Croatia Crushes Russia's 2018 World Cup Dream

As Croatia worked its way through the World Cup and into this quarterfinal matchup against the host, Russia, one figure still loomed large over its talented squad: 1998. That was the year Croatia, led by Davor Suker in its first tournament appearance, made a stunning run to the semifinals in France, finishing third after a difficult loss to the French in the final four.

The current team, led by top-tier talents in Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric — dubbed the country’s “golden generation” for years — had earned international success to a point, making strong runs at the 2008 and 2016 European Championships before falling in the group stages. But it had yet to match its country’s gold standard, the 1998 achievement, until Saturday.