Croatia vs Denmark: Can the Vatreni keep on going?

Croatia will look to seal a spot in the quarter-finals as they take on Denmark at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Sunday.

The Vatreni have been one of the surprises of this summer’s tournament so far, and Zlatko Dalic’s men are keen on keeping the good times rolling. Croatia stunned the world with a 3-0 demolition of Argentina on matchday two and went on to win their group with a perfect nine points. Remember, Croatia’s group also included a very young and talented Nigeria as well as tricky debutants Iceland, and prior to this tournament’s commencement, many believed that Dalic’s side would be involved in a tough battle for second.

Well, every tournament always has its surprise stories, and Croatia is shaping up to be just that. The Vatreni have long been viewed as potential “dark horses” due to the talent at their disposal, and right now, they’re living up to that title. The last time they won all three of their group stage games was in 1998 when they truly shocked everyone by clinching third place.

Could this be their year? Perhaps. After all, there’s no expectations, no pressure, no anticipation surrounding Croatia, which has allowed Luka Modric and his colleagues to quietly go about their business. Of course, they grabbed the spotlight thanks to their strong showing against Argentina, and despite a slight wobble against Iceland, Croatia still saw off the debutants with a heavily rotated squad.

That will have them brimming with confidence ahead of the showdown with Denmark, who, unlike Croatia, haven’t set the pitch alight. The Danish Dynamite scored just two goals, but despite their less than impressive attack, were quite solid defensively. The only goal conceded was a spot-kick given to Australia, but their lack of urgency against France in this tournament’s dullest game is still a serious source of concern.

Croatia’s strength arguably lies in their midfield, with stars like Inter’s Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic, and of course, Real Madrid’s wizard Modric. Skipper Modric has been by far the standout performer for this side, which continues to grow with each passing game. Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen has already opened his World Cup account and the Tottenham man will be the go-to player for his side as they aim to see off a Croatia side who are shaping up to the breakout team of this tournament.

It’s set to be an interesting battle between the two no. 10’s in Eriksen and Modric. Denmark has yet to truly take off, but then again, France was rather pedestrian in their group stage campaign and roared to life against Argentina on Saturday, so perhaps the Scandinavian side could be taking the same approach. Whether it pays off remains to be seen, as Croatia has been in excellent form – will the Vatreni continue onwards and upwards, or will they fizzle out now that the tournament’s starting to heat up?