Cesc Fabregas acknowledged Mateo Kovacic’s sterling effort to ensure Croatia’s passage to the World Cup semi-final.
Fabregas responded to his former Chelsea teammate’s celebratory Instagram post following the penalty drama against Brazil last night.
The ex-Stamford Bridge wizard only needed one word to describe Kovacic’s performance: ‘Class’.
Class just epitomises everything that Croatian international is about.
He doesn’t do things below par; on the rare occasions something goes array, people are shocked.
His performances throughout the tournament in Qatar have been nothing short of excellent.
Yesterday evening was no exception.
Mateo Kovacic controls at the World Cup
Kovacic, alongside his two partners in crime Luka Modric and Marcelo Brozovic, battled Brazil’s midfield to the bitter end.
Chelsea’s tireless worker boxed and brawled for 105 minutes, before departing the quarter-final contest.
He could only nervously watch on as his compatriots conceded in extra time, but then equalised in the dying embers of the match.
Hearts must’ve been beating double time on the Croatia bench, as they endured a second successive shoot-out.
It was all smiles eventually for the European side.
Dominik Livakovic denied Brazil twice from the spot, having done so on three occasions against Japan in the previous round.
Once Marquinhos’ effort was kept out, the Croatian celebrations could begin.
But not for long, however, as a daunting semi-final encounter with Argentina is just days away.
Kovacic and co. will have the chance to reach another World Cup final, potentially at the expense of Lionel Messi.
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