Belief is Croatia’s biggest weapon vs Brazil at World Cup

By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — There’s no contest between Brazil and Croatia in terms of pupulation. Brazil has 200 million and Croatia has 4 million. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić put it this way: “So we are pretty much like a suburb of a major city in Brazil.” But Croatia has been punching above its weight on the soccer field for years. And that gives the 2018 finalist belief entering a quarterfinal against five-time champion Brazil on Friday. Dalić says to “never underestimate Croatia.” He adds that “we will always give everything we’ve got, especially this generation of players.”