during the 2018 WC i was on vacation in Orebić. I remember the semi final agains the UK very fondly, it was such an amazing experience. The whole city exploded with cheer when the second goal was scored. Everyone was so joyous when the match ended, there was a good hour or two of constant laughter, cheers and car horns.

[@jordanford9320]

Luca modric is my favorite player. He's the perfect player to introduce anyone to football. Like his fundamentals are perfect but he also has flair. He will make a pass that will make your jaw drop while at the same time pick someone's pocket and then score from outside the box for fun. And he is basically the mentor of my second favorite player fede valverde. Watching those two play together is so much fun!

[@unwokeneuropean3590]

Luka Modrić :-D

[@yourmum5196]

id agree,he is all round versatile and doesn’t seem to have a weak spot making him a very good adept of a defender,midfielder and attacker with a high workrate.Probably one of the best examples of a good player,not someone who is good enough to meet their positional standards but rather has multiple strengths outside of their positional needs on the pitch

[@paulorocky]

He was definitely the player of the 2018 tournament

[@greatestsportslegends]

@@unwokeneuropean3590 I was thinking the same thing... if Luka is your favourite player, you should be able to spell his name properly. *insert smile*

[@twentytwo138]

@@greatestsportslegends It's ok, people remember the last name first, and we are the only ones who spell the name Luka with a K, everyone else uses C as Luca. I guess it's just his habit. Most of the time you see L. Modrić anyway

[@franstehecsusac3875]

As a Croatian, thank you for this

[@Ben-ev5se]

i really need to say that for me rakitic was one of the most underrated players of this generation,he was that good

[@greninjafw]

Yes yes

[@RB-cs5dw]

If he was under rated then he wouldnt have played for Barca

[@toofunniforu6475]

@@RB-cs5dw just cause you play for a big team dosent mean you can't be underrated smh

[@irfan7395]

@@RB-cs5dwidiotic logic

[@RB-cs5dw]

@@toofunniforu6475 m8 he was playing pretty much every game so how can he be underrated?

[@mrmeeseeks2534]

These past 5-6 years have really been golden years for some teams

[@ammarharith5512]

Except for Belgium, though.

[@audisuresgameplay5686]

Belgium, France, Croatia

[@307skylake7]

@@ammarharith5512 A 3rd place finish for a country of little footballing history is impressive, considering their horrific managerial staff…

[@mrmeeseeks2534]

@@ammarharith5512 this is literally Belgium’s golden generation

[@erwinj9697]

@@ammarharith5512 Would be great to see Belgium get a good coach that can make a good team out of it, Belgium certainly has the players to make a good team all they need is a coach that knows how to make them play together better.

[@lorenaparenta6532]

As a Croatian I CAN'T be more proud of this team Back then and right now I'm speechless ❤️🤍💙

[@jokelot5221]

Svaka cast Hrvatima. Pozdrav iz Srbije. Srecno do kraja prvenstva.

[@fingolf6272]

Hvala ti, rođače! ❤

[@2pek77]

❤

[@skoomajunky5566]

hvala brat, sutra deremo argentinu xD

[@LUKA_911]

@@skoomajunky5566 ajmo naši!

[@LUKA_911]

Fala brate!

[@burimsaliji23]

Man I'm from croatia and during that month in 2018 it wasn't hard to get up for work,everyday was awesome it filled me up with pride especially since I live away in germany it felt so good to see my country succeed like that 🙂 unforgettable days and I know it's just sports but it's a beautiful thing that can unite people and make them happy 😊

[@jozokrstanovic9040]

For 2022 just watch out for Gvardiol. That guy is insane, 22 years old playing in a world scale competition and actually being the best player in matches. EDIT: He's 20 not 22

[@analogdigital547]

20 years old

[@vrcmf3172]

Majer Too. Kids top class. Sucic as well

[@tonijelecevic9238]

Sosa should be noticed too

[@aleksandarblaze6324]

@@tonijelecevic9238 ili ne

[@trancecod]

bro is already best cb Croatia ever had

[@adamsercovich4383]

Great video! You forgot to mention the help France had from the officials. Griezmann fell with not contact and should have been carded for flopping. On the free kick Pogba pushed Marion from behind causing the ball to come off the back of his head. The Penalty was alone controversial and should have never been awarded. Pretty much every soccer analysts agrees is was the wrong call. The last two goals France scored were only because Croatia were forced to commit numbers up field to equalize. Stats show Croatia were the better team in that game. Unfortunate officials took it from them.

