DOHA (Reuters) - Croatia's run to the semi-finals of a second consecutive World Cup was nothing short of remarkable for the small Balkan nation and even Tuesday's 3-0 defeat by Argentina does not overshadow their achievements on football's biggest stage.
Reaching the last four in Russia and Qatar was barely conceivable six years ago. Croatia were a team in near disarray, their fans were fighting each other at Euro 2016 and the leadership of the Croatian FA faced corruption allegations.
Coming through their group with a win over Canada and draws against Belgium and surprise semi-finalists Morocco, conceding only one goal along the way, the Croats showed they were again a force to be reckoned with. Croatia got past Japan in a shootout in the Round of 16 before delivering one of the shocks of the tournament by eliminating five-times champions Brazil in the same manner.
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