Croatia's journey to their maiden World Cup final

July 14, 2018 00:00:00

Anti-clockwise: Croatian defender Demagoj Vida celebrates after Nigeria's Etebo scores an own goal, Luka Modric watches his shot go past an outstretched Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero, Ivan Perisic shoots past Iceland goalkeeper Halles Halldorsson to maintain Croatia's win streak, Danijel Subasic saved three penalties in the shootout to secure the win against Denmark, Croatian keeper Danijel Subasic watches Russia's Denis Cheryshev's shot fly past him into the back of the net and Ivan Perisic made a run inside and went over Kyle Walker's head to score Croatia's equaliser against England in semifinal — Internet

Croatia have made it to the FIFA World Cup Final for the first time in their history, bettering their semi-final effort from 1998. Led by Luka Modric in midfield, the team has displayed a gritty mix of determination and skill to reach the finals and stands one match away from being called World Champions, report agencies.

Standing in their way are 1998 Champions France - winners of their semi-final face-off that year - who defeated Belgium in the other semi-final on 10 July to book their own berth.

Here's a lowdown on Croatia's route to their maiden World Cup final:

Group matches (Group D: Croatia,

Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland)

Beat Nigeria 2-0 (June 16)

Croatia wanted to begin their World Cup campaign with a win and they did it with a disciplined performance against Nigeria. Oghenekaro Etebo's own goal in the first-half and skipper Luka Modric goal from the spot earned the Croatians their first three points.

Defeat Argentina 3-0 (June 21)

Zlatko Dalic-coached Croatia were up against the mighty Argentina led by Lionel Messi. Argentina didnt live up to the hype and lost by a margin of 3 goals. The two-time champions fell to goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic propelling Croatia to take the top spot in their group securing the last 16 berth in the process.

Win over Iceland 2-1 (June 26)

Croatia came into this match after registering back-to-back wins and were afforded the luxury to rest their key players. Milan Badelj gave the Croatians the lead in the second half but his goal was cancelled out by Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson, who scored a penalty. Substitute Ivan Perisic hit the winning goal in the 90th minute and went to the Round of 16 with a 100 per cent record in the group stage.

Round of 16

Beat Denmark 3-2 on penalties (July 02)

The last-16 clash between these two nations got off to a flying start as Mathias Jorgensen scored in the first minute to give Denmark the lead. Mario Mandzukic levelled soon after in the 4th minute. Croatian skipper Modric missed a penalty in the extra-time. Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the hero of the match after he saved penalties from Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone and Nicolai Jorgensen and guiding his team to the quarter-finals.

Quarterfinals

Win over Russia 4-3 on penalties (July 07)

This was the second successive match for Croatia that went into extra-time and penalties. Denis Cheryshev's curler for Russia was cancelled out by Andrej Kramaric in the stipulated ninety minutes. Domagoj Vida put Croatia in front in the extra-time but Mario Fernandes' header in the dying minutes saw Russia level the score 2-2. Fedor Smolov's spot-kick was saved by Subasic and a miss by Fernandes in the shoot-out saw the hosts bow out of the tournament.

Semifinals

Croatia beat England 2-1 (July 11)

Croatia reached their first-ever World Cup final after they edged England 2-1 in extra-time in Moscow. Mandzukic scored the winning goal in the 109th minute of the semi-final, slotting in from Ivan Perisic's flick-on into the area. England were given the dream start through Kieran Trippier's 20-yard free-kick after only five minutes, but Perisic's 68th-minute equaliser sent the match into extra time.