[@ianleboo]

The mentally of Croatian football is out of this world. They play believe in themselves, and play comfortable even when they are losing

[@dtikvxcdgjbv7975]

That was not a civil war and these weren't "Yugoslav wars". That was a Serbo-Montenegrin aggression on Croatia, that aggression later spread to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbia and Montenegro attacked these countries just like Russia attacked Ukraine. Unlike with Ukraine, world powers did not help the victim (Croatia), but helped to the aggressor. When international recognition of Croatia became the inevitable reality, then Serbia and Montenegro claimed all heritage of Yugoslavia exclusively for themselves, except the foreign debt, which they wanted to be split and mostly put on Croatia and Slovenia.

[@nevenivic8545]

joj ne seri poz iz imotskog

[@dtikvxcdgjbv7975]

​@@nevenivic8545​@nevenivic8545 biraj riči. Nisi ti vidia Imotskeg, a ako jesi odanle, onda to more bit jedino ako si ti Veljko Kadijević

[@buzzerbeaterbuzzerbeater9001]

@@dtikvxcdgjbv7975 Sve si dobro reka, ali samo jedna, mozda vazna stvar : Russija tih godina je nas priznala dva mjeseca prije US Corp. (think about that) + da nam je tadasnja Russija i mnogo oruzja "dala" .. Tako da ja osobno kao Dalmatinac from Deutschland bi reka, pusti tog Zelenog Khazara i taj cjeli rat njihov na miru, to nije nasa stvar, niti su Rusi nasi neprijateliji, a ni Ukrajinci braca neka..

[@frenkie14]

Thank you so much for this video and for acknowledging Croatia as a team. Feels like the footballing world is ghosting us since the last WC and we are again in the quarterfinals. For a country of 3.8 mil people, it feels surreal. 👏🔥

[@ridhabellili6310]

My wife's Croatian for 28 years living with her a ❤ loving trust and giving. Since one year and a half we decided to relocate in Croatia 🇭🇷. And I can tell you that Croatian are humble, trustful and very friendly. What can spoil a nation reputation is some fraudulent dilemmas and endless political allegations. We want to be a part of the sport support and promote the best face of any story. Croatian deserves the respect and admiration. To the final.....Croatia is flying again with France. I promess you!

[@Im_too_old_for_this_shit]

Excellent pronunciation of Croatian names - something very rare to hear in these types of videos. Well done! 🤝

[@TheVatrogasacMirko]

nah some of them were bad. DeŽan Lovren, PeriSić, ManZukić, PjaKa, Strinic, DomagoŽ Vida, SubaSić. Mispronounced 7/11 actually

[@zoranmihovic8249]

As a Croatian I must say, you did a great job with this video and I thnak you for that :D

[@gauthamchowdary]

They are the true definition to being the underdogs in tournaments.

[@markotunjic5384]

Funny how we show up with even better squad after being runner-ups 4 years prior, yet we are bigger underdogs then back then. From 33/1 to 50/1.

[@1ordof1o1]

its the only way we can win

[@doris4989]

@@markotunjic5384 Except Gvardiol, who is better now that Croatia didn't have back then? Croatia lost Rakitić, Mandžukić, Vrsaljko (can't remember more), all top european club players. Now they have Juranović at RB who while he has some interesting skills and talents, is kinda underperforming rn. Sosa is a bit better than Jedvaj tho... Jedaj was one of the most painful players to watch. Does he still play for NT? Instead of Mandžukić you get Petković and Livaja (no comment). From a player that scored a scissor kick goal against Real Madrid in a Champions League final to those two. Who else? idk man, it doesn't feel like this team is better. Lovren plays in Zenit now ffs

