Under the night sky, deafening cheers surged throughout the stadium.
This night became a stage for countless Croatian fans to celebrate wildly.
Although the live broadcast had already switched to another match, for Croatia, they still created an outstanding game tonight.
At the same time, they were just one step away from matching the historic record set by Davor Šuker and others.
When the full match ended, the Croatian players did not linger on the field for long.
They immediately returned to the locker room.
Srna sat on the bench, his thigh wrapped in bandages, with a crutch standing beside him.
"There's a problem with my thigh muscle. I can't play in the next matches!"
Srna's tone was very low and heavy. Obviously, not being able to continue in the World Cup was extremely frustrating for him.
But he quickly forced a smile and said, "But it's okay. I believe even without me, you all can still play very well."
Everyone exchanged glances.
Srna, despite his own miserable situation, was still comforting others.
Šuker plopped down next to Srna and firmly squeezed his injured thigh muscle.
"Ouch!!!!"
Srna jumped up in pain.
"What are you doing?"
Šuker smiled and spread his hands, "You're still not hurting enough, so you're overthinking. Don't worry, we'll take it from here. You just rest and heal at the hotel!"
Dujmović even patted his own chest.
"We guarantee the win!"
Mandžukić started to poke fun again.
"You're just a substitute, what are you bragging about?"
"You're a striker who can't score goals, what use are you? If you hadn't missed so many chances, Srna wouldn't have gotten injured!"
Dujmović's words left Mandžukić speechless.
He indeed missed too many opportunities in this game.
The players began chatting and teasing Srna.
Van Stoyak and Bilić were also standing together in a corner, chatting.
Their expressions were very serious.
"It's getting worse and worse,"
Bilić shook his head.
Srna was the backbone of Croatia's defense. His role was not just simple defense or attack.
In building the defensive line, Srna was the core player.
But with Srna's injury, Croatia's defense line might be seriously affected.
"Apart from the defense line, this match also exposed many problems," Van Stoyak frowned. "The right-wing attack is still not smooth enough, Perišić is too inexperienced."
"Why not let Olić play?" Bilić suggested.
Olić was experienced. Besides, he was Bayern Munich's main striker, with enough strength and ability.
Van Stoyak shook his head, "No. We still need to train Perišić. Young players can't grow without the trials of big competitions. Besides, Olić is a central striker, and his position overlaps with Mandžukić's, but the best cooperation is between Šuker and Mandžukić."
"What about Kranjčar? He's also good!"
"Too old, and by performance alone, he's not necessarily better than Perišić. No real improvement, and lacks potential."
Van Stoyak sighed, "If only we had more fresh blood."
"I heard a few good young players came up in the domestic league," Bilić said. "And they're from Dinamo Zagreb!"
Upon hearing this, Van Stoyak's eyes brightened.
Almost all current Croatian national team players come from Dinamo Zagreb.
This club is basically the stronghold behind the Croatian national team, continuously supplying fresh blood.
"Once we're back, we'll scout them. If their performance is good, we'll bring them to the 2012 European Championship to get some experience!"
Croatia's schedule was extremely tough.
It was all because of that nasty Round of 16 draw that completely messed up the groupings in the upper and lower halves.
Croatia was in the lower half.
And in that lower half, besides Croatia, there were Germany and Spain.
Based on the current schedule, Croatia would play the winner between Germany and Mexico.
Most likely Germany.
In other words, Croatia would face Germany in the quarter-finals.
If they beat Germany, Croatia still couldn't relax because the semi-finals would most likely be against Spain.
Two tough matches for sure.
The four strongest teams in this World Cup were Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.
And Croatia was consecutively meeting two of them, and if they reached the final, possibly three.
This was also why Šuker complained before that Croatia was targeted by FIFA.
This draw was very unfavorable to Croatia, as if someone didn't want to see Croatia continue to advance.
The players could only focus on the matches. They could play well.
But they had no say in the scheduling.
Being the hot favorite meant you would be targeted!
Just like now, the more popular Croatia was before the game, the worse the schedule they had.
Of course, if they could win the championship, it would be the most meaningful World Cup title ever.
But that was extremely difficult!
Group stage against Argentina, Round of 16 against Portugal, quarter-finals against Germany, semi-finals against Spain, final against the Netherlands?
With this setup, Croatia had encountered almost all the so-called world powers except Brazil!
