Riaan 
ICroatia iphumelele ukunqoba indawo yesithathu kuNdebe Yomhlaba yeFIFA yalo nyaka eQatar, ihlula iMorocco ngo 2-1 ngoMgqibelo kusihlwa.
Amagoli wonke afike ngesiwombe sokuqala lapho uJoško Gvardiol eshayele iCroatia ngomzuzu wesi-7 iMorocco yaphendula ngemuva nje kwemizuzu emibili lapho u-Achraf Dar ebeka ibhola enethini — ebeka isiqalo se-octane ephezulu emdlalweni.
Womabili la maqembu abenawo amathuba kodwa kube yiCroatia eshaye igoli elilandelayo, kwathi uMislav Oršić wathola igoli lesibili leqembu lakhe ngomzuzu wama-42.
I-Morocco, okuyiqembu eliyinganekwane emqhudelwaneni walo nyaka njengeqembu lokuqala lase-Afrika nele-Arab elidlulele kuma-semi final, lilwe kanzima ngesiwombe sesibili lidlala ibhola elihlaselayo. Kodwa iCroatia ikwazile ukuzuza amanani engeziwe okuba nempahla, futhi nalapho inesicelo senhlawulo esinqatshiwe emizuzwini eyishumi yokugcina yomdlalo ayizange ivumele iMorocco ukuthi ithole elinye igoli lokulinganisa amaphuzu.
Kwabanye, umdlalo wokudlala indawo yesithathu ungaphezudlwana komdlalo wombukiso ongasho lutho. Kwabanye, kuyithuba “lokungafi.”
Ngaphambi komdlalo umqeqeshi weMorocco u-Walid Regragui uthe “kufana nomklomelo we-booby,” futhi ngemuva komdlalo ongaka emqhudelwaneni kuyaqondakala ukuthi uzwakale eyisicaba.
Kuphinde kwaba yisilinganiso sesifiso sakhe ukuthi aqede umqhudelwano angasoze awukhohlwa enomuzwa wokuphoxeka ngemuva kokushaywa yiFrance evikela isicoco ngo 2-0.
Isimo esiqhamuka ngasohlangothini lweCroatia besingcono kakhulu emdlalweni wangoMgqibelo.
Abadlali abaphume isibili eNdebeni yoMhlaba edlule eRussia bahlulwe yi-Argentina ngo 3-0 emdlalweni wabo owandulela owamanqamu, kodwa abadlali babo bebekhulume ngokubaluleka kokuwina enye indondo.
Umgadli u-Andrej Kramarić ukuchaze njengethuba “lokuba iqhawe elingafi ezweni lakini.”
“Siyisishiyagalombili (emqhudelwaneni) waseRussia siyawuqonda lowo muzwa wokuwina indondo eNdebeni yoMhlaba futhi sinabadlali abaningi abangakaze bakubone lokho futhi abangathanda ukukwenza lokho ngoba yinto ezohlala kuwena. impilo yabo yonke,” kusho uKramarić.
U-Luka Modric, okungenzeka ukuthi udlala eNdebeni yoMhlaba yokugcina, ube nemicabango efanayo.
“Kumele sishiye konke ukuze siwine indondo yethusi futhi sivumele abalandeli bethu baphinde bagubhe futhi,” usho kanje.
Futhi ngemuva kwempempe yokugcina yangoMgqibelo, ukuthola indawo yesibili neyesithathu kuNdebe Yomhlaba elandelanayo kushisa ifa lesizukulwane segolide sebhola laseCroatia.