[@markotunjic5384]

@@doris4989 Lovren is in good form. He has yet to make mistake. I didnt ever see him this solid. Gvardiol is better then Vida ever was. Sosa isn't really on level this wc, but he has great potential and I don't doubt his best games are yet to come in tournament. Don't you remember we were 2nd with Strinic and Pivaric? Juranovic is upgrade for sure. Rebic was shite with exception of that great goal against Argentina. Perisic is bit slower, but he really really improved his defensive play. Striker is problem, but I would rather have problem in attack then defense. So I really miss only Mandzukic and Subasic. I almost forgot bench. We may have equal or bit worse starting 11, but team overall is better.

[@saptaccrvima3563]

@@doris4989 if you think footballers quality is defined solely by the club where he plays, you obviously know nothing about football

[@ivanrenic4243]

Loved your video, there were some things even I (a Croat) didn't know. I can't even describe the emotions during that WC. Sadness, joy, anxiety, pride, excitement... The moment we scored 2-1 against England is still my favourite moment *of my entire life* . We became like one huge family and everyone was thinking only about football and Croatia, literally. Little kids, teens, adults, old people, heck, even the priest wore a Croatia jersey during sunday's mass

[@orahovavucichitlerdacicgoe7223]

Not just priests but nunes as well,but what he did not include here is Croatian suffering and wanted to be free and how much Croatia is underestimated every time and that is what makes Croatia even more stronger,we do not know how to be favorites in any game and we now prefer to be not favorites that is when we are dangerous.

[@mr.pipsqueek3013]

from a Croatian who follows the national team from day 1 .. nice job.

[@BIG-qn6ed]

No way, didn’t realize how frickin amazing this Croatia squad was!

[@bradyogden8308]

Loving the national team and world cup videos, you should do one on Germany’s collapse after winning in 2014

[@erwinj9697]

Croatia is one of those squads you should never underestimate. They can pull alot out of the bag to beat teams that are considered better than them if everything falls in place they're a dangerous team to go up against. Same with Japan for example

[@losteden6390]

They are way better than Japan and have produced some of the most technical players ever since they came third in their first tournament. Since then they have 3 medals in six tournaments as well as just being in the final of the nation's League just the other Day. They nearly went all the way in all those tournaments and those are way better results than most so called big nations. They are a powerhouse in football .

[@markotunjic5384]

As Croat I can say this video is very accurate. Just few things. Corruption scandal wasn't that big deal as it may seem from outside. It was problem for sure, but fans didnt ever truly hate Modric or smh. We have much much bigger corupption scandals in politics and economy. Another thing we werent devestated by loss. Before tournament just getting out of group was goal. Finals were bit bittersweet, but whole country partied for 3 days. It was crazy. This wc we are even darker horse. Nobody is taking us seriously. Calling us "old" and "slow" while I feel much more confident in this side then in one that played 2018. I don't remember when we had this good defense. Lovren is probably out after tournament, but there are few incoming centre backs. Josip Šutalo first among them. I have also feeling that this group of ours was very tough. We could go far again. Let's just hope my liver survives this wc.

[@saptaccrvima3563]

Nije realno kako dobru obranu imamo u budućnosti Grbić, Stanišić, Sosa, Gvardiol, Erlić, Šutalo I još šanse da vidimo Pongračića 🤞

[@markotunjic5384]

@@saptaccrvima3563 Bosko Sutalo i Luka Vušković isto potencijalno. Ne znam kako se ovo dogodilo, ali stvarno nam obrana jos najbolje i izgleda za buducnost.

[@saptaccrvima3563]

@@markotunjic5384 još sam smolčića zaboravio

[@MrSatelit28]

@@markotunjic5384 Samo da odnekud iskoči neki dobar mladi napadač

[@markotunjic5384]

@@MrSatelit28 Ma napadaca ce biti. Ne znam sto je sa Rokom Šimićem ove sezone. Ali tu su jos i Beljo i Ljubicic. Vise me nekako strah za vezu nakon sto odu Modric i Brozovic.

