I-CROATIA ibalwa namazwe omhlaba ake awangakwazi ukudlala emqhudelwaneni weNdebe yoMhlaba yeFifa, eminyakeni edlule. Lokhu bekudalwa yisimo sezinxushunxushu zezimpi zepolitiki ezigasele kuleliya zwe lase-Europe, phambilini like lalawulwa yiYugoslavia.
Emuva kokuthola uzimele geqe ngo-1991 kwiYugoslavia, izwe lamangaza umhlaba lifinyelela kowandulela owamanqamu eNdebe yoMhlaba ka-1998, eFrance, liqala ukudlala kulo mqhudelwano.
Ngubani ongeke ayikhumbule iCroatia eyayibophele izihlabani okubalwa oDavor Suker noRobert Prosinecki, ijulukisa iFrance kowandulela owamanqamu yagcina ihlulwa ngo 2-1.
Nakuba iqembu lesizwe laseCroatia lingenzanga kahle emiqhudelwaneni yeNdebe yoMhlaba ka-2002, 2006, nango-2014, kodwa lakwazi ukulungisa izinto labuya selithelwe ngezibonkolo kwiNdebe yoMhlaba ka-2018, eRussia, elafinyelela kowamanqamu, laguqiswa futhi yiFrance ngo 4-2.
Nakuba iKockasti - okuyisiteketiso seCrotia - ingakabalwa namazwe ayizikhondlakhondla ebholeni lomhlaba kepha akungatshazwa ukuthi ukufinyelela kwayo kowamanqamu eNdebe yoMhlaba ka-2018, kwenze abathandi bebhola emhlabeni baqala ukuyibheka ngamanye amehlo.
I-Croatia eboshelwe kwiGroup F, neBelgium, iCanada, neMorocco koweNdebe yoMhlaba ezoqala ngoNovemba 20 kuya kuDisemba 18 eQatar, izovula neMorocco ngoNovemba 23, kanti bukeka isethubeni lokuzibekisela indawo emzuliswaneni weLast 16.
Abadlali ababhekiwe:
ULuka Modric (37), oyinjini yasesiswini nokaputeni weqembu futhi ungukaputeni weReal Madrid, ungomunye wabazothwala ithemba leqembu ngenxa yamava namagalelo akhe, nangenjomdlali omdala kunabo bonke eqenjini laseCroatia aqale ukudlala kulona ngo-2006 eneminyaka engu-20.
Abanye abadlali ababhekiwe kubalwa u-Ivan Perisic ogijima kwiTottenham Hotspur, uMateo Kovacic ogijima kwiChelsea, uMarcelo Brozovic ogijima kwi-Inter Milan.
Umqeqeshi:
UZlatko Dalic (55), owathatha izintambo zokuqeqesha iCroatia ngo-2017, wayifaka KOWENdebe yoMhlaba ka-2018, yaze yafinyelela kowamanqamu.
Nakuba ephinde wakwazi ukulifaka futhi koweNdebe yoMhlaba ka-2022 eseQatar, kodwa ukungenzi kahle kweCroatia kwi-Uefa Nations League nakwiNations League muva nje, sekwenze abalandeli bebhola baseCroatia bathi akaxoshwe.
Lokho osekusho ukuthi lo mqeqeshi kufanele afingqe imikhono, akhombise ukuthi ukufaka kwakhe iqembu kowamanqamu ngo-2018 akubanga, ucilo ukuzishaya endukwini.