Epic Battle: The Golden Generation Plays a Colorful Movement

In the early morning of July 12, Beijing time, after Croatia's World Cup semi-final team reversed England 2-1 in extra time, the stands of Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow did not empty as quickly as before. Croatian players wrapped their national flags in the stands and kept bowing to their domestic fans. Manjukic's goal in the 109th minute may seem accidental, but it became the first team in World Cup history to advance to the final through three consecutive extra time matches. The iron blooded performance of Croatian players has been recognized by the world, as can be clearly seen from the team's cumulative running distance of over 420 kilometers in three games. It took the "grid army" a full 20 years to advance from the third place in the World Cup to the final. The golden generation, represented by Modric, Manjukic, and Lakitic, never lost their time and played their own colorful music with their magnificent footwork and steel will.
An undisputed epic battle
The Croatian coach Dulwich replaced the cramped Rebic with Kramaric when the extra time of the Croatian British War was 101 minutes away. But in the media stand, an anxious Croatian journalist complained: "Why not replace Manjukic?" Dulwich gave the answer after the game: "This night our players are all soldiers, and none of them on the court want to leave, not rely on the court, but they all want to fight to win." The 32 year old Manjukic finally found a breakthrough under the encirclement of England's young defense line, as Sky Sports described, The Juventus center only needs to grasp the hesitation of the opposing defender in a few tenths of a second to score a goal.
According to the post match statistics of FIFA, the Croatian team shot 22 times, twice as many as the opponent's 11 times, and the Ball possession of the Croatian team was 10 percentage points ahead of the opponent. We saw a typical English team at the beginning of the game, but they encountered a typical Manjujic in the final moments, who ended the magical journey of the English team in this tournament. "This is a post match evaluation from Yahoo Sports Football column. At the scene, the two English football celebrities, Lineker and Alan Shearer, sitting next to each other, were stunned after Manjukic scored the winner. The singing of English fans on the stands suddenly interrupted, which was an undisputed winning goal. When referee Kaquill sounded the final whistle, the fans from both countries in the stands shed tears and their emotions were vastly different. FIFA President Ivantino once again congratulated the Croatian Football Association President Davor Šuker not far away, just like the Croatian team defeated the Russian team in the quarter final.
'Iron Army' Conquers International Football World
Fighting, then breaking one's limits again, it could also be the limits of the World Cup and football matches. Mario Manjukic is a hero? Yes, but this country with a population of over 4 million can eliminate England in more than two hours. Their victory is predatory, and their promotion is historic, "commented the British media. Data shows that Croatia is the first team in history to reach the World Cup final through three consecutive rounds of extra time (including penalty shootouts). In the history of the World Cup, there is another team that has advanced through three consecutive extra time matches, which is England. In the 1990 World Cup, England advanced to the semi-finals, but were later blocked by the Bundesliga team. Croatia's promotion process was even more difficult, as their total running distance of 423 kilometers in the knockout stage exceeded that of their final opponent France's 298 kilometers in the same period by over 100 kilometers.
"You can doubt the body or state of the Croatian players, but don't doubt their super willpower. Each of them is good at Extreme sport. Manjukic, a 32 year old veteran with a height of 190 cm and a weight of 85 kg, has played for 549 minutes in total. The minimum playing time in a single game is 86 minutes, the maximum is 131 minutes, the average running distance in a regular time field exceeds 11 kilometers, and the total playing time rate is 94%. Captain Maud Ritchie, midfielder Lakitic, and midfielder Brozovic have higher data. That's why they have consistently dragged down Denmark, Russia, and England Foreign media have written this way. Höðr, the former England coach who served as a live TV commentator, could not help admiring that "it would be totally wrong to doubt Croatia's prospects of winning the championship because he had one day less rest than the French team. They were consistent on the field, and every member seemed to have injected a shot in the arm." FIFA also described Croatia's promotion as a "victory of will". The photos of Lakitic's moist eyes after the game are also touching, as he had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius the day before the game. Missing the World Cup championship is more heartbreaking than physical pain, "said Lakitic.
A generation of famous generals eager to seize their last chance
Unlike the French team singing the main theme of youth, Croatia has continued to perform the "New Tale of Veterans" in this tournament. Among the 11 starting players of the Croatian team yesterday, 5 were over 30 years old, including captains Modric, Lakitic, and Manjukic. Meanwhile, Pelosic, iron defender Lovren, and Vida, who were surrounded by boos from the audience due to controversial remarks, are all 29 years old and the veteran has almost occupied all the core positions of the team. For them, this World Cup is an excellent opportunity to achieve personal career glory. They did not let their youth and time pass, and naturally they will firmly seize the last opportunity to reach the top.
During the extra time of the quarter finals, the scene of Modric sprinting over 100 meters to "grab" the ball was described by foreign media as one of the most touching scenes of this tournament. Modric said passionately after the match yesterday: "After Real Madrid won the Champions League for three consecutive seasons, you always asked me whether I would have the momentum to move forward. The answer is in the Russian world World Cup. Now is not the time to discuss the problems between me and the national team. We shoulder the expectations of every Croatian fan, including my own. This may be the best opportunity for us to challenge the world championship." Foreign media also generally believe that this is the closing performance of the Croatian generation of players in the World Cup, and the opportunity is fleeting.
After the dust settled in the final match, the French team became the most popular team in people's eyes to win the championship. However, as Yahoo Sports said, "The Croatian team has become accustomed to advancing in a certain 'tragic' way, just like they did in the qualifiers. If we underestimate them, the French team would be completely wrong