[@tinthings314]

As a Croat, I applaud your level of accuracy and knowledge of Croatia. Great video

[@lp0pic]

When I clicked on this video i didn't expect to see SO MUCH research done, fantastic! Your name pronunciations are one of the best I heard so far. Thank you for such a nice representation. Love and respect form Croatia to you my guy 🇭🇷🔥⚽

[@podlumpy3838]

Except J is not like J in english but like Y.

[@inkredebilchina9699]

@@podlumpy3838 lol, exactly. De-yan Lovren not De Jean Lovren.

[@Powerhouse08]

For me the best player for Croatia in the 2018 WC was Perisić. He always scored when Croatia needed it. Truly underrated.

[@thunderwplf1078]

I thought I was the only one who thought that.

[@hakr1298]

Perisić was always underrated throughout his carrer

[@MethicalYT]

Just look at Perisic's work rate in the game vs Belgium yesterday, that one sliding interception into counter attack was amazing to see

[@HS33]

You are 100% correct. I am from Croatia and Perisic has been and still is definitley one of our top3 most important and most consistent players. He scored so many important goals at the big stages.

[@thunderwplf1078]

And some people even want Oršić to play in the first 11 instead of Perišić it's crazy.

[@kocostamatis3080]

Very well done young man. *Thank you.* Love and respect from Croatia. 🇭🇷❤🇭🇷

[@Boz196]

That 2018 World Cup was pure jubilation. I would have been happy if we just made it out of the group stage but after we smashed Argentina I knew there was something special with the team. I’ll never forget the Mandzukić goal against England. That was probably the happiest I’ve ever been watching sport. Hopefully we can emulate some of that success this World Cup, I believe we are more than capable with our current team. For such a small country the caliber of players we produce is truely insane.

[@methatis3013]

Čekaju nas jako nezgodne utakmice ako pobjedimo Japan. Imamo šanse, ali fakat male

[@gabbymust4671]

@@methatis3013 pobijedili Japan, idemod do kraja HRVATSKA!!!!!

[@methatis3013]

@@gabbymust4671 e, ali čeka nas Brazil u petak. Bit će nezgodno

[@marionikic4261]

@@methatis3013 ma samo da na penale odemo ako bog da i nasi su

[@gabbymust4671]

@@methatis3013 Brazil riješeno !!!! 😘

[@pxytn_fan]

Once my national team was out in WC 2018, I still kept watching the matches and Croatia just became my favorite. Croatia fought with determination and passion to be in the finals and for me they were the true winners. 🇭🇷 ❤

[@gmalesev]

As someone who is from Croatia and sees whats happening from the inside, this is some great journalism! I don't know what your sources are but this is top notch informations that only some of our reporters managed to dig out. Congrats to the team behind the channel !

[@westsenkovec]

Showing the Yugoslavian flag at the beginning and referring to the invasion an "civil war" is a good foundation to not make any friends in Croatia.

[@IrisGalaxis]

This was a great video. I'd never expect anyone from outside Croatia to know these things this well. You did a very good job with the pronunciation, I was impressed, except a few minor things, like how J is always a Y sound in Croatian, so it's De-yan Lovren and Domago-y Vida, and also C is a ts sound, so it's Marko Pja-tsa. This video was truly a joy to watch.

[@kali00000]

We may lost the finnals but we were united at the same level when we were in independance war. We were all one and when the game ended we sang, we partied and celebrated. We were as proud as we could be and proved it with 500k people out of 3.8M welcoming our boys home from WC2018.

[@AnteGV1950]

Thank you for this video!!!I'm from Croatia, and i love your videos...i watch them when i can!!!now i love you even more!!!HRVATSKA IZNAD SVIH!!!!!

[@nintendope8837]

Honestly, love the Croatian national team

[@koranmiladinovic]

Respect, man. This is one hell of a documentary! The only thing missing (IMHO) in it is to mention we're a nation of mere 4M people ;) A fiery one (which is what "Vatreni" - the pet name to our football team - means)

[@rogerm6054]

The croatian national team represents the country and its people on an international stage, they represent who croats are, for a small population per capita are very talented and innovative people and that projects through the national team.

