Croatia had shown glimpses of their potential at the last European Championships in France two years ago when they beat Spain but went out in the second round to eventual winners Portugal after conceding in extra time.
Croatia's euphoric media ran out of superlatives as they hailed the Balkan nation's stunning World Cup win over Argentina which propelled them into the competition's knockout stages for the first time since the 1998 tournament when they finished third.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
Both Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger have paid the price for leaving it too late, offloading a lot of key players at the EPL transfers, says Manu Shankar.
Real Madrid did well to hold Atletico in regulation time and then win the match 4-1 in penalty shootouts.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Croatia came back after conceding in the opening minute to defeat Denmark 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out and earn a World Cup quarter-final berth, after the two sides drew 1-1 in the Round of 16 match on Sunday.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Turkey coach Fatih Terim was left to rue a missed chance in the first half of their Euro 2016 Group D defeat by Croatia, which he believes would have changed the outcome of Sunday's match.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions by crushing struggling Granada 5-0 on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of La Liga.
Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title for the first time since 2014
Images from Wednesday's Champions League matches, between Real Madrid and Paris St Germain, and Manchester City and Sporting CP
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.
Glimpses from Sunday's Nations League matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were named as the three finalists.
Croatia ruthlessly exposed England's limitations in the second half of the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday as Zlatko Dalic's side fought back to secure a famous 2-1 extra-time victory.
Real Madrid moved back to the top of La Liga as Vinicius Junior scored both goals in a 2-1 victory at Elche on Saturday.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr both scored a brace to give the LaLiga leaders a 4-1 home win over Valencia
Messi ran amok at Wembley Stadium, slicing Spurs apart with incisive passes from deep, such as the one that allowed Philippe Coutinho to open the scoring, and was as dangerous as ever in front of goal, firing in the Catalan side's final two goals to end their winless run of three games.
'It's a prize that's called The Best and the guy who is, for us, the best player in the world wasn't there.'
Ronaldo threw off the captain's armband and headed for the tunnel when his effort was cleared by Serbia defender Stefan Mitrovic after it had crossed the line
Real are third in the league standings with 54 points after 28 games, two behind second-placed Atletico Madrid who visit Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday and nine points behind leaders Barcelona who play at Real Betis on Sunday.
The European Championship is well and truly up for grabs as the tournament enters the knockouts after a compelling group stage in which some top nations fell short of expectations while two fallen powers staged a resurgence.
Top-ranked Belgium slammed eight goals against Belarus and the Netherlands crashed seven past Gibraltar
Karim Benzema's hat-trick earned Real Madrid a 3-1 win at reigning European champions Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. In another quarter-final match, Villarreal stunned six times European Cup winners Bayern Munich 1-0.
An off-key Liverpool were frustrated for a second successive game by struggling opponents as they were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo would like Barcelona's Lionel Messi to leave Spain and rekindle their rivalry by joining him in the Italian top flight.
Real Madrid's Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best soccer player in the world for the second year running at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday.
Real Madrid captain and centre back Sergio Ramos is "100 percent committed" to the club, new coach Rafa Benitez said on Thursday, amid continued speculation the Spain defender could be on his way to Manchester United.
Croatia will need their big-game players to step up.
Zinedine Zidane's side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table
Real also have an outstanding defence, conceding only 25 times last year, and are well covered in every position.
Kasper Schmeichel could hardly have done more for his team in their World Cup clash with Croatia on Sunday but the Denmark goalkeeper ended up in the unusual position of being both man of the match and a loser.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Playmaker Luka Modric said on Tuesday the onus would be on Croatia's other goalgetters to make up for the absence of Eduardo da Silva at Euro 2008. Arsenal forward Eduardo, who suffered a multiple foot fracture in February, was the second highest scorer in qualifying with 10 goals.
Describing Liones Messi as the best player in the world, Barcelona spokesperson Josep Vives has said that star striker doesn't need any award to prove his credibility.
Real and Barca have won the title in 15 of the last 16 seasons, with Atletico breaking the duopoly in 2014.
Ronaldo, who won the award last year, topped the scoring charts with 15 goals in the competition as Real Madrid won a third consecutive European crown.
