This tenacious Croatia side simply refuse to die and shone a light on how to topple the former World Cup favourites Brazil. Nerves jangling from the mere hint of penalty kicks for most, Croatia instead relish this intense mental battle on the sport’s biggest stage, thriving when it matters most.
Before the penalty drama though, Zlatko Dalic unveiled a blueprint with more nuance than simply surviving and a reliance on the warrior-like defending at their disposal. Josip Juranovic emerged as an unlikely talisman as the 2018 runners-up shook the Selecao at times with a number of adventurous forrays into the final third.