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

We’ll said my friend!

[@LordOfCookies123]

Especially when scheming under the table and abusing power for personal gain, the croat specialties.

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

@@LordOfCookies123 lmao more like the other way around, croatia always getting F’d over by the refs, it’s happened numerous times. 2012 vs Spain, 2014 Vs Brazil, 2018 Vs france just to name a few. Ya a tiny country like croatia is pulling the strings at fifa 😂

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

@@LordOfCookies123 you’re either a salty fan or a serb because only a serb would say something like that lol

[@belli4933]

In terms of talent there is still a tone that is coming. Luka Vušković, Gabriel Rukavina, Niko Janković, Domagoj Prpić, Karlo Sentić, Roko Brajković, Zvonarek, Gabriel Vidović, Marin Ljubičić, Josip Šutalo etc. Hajduk and Dinamo keep producing talent all the time

[@snjezanajuric6993]

Martin Baturina, Stipe Biuk, Ante Bulat and Dion Drena Beljo just to name a few more

[@RobaMostarRoba]

A country of 4 mil. people having insane results in a lot of sports is beyond crazy

[@z_nanook8906]

Nice video with some very good "inside" stuff. All true about Mamic, Modric, supporters, etc. The story goes much deeper. This was a shadow overlooking the 2018 team. However, no one was "devastated", not by a long shot. That part was completely inaccurate, or misleading at least, which is unfortunate for otherwise a very good video. I know no one in Croatia who felt this way. Croats celebrated their well-earned silver for days, months. It is a less than 4 million people winning over England, Argentina, reaching the World Cup finals, repeating, exceeding the 1998 achievement (in football terms this means that if you have an injured player, it is almost impossible to find someone on the same level to replace him). What most people outside of Croatia don’t get, is how strongly the national sentiment relates to Croatian national team (“nationalism” in “Balkans” is something very different from let’s say how “nationalism” in understood in Germany or France, which is different than how it is understood in USA, which is then also different from how it is understand in China, etc.). It reaches way back into (specific) history, into the last years of Austria-Hungary and then in "First Yugoslavia", it kindled during "Second Yugoslavia", erupted in May 1990 in Zagreb (when Zvonimir Boban became a national hero). There are a few books written on this, some also in English (Richard Mills' "The Politics of Football in Yugoslavia: Sport, Nationalism and the State" come to mind). Underneath the surface of clean-cut EU country, Croatia is a very troubled and confused country still riddled with corruption way more than it should have been. Regarding football examples, as the video correctly shows, there’s the brother Mamic’s example, Modric's perjury, etc... there are many more. Many of these guys from the National team went through this system. Croats all know this, and this is unfortunate. There weren’t any other alternatives (I personally feel bad for the talent that went to waste because of this). However, the sentiment surrounding the National team, which these guys carry in themselves, transcends this, and it is stronger than anything that currently divides Croatians (there is a lot of that): historical narratives, politics, religion, regional competition, class differences...corruption of course. Football is the only thing stronger than religion in Croatia. When National team wins, all Croats feel the same, and in cases such as this, for those who remember, they bring back 1998 achievement which, during those very dark times, helped place Croatia on the map of the world and showed Croats that it perhaps doesn’t matter if they are small and screwed up, they can still do things in the big bad world. Every Croatian kid dreams playing for the National team. On the other side, these guys who make it to the team, despite the crap that follows them, do not lose their focus on what is important. They know who they are, they are quite aware of what they represent, from where do they come from, what stands behind them, and why and for whom they play for. Things they do during the World Cup is the thing they all live for. Champions league titles, national titles, playing for big clubs, being proclaimed best players or whatever...all of that is great of course, but these things do not compare with them playing or doing what they are doing for the National team. If they've lost against England in 2018, Croats would celebrate. Yesterday against Brazil...they're already winners. If they lose the next two matches...for Croats, they've already won. Of course, the Croats want them to win the cup, all believe in this, even though realistically is a very low chance for something like that (video showed nicely who wins). These guys give hope that something can be done, even the overwhelming odds are against them, even when all stadiums are cheering against them, even the whole world wants to see Neymar, Messi, Ronaldo, or some other superstar triumph against them, etc. So…no one was devastated in 2018, and whatever happens, no one will be now in 2022. They’re already champs. And it will happen again in the future once this team retires.

