The secret to Croatia's success,very low expectations means no pressure : Reading the headlines about the 2018 world cup you would be excused if you thought that the epicentre of world football is now Croatia after their historic performance to make the final in Russia,but let's put it all in the right perspective,yes the result was an incredible feat for a nation of just over 4 million people and a very small talent pool to choose from,the bar for Croatia was very low,they were not expected to advance beyond the round of sixteen let alone make the final,win or lose Croatia has already won just making the final,with very low expectations no one would have criticised Croatia if they were bundled out in the second round,that's what most experts predicted,they have flown under the radar because the pressure was not there for them to advance,pressure is what this is all about and the failure of footballs dominant nations to handle the pressure that the world's biggest tournament brings to a team : No one is going to convince me that in one month the centre of world football has moved from Germany,Italy,Spain,Brazil.Argentina and England to Croatia, a tiny Balkan country with a population less than Melbourne,no,what is evident to all is the inability of today's players to handle the pressure placed upon their national sides by the MSM and the fans.Brazil's 2014 choke,going down to Germany 7-1 in the semi-final on home soil,provides us an insight in to what pressure and high expectations can do to a sporting team,Croatia is playing with no pressure,France now is under pressure to win,will they buckle to,the Croatian team has already won even if they lose.

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