No matter how strong Croatia was, no one could endure such a schedule.
Moreover, Croatia was gradually suffering attrition.
On one hand, their own losses; on the other hand, other national teams joining forces to take them down.
Croatia's sharpness made them seriously targeted.
But the schedule was set, and there was nothing they could do.
They could only accept it, because in FIFA, Croatia really couldn't speak up.
The next day, the entire Croatian team gathered to watch the Germany vs Mexico match.
Everyone speculated that Germany would win because Germany had played very well so far, and their squad was almost injury-free.
The match progressed quickly.
Only 3 minutes in, Thomas Müller, using his positioning, created a crucial opening and received a through ball from Schweinsteiger to score a one-on-one goal.
Germany scored within 3 minutes, which energized the entire team.
"That guy's positioning is really good!"
Modrić watched the replay of Thomas Müller's run.
When advancing, he deliberately stayed near the offside line, then at Schweinsteiger's pass, he immediately sprinted forward to score alone.
Compared to the Ballack era, this German team seemed to play more united.
In the second half, at 57 minutes, Klose scored a header.
This goal ignited Germany's attacking firepower.
At 75 minutes, Schweinsteiger assisted Friedrich for another goal, leading 3:0 overall.
But it wasn't over yet.
At 90 minutes, Klose scored again with a low shot.
Germany defeated Mexico 4:0.
At the end of the match, Croatian players looked solemn.
The previous German teams relied heavily on Ballack's performance.
He was called the "War God" because he handled both delicate and dirty work well.
With Ballack playing well, Germany could win.
When Ballack was restricted, their play was very difficult.
Back then, it was relatively easy to contain Germany by keeping an eye on Ballack since others rarely shone.
But now, Germany was different.
Their overall cohesion and tightness had improved greatly.
No longer relying on a single player but on an overall tactical approach.
Sturdy defense and smooth counterattacks.
This meant that when playing against Germany, it was hard to find any weak points.
Schweinsteiger played very well in midfield; if you limit him, there's Özil.
Klose was outstanding upfront; if you mark him, then there were Müller and Podolski.
Their defense was also very stable.
All these told Croatia that this was no longer the German team they used to face.
After the match, Van Stoyak asked the players,
"Any thoughts?"
They exchanged glances.
Modrić spoke, "They play very cohesively!"
After someone spoke, others also expressed their views.
"There's no obvious point to focus on for marking!"
"It's hard to use old tactics against this Germany!"
"They have many technical players now, which means they can play both high aerial and ground technical football!"
"They can do both. If we press high, they can pull back and gather numbers, then pass out easily."
Listening to their answers, Van Stoyak nodded.
"This is the current Germany. To beat them, we need to play more cohesively."
Šuker pondered for a moment.
"We must control midfield! Control possession!"
Van Stoyak looked at Šuker with full admiration.
No wonder he was his protégé and they thought alike.
Playing against this Germany's defense was easy to be broken through, especially with Srna injured, losing a defensive stalwart.
Therefore, keeping midfield control was crucial.
Šuker's idea came from memories of teams who faced Germany head-on—they almost all lost.
Only Spain used smooth possession to constantly neutralize Germany's attack, reducing their opportunities and threats, and using the field's width to wear them down.
This was a lesson for Croatia.
Of course, Croatia couldn't play true possession football—maybe pseudo-possession, but had not practiced real possession specifically, so they needed other methods.
But they had good skills in maintaining ball possession.
Their goal was not possession for its own sake but to reduce Germany's attacking chances.
"Next, I will arrange tactics specifically. Everyone must stay in good shape. I don't want to see any more injuries."
Though he said so, it was difficult to reduce injuries in such intense matches.
Van Stoyak asked the medical team to provide muscle relaxation massages.
It might not help much but could at least alleviate some discomfort.
Meanwhile, Germany was also preparing intensively.
After beating Mexico, the real enemy was coming.
Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Podolski, and others looked very serious.
They vaguely remembered the painful loss in the European Championship final.
They were so close to the championship, yet so far away.
Croatia's continuous attacks had shattered their dream of the title.
Now, Germany had restructured and came to the World Cup with a new look and posture.
This time, they wouldn't let the tragedy happen again.
They must defeat Croatia and take revenge!
"Keep an eye on Šuker no matter what. Use any means to limit him," Schweinsteiger said seriously.