[@Pericalypsis]

Wonderful comment.

[@sj3442]

Couldn't agree more. 🇭🇷

[@chop735]

cant belive modric is still a teenager. SOOO INSPERATIONAL!!!

[@nilabhabanerjee2630]

man i've developed an emotional attachment to you, when you post my day just instantly gets better

[@antoniobaric5798]

I'm Croatian and this video was wonderfully made. Warmed up my heart in this time of WC in Qatar I don't follow due to all the evil it was built on and what I wasnt aware of. Thank you. :) Reminded me of all the times in primary school when we were quoting violent Mamic quotes to each others, I even made a school work for my English class based on adoration of Mamic's personality.. those were the days man lol

[@chrishanzek8930]

Great video. I would like to add that the first tournament Croatia was allowed to compete for was the 1996 Euros. They finished first in their qualifying group (topping Italy) and might have finished first in their group during the first stage if they didn't rest their best players against Portugal. It was a sign of things to come in 1998 for the tiny nation of under 4 million people.

[@noaarmada]

This is the best video of croatian big cup football history i have ever seen. This video made me tear up and be proud at the same time. Cheers from Croatia.

[@pavaomrazek]

It was NOT a civil war... It was a war for independence of Croatia. Civil wars are wars that are caused by one nation dividing on two sides, this was a war between two nations, Croats and Serbs. Please understand the difference.

[@buzzerbeaterbuzzerbeater9001]

But CNN told us otherwise 😂😂🤣

[@sochaoracza1506]

Za Wami calym sercem. Pozdrowiania od Polaka.

[@dk.545]

Great video! As a Croatian I never saw anyone cover our team and history in such good detail like in this video.

[@maricahaluzan279]

Thank you for reporting, and making this video. Great job My God bless Croatia and our team. ❤❤❤🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷

[@massification77]

Your pronunciation of Croatian names is insanely good.

[@HrvojeMikovic]

The man did his research. Respect!

[@arcanegale285]

as a Croatian myself I'd say otherwise, especially when a player has "J" in his name, it's read the same as "Y" , for example: "Yo-shh-ko" Gvardiol (he read this correct) or "De-Yahn" Lovren (read it kinda like yawn but faster)

[@karlokarloo4658]

@@arcanegale285 daj suti konjino, hrvatski je najtezi jezik za naucit strancima i ovo je 1000x bolje od bilo kojeg stranca koji hrvatski prica. U srednju je sa mnom hodao amerikanac i u te 4 godine mu hrvatski jos uvijek bio gori od ovog videa.

[@unwokeneuropean3590]

Nope, he butchered half of the names.

[@nenadstojkovic3113]

Great video. Missed the Griezmann clear dive that led to the first (auto)goal. Classic French honor. Before that little bit of cheating they were hiding in a hole. Then VAR stimulated penalty at 1:1 - that in ralenty made Perisic seem as having superpowers to catch a ball travelling 60+ kmh with his hand while in mid-flight, and Dalic's mistake to play an injured Subasic in the final. Besides that, all good.

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

Took the words out of my mouth!

[@xxxxxJAYMILLZxxxxxxx]

Not only that, the handball was a double unitenional handball as I’m pretty sure it was Umiti who also hit it right after with his hand. How on earth that was a penalty is mind blowing. But I’ll never ever in my life forgive or even remotely like Griezman for that dive 😂 what a little 🐀 rat that man is

[@bizzobrigante1588]

Brate Srbine.... hvala ti na objektivnosti...ljubi te brat❤ ..Btw. Svi hvale Francusku kako su na razbili 4-2, a realno pokarali su na u finalu ko zadnji stoku! P.S. Zadnja dva gola idu na Dalicevu dusu zbog Subasica jer covjek je igrao s jednom nogom!

