CROATIA DEFY ODDS
Croatia, with Real Madrid playmaker Modric still the leader on the pitch at the age of 37, have again defied the odds to stand on the brink of a second successive final.
Coach Zlatko Dalic said he wanted Tuesday’s match to be remembered as the “greatest game” in the country’s history.
“At back-to-back World Cups to be among the four best national teams, that’s an extraordinary success for Croatia,” he said.
“However, we want more,” he added. “I’m optimistic and have full confidence in my players. They’ve shown their great quality and strength of character, and deserve to be in the final.”
France are strong favourites to beat Morocco and take a step closer to defending their title on Wednesday.
But the African team’s history-making run to the semis has caught the imagination of a continent and they have been backed by legions of fans in Qatar.
The match will have added spice – France was Morocco’s colonial power, and hundreds of thousands of people with Moroccan roots live and work in the country.
France captain Hugo Lloris said that the champions were guarding against complacency and were braced for a pro-Morocco crowd.
“We can only have respect and admiration for what they have done, but nothing happens by chance at this level,” he said.
“When a team is capable of beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal, and finish top of their group, it is because they have lots of quality on the field and undoubtedly off it too, in terms of cohesion and team spirit.
“They will be formidable opponents, and on top of that there will be a hostile atmosphere in the stadium.”
Demand for the match has been so great that Royal Air Maroc has announced it is laying on 30 extra return flights to take euphoric fans to the Gulf state.
Coach Walid Regragui said that Morocco were not satisfied with a place in the semi-finals and were hungry for more.
“If you get to the semi-finals and you are not hungry then there is a problem,” he said on Tuesday.
“The best team in the tournament, Brazil, is already out. We are an ambitious team and we are hungry but I don’t know if that will be enough.”
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