Šuker was a huge threat.
Even now, many German players hadn't shaken off Šuker's shadow.
That final was a nightmare for them.
They lost thoroughly, with almost no chance to fight back.
"This is necessary. But at the same time, we can't give up attacking or miss scoring opportunities because of Šuker," Lahm said sternly.
Lahm felt some guilt toward Šuker.
After all, it was his "mistake" that caused Šuker to suffer a serious injury and miss half a season.
Though Lahm apologized later and did some public relations, he still felt uneasy inside.
Especially Šuker's generous "It's okay" and his defense of Lahm made him feel guilty.
But personal feelings aside, national honor was paramount.
They must silence Šuker.
As Schweinsteiger was speaking, suddenly a bucket of cold water poured down from above, drenching him.
Loud laughter followed.
"Hahaha!"
"Müller!"
Schweinsteiger, soaked, barely squeezed out the name between his teeth.
Everyone else cracked a smile.
Only one person in the German team would do such a thing.
Thomas Müller!
Müller threw the bucket aside and ran away.
Schweinsteiger twisted to chase, but slipped and fell while exiting.
"Hahaha~~~"
Müller laughed mischievously, made a funny face at Schweinsteiger, patted his own butt, and ran off again.
Schweinsteiger shouted angrily in pursuit, turning the hotel corridor into chaos.
"This idiot~!"
Podolski covered his forehead and sighed helplessly.
Lahm shook his head with a wry smile.
Thomas Müller, a gifted forward with an extremely clever mind and runs, was also very annoying.
Since he joined the national team, he never stopped causing trouble.
Schweinsteiger had suffered from Müller's pranks many times.
The atmosphere in the German team was strangely shifting.
But despite the annoyance, Müller's emotional intelligence was high, so no one disliked him. On the contrary, the more he joked, the better the team spirit.
Soon, Schweinsteiger returned carrying Müller under his arm.
On the way back, Müller begged repeatedly while Schweinsteiger kept tapping his head.
"Don't you manage him?"
Schweinsteiger complained to Lahm.
Lahm shrugged, "He doesn't bother me!"
This made Schweinsteiger even more irritated.
He knocked on Müller's head again.
"You're just messing with me, thinking I'm easy to bully?"
"You're nice!" Müller gave a thumbs-up. "The people who pass me the ball and assist, they're all nice!"
Schweinsteiger shook his head.
This guy was a sly fox.
"Enough fooling around, think about how to limit Šuker in the next match!"
Podolski said.
They fell silent again.
Müller rubbed his head absentmindedly.
"Is Šuker really that strong?"
He had never talked directly to Šuker or played in the same match.
Mostly, he saw his performance in videos. Frankly, he didn't think Šuker was that powerful.
"Here's how it is!" Schweinsteiger said.
"If you give him Robben's speed, Ronaldo's dribbling, and Klose's shooting, maybe you can compete with Šuker!"
Müller grinned, "Are you kidding?"
No one could combine so many strong factors.
"Not kidding, that's how he is," Lahm said seriously. "Do you think we lost in the Euros for nothing? This guy's individual ability upfront is too strong. If you slack off marking him even a bit, he'll cause you huge trouble!"
"How do you limit him then?" Müller spread his hands. "If what you say is true, we might as well surrender!"
"Surrender is impossible, but it's not hopeless!" Lahm smiled.
Schweinsteiger said, "Do you think we haven't prepared anything in the last two years? We already have plans."
"How do we limit him?" Müller asked curiously.
"It's not about limiting," Lahm said, "but isolating!"
Müller tilted his head, not quite understanding.
"That means cutting off his passing lanes, isolating him from the team."
Schweinsteiger added, "No matter how strong Šuker is, without the ball at his feet, he's useless."
"What if," Müller stepped a bit away from Schweinsteiger, "what if Šuker plays midfield?"
They all fell silent.
Šuker playing midfield.
Croatia had done this before, but it was rare.
"Shut your crow mouth!" Schweinsteiger raised his hand, then saw Müller was far away and sighed, "Don't worry, Croatia won't put such a strong forward in midfield. They wouldn't do that!"
Schweinsteiger's last words sounded less like reassuring Müller, more like reassuring himself.
Come on!
Putting Šuker in midfield would be a waste!
But why this uneasy feeling?