[@U-non-i-mouse]

Thank you for making this video, it brought tears to my eye, proud to be Croat 🥰♥️ only love for everybody

[@frenky0821]

I love this man broo. Every time I see something about croatia on youtube I get excited and watch the video. I never thought I would see such a beautiful message to my country. Love from Croatia❤

[@Tommywhite21]

Unbelievable, congratulations on this masterpiece, i can't remember when i watched something made with this level of professionalism. There are minor mistakes, but overall a brilliant video. You now have me as a follower, thank you very much and keep up the great work.

[@LucaAnamaria]

Thank you for taking such a keen interest in my proud little country. 🇭🇷 ❤️‍🔥

[@TeoM95]

As a proud croat, your video made me shed a tear. Loved it, the good, bad and the ugly. Amazing

[@allthingscroatia]

💪🇭🇷

[@antoniopetrovic3937]

And 600 000 people welcomed them in Zagreb after the WC. Mind you we are a nation of barely 4 million strong. It was wild to say the least

[@comradesam3382]

God I remember that, I waited at the square from 11 am, exausted, dehydrated, but they came

[@juresibenik5281]

You are all boring with this "we have barely 4 million people" shait. We have 600 000 croats living in Bosnia and Hercegovina which is a fck neighbour country, same with Austria and Germany where you have more than 700 000 croats living there, lets not even go to Switzerland. All of those countryes are like 4-5 hours car drive. More than half of those 600 000 people celebrating were from diaspora. Most of the Zagreb citizens just welcomed them from their teraces and windows 🤣

[@antoniopetrovic3937]

@@juresibenik5281 so its not 4 mil it is 5 is that what you are saying? How many people should have been there for you to consider it being impressive?

[@juresibenik5281]

@@antoniopetrovic3937 all 7 million of us

[@antoniopetrovic3937]

@@juresibenik5281 be sure to announce that the next time so we can prepare in time

[@dannycro6461]

Thank you very much!! I am Croatian, and I know how hard names of our players are, you did amazing. Thank you for showing everyone who watched your vid who Croatia actually is when it comes to football.

[@davidl2394]

Great with a few corrections...we never had a civil war in Croatia, Croats were attacked by the Yugo army /Serbia and had to fight for their freedom and independence. We don't consider it a part of ''balkan''.

[@dariolivaja978]

Ako Hrvatska nije Balkan, onda di smo? Bliski Istok?

[@davidl2394]

@@dariolivaja978 Mediteranu i centralnoj Europi

[@Tony_M_86]

​@@davidl2394 don't srac to much

[@croatianwarmaster7872]

@@Tony_M_86 govori istinu. Kada smo izgubili Bosnu i Hercegovinu prestali smo biti balkanska država.

[@dariolivaja978]

Mislim da pojedinci tribaju pogledat kakvu kartu Europe, pa da malo vide di je sve Balkan.. Jer se ovako samo blamiraju..

[@hlayisanimthombeni4060]

Sir you know how to do your craft,this is one of the best channels where you always exceed the expectations,keep it up men

[@dinojuventino]

Beautiful video, a tear always comes to my eye remembering the world cup in 2018. A truly magical world cup for I imagine everyone in and from Croatia!

[@aaronpalpatine5722]

your videos are absolutely fantastic! the editing, your voice, the memes! i’m glad i found this channel.

[@SashaLaFera]

Thank you so much for this amazing video about our small but proud country. Keep up with the great work. Greetings from Croatia 🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷🇭🇷 Ajmo vatreniiiiiii🔥

[@ivagami25]

Thank you for this video...lots of love from Croatia 🥰

[@maiche1]

Such an in depth and detailed story presented in a very articulate an easy to understand way ,great knowledge as a croatian living in New Zealand it was heart warming .Thanks brought a tear to my eyes .heho

[@artsikk6876]

thank you for this beautiful video, its nice to see my country's talent in the spotlight for once

[@theophilusagbator4994]

Aftermath: 2022 and Croatia are in another semi finals 😂

[@apcreative235]

Respect! You really did your research.. you deserve alot of more views and subs for your knowledge and work! Greetings from 🇭🇷

[@irenaorsulic4827]

Brilliant video! Thank you and RESPECT for your effort! Sharing🇭🇷!

