Croatia, a country of just 4.2 million people, has made the final of the World Cup. UEFA President considers their march to the milestone a miracle.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin spoke to Russian television ‘Russia Today’ on Saturday, saying that Croatia’s placement in the World Cup final is a miracle, reports Index.hr on July 14, 2018.
“Croatia’s placement in the final is absolutely a good thing and proof of good work in European football. For a nation of four million people in the World Cup final, it is a miracle. The Croatians have shown so much heart, so much passion, so much fighting spirit and I cannot say they have no chance in the final,” said Čeferin.
With 4.2 million people, Croatia is the smallest country to reach the final after Uruguay in 1950.
The UEFA president praised the fact that six of the eight national teams that played in the quarterfinals and all four semi-finalists are from Europe.
“UEFA is doing a good job, and I’m not saying that because I’m in this position, but because in Europe we have a different approach to football development. That is why I believe that the difference between Europe and the rest of the world will be greater. Through our competitions, we make big money that we distribute properly, hold training seminars, work with former players who help national federations, invest in infrastructure projects… And now we can see that this is the right way to reach the success and development of football. Every child in Europe today can be seen as a talent, and I’m not sure this is the case in the rest of the world,” emphasized Čeferin.
Aleksander Čeferin became the president of UEFA in September 2016 after leading the Slovenian Football Federation from 2011 to 2016. Čeferin is a lawyer and football administrator who grew up in Ljubljana. He is fluent in Slovene, Croatian, English and Italian.
Croatia will play against France on Sunday in Moscow at 17:00.
