The little country that could

In terms of population, there’s no contest between Brazil and Croatia.

‘‘Brazil has 200 million people, we only have 4 million,’’ Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic´ said. ‘‘So we are pretty much like a suburb of a major city in Brazil.’’

Indeed, Croatia is one of the least populous countries who qualified for this World Cup. They even have a smaller population than New Zealand.

On the football, field, however, Croatia have been punching above their weight for years, ever since they finished third in 1998 in their first World Cup as an independent nation, right up to reaching the 2018 final in Russia.

So Croatia have belief entering a quarterfinal against five-time champion Brazil tomorrow. ‘‘Never underestimate Croatia. Croatia is a small nation. But we are brave, defiant and loyal,’’ Dalic´ said. ‘‘We will always give everything we’ve got, especially this generation of players.’’

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three spot kicks in Croatia’s penalty shootout win over Japan in the round of 16.

Livakovic´ comes from the same town, Zadar, as Croatia’s 37-year-old captain Luka Modric´. He was the backup goalkeeper to Danijel Subasic in 2018.

Mario Pasˇalic´, who converted the decisive penalty for Croatia, had already done the same thing for AC Milan in a shootout win over Juventus in the 2016 Italian Super Cup – which was also played in Qatar. ‘‘ We practised penalties the day before the game and I saw Livakovic´ saving four or five excellent penalties,’’ Dalic´ said. ‘‘I don’t think it’s luck. It’s mental strength. It’s character. It’s courage.’’

The shootout victory came following a 1-1 draw after extra-time, in which Japan opened the scoring during the first half.

Croatia also fell behind in every game of the knockout stage in 2018.

‘‘That shows the will and the commitment and the faith of the whole team,’’ Dalic´ said. ‘‘It’s one thing playing for the clubs – it’s a matter of contracts, it’s a matter of prestige. But it’s a totally different thing to represent your country, because this is patriotism – it’s pride, it’s emotion, so it’s different.’’