[@dominicdawnay9943]

What a great video, thank you for taking the time to put this together!

[@kimcage7768]

I enjoyed this video very much. Keep up the good work! Regards from Croatia!

[@ExploreYourShadow]

thank you for making this beautiful video for my country

[@snoopy190496]

Thank you for this video! Perfectly summarized! Love from Croatia ♡

[@josiplatincic1476]

Thank you for this comprehensive video! As a Croat, this is absolutely the best overview I've seen from a foreigner, you touched on absolutely all of the important points. The thing is, in 2018 we weren't playing that good like it may seem now. When I say not that good, I just mean that our advantages and flaws, playing style, quality and tactics to some extent were very similar to Euro 2016 where we got bounced in 1st knockout round. What we had in 2018 was insane mental strength, good atmosphere inside the team and, finally, some luck. In Euro 2008 and 2012 we played better than in any tournament after that, however we lacked luck and mental strength (and VAR). However, all of this was repaid in 2018 with the moments we'll cherish forever.

[@Pericalypsis]

Very good analysis of Croatian football from a non-Croatian. And your pronunciation of their names was not bad at all. WC 2018 was an amazing run, and they had an unfortunate first half in the final, despite playing so well. Sadly, Croatia have lost a lot of sting at the front since then, and together with the impending retirement of Modric, they will likely struggle in the coming years. They did amazingly well to make the semi-finals this time (WC 2022), but a lot of it came down to luck (thank you and sorry Lukaku!). I think the best thing they did was eliminate the pigeon dancers. I will be glad when Brazil finally recapture the mental toughness needed to beat elite European sides in major competitions, and maybe the loss against Croatia will force them to face these shortcomings.

[@jake2.035]

Dude, your channel is constantly releasing bangers, keep up the good work 💪

[@jurajbrlic6247]

wow! Everything you said is correct, I can confirm as a Croatian and a football fan. You did detailed research and have done amazing job, especially with all the things that surrounds Croatian football. Good video.

[@milanpintar]

thank you for explaining so much, thank you for caring about this story and putting your energy and time into it. i’m subbing!

[@gordocro1]

Great video and superb analysis. Just a note for future reference. In Croatian (as in all Slavic languages) the letter "J" is pronounced like a "Y" in English. "LJ" is a single letter that is just a blend of the "L" and "Y" sounds and "NJ" is pronounced like the tilde (ñ) in Spanish. Hope this helps.

[@tomislavkuna2265]

Great job man. Really. Very concise and informative for someone that does not know much about our team and its background. Now we are in the 1/8 final in Qatar which just adds to the list of great results. Whatever happens against Japan we love our team and support Dalić and the boys. Just one correction concerning the beginning of the video. Croatia did not participate in a "Civil War". It defended itself. But all in all great job with the video. Hope the story has a third chapter in the days to come. ;)

[@d.h.4795]

Good work bro, thanks for putting this together... Well done

[@radislavskaja]

Thank you for your video and research. You have done an excellent job explaining the significance of the Croatian team through the last 30 years. Good pronunciation of names also. 🇭🇷💪

[@stoniptfosupersonic]

As person from Croatia this was a beatiful piece about our football history. Better job than most of the forgein media

[@IvanStipic_Stiiv]

As a Croatian I have to say you really did a great research! Amazing video!

[@aleksandarbaksa1591]

Thank you very much for this video from a proud Croatian. I shuddered when I remembered all this.

[@sagarbhatia5258]

Man you have been giving alot of videos recently, great work. Will miss this much videos when you go on a break😭😭😭😭

[@baibhavrai2923]

They have some of the best midfielder in the world