Croatia Eliminate Iceland to Complete Perfect Group Stage Run, Win Group D

Croatia rounded off a flawless Group D campaign at the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday by beating Iceland 2-1 to make it three wins from three in Russia and deny their opponents a place in the knockout stages.

Milan Badelj hit a sweet half-volley for his side early in the second half, and Ivan Perisic struck in a 90th-minute winner for Croatia after Gylfi Sigurdsson had pulled Iceland level from the penalty spot.

Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1 in Tuesday's other Group D fixture thanks to a late Marcos Rojo winner, meaning La Albiceleste march into the round of 16 alongside Croatia and will face France in the next round.

Forget England, Croatia are the real Dark Horses

It's around this time, on the eve of the knockout stages, that theories are being formulated for who will impress moving on at the World Cup, and though England have garnered attention, it's Croatia who are the real lurkers in Russia.

Arguably no team has performed as consistently across their three group games as Dalic's men, who again exerted their game plan on Tuesday, as demonstrated by Badelj's tidy 53rd-minute strike, via Fox Soccer (U.S. only):

He was one of nine players drafted into the Croatia XI after Thursday's win against Argentina, but one wouldn't have suspected there were so many alterations based on the sustained quality of their play.

With a complete new-look defence and Andrej Kramaric replacing Mario Mandzukic in attack, Croatia's midfield ran the show for large parts as they took almost two-thirds of possession, per WhoScored.com.

Match of the Day showed their shot efficacy wasn't bad, either, although they might have preferred a few more sights at goal:

It speaks well of Croatia's depth that so many starters can step out, and Dalic can rely upon those stepping in to do a job. Vedran Corluka offered an experienced head in central defence, while Tin Jedvaj and Josip Pivaric impressed in their wing-back duties.

Writer Andrew Gaffney and Squawka hailed Mateo Kovacic as a fine addition to the lineup also, making his first start of the tournament in Rostov-on-Don:

Despite conceding a penalty, giant Gent goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic was also impressive in his duties and pulled off a string of fine saves from range, per fan account Bavarian Tweets:

Luka Modric and Perisic were the two talents retained from the Argentina victory to give Croatia some elite steel in midfield, as well as the winning penalty from Perisic, and there's no reason to think a win over Denmark next up can't propel them further.

A rest of almost 10 days without having to play 90 minutes will do a raft of their stars the world of good before the round of 16, although a likely quarter-final against Spain presents a problem in the near future.

Iceland Show True Colours

It was a fairytale for Iceland to even reach their first World Cup, and despite the opening draw against a poor Argentina team, ending the pool with one point was ultimately the deserved outcome for the team that finished bottom.

Second-choice stopper Kalinic had a fine day in goal for Croatia and stopped a flurry of long-range efforts, leaving Sigurdsson's controversial penalty as one of their total two goals in Russia, via Fox Soccer (U.S. only):

Argentina's lack of quality in this group ultimately masked a lesser achievement for Iceland in that draw, and Tuesday's loss to Croatia's reserves following a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria gave a better account of their standard in the end. 

The sad truth is the "fairytale" aspect of Iceland's quest was something of a curse in the end, and broadcaster Pilib De Brun put them among several other cases of close-but-no-cigar teams at this World Cup:

It was touch and go for a moment at the Rostov Arena, but even the Croatia National Tourist Board got in on celebrating victory over a lesser side:

Iceland have gathered attention as the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, but that shouldn't discourage them. After all, New Zealand are routinely the best team in international rugby despite having a similar disparity in population compared to many of their peers.

Their day on the World Cup stage might come, but an evolution in quality and discovering an established method other than simply riding teams out is needed before they can expect to take on greater challenges.

Badelj's Play Shows Modric Isn't Croatia's Only Leader

If there's one thing Croatian clubs know how to do, it's produce technically pure midfielders of high quality and on a mass scale, with Kovacic, Modric and Perisic not the only ones to impress against Iceland.

For it was man of the match Badelj who got himself in the right pocket unopposed to sink the opener after he contributed a commanding first-half display, via Fox Soccer (U.S. only):

The 29-year-old completed 90 per cent of his passes and accounted for eight per cent of the possession—Kovacic was the only player to record more with 9.5 per cent.

It was also Badelj who set up Perisic for the late winner, and he impressed Twitter user Alan Masters after having a hand in both Croatia goals:

Journalist John Solano also noted his club profile will have risen after he chose not to renew his contract with Fiorentina this summer:

Modric is undoubtedly the man among Dalic's ranks, but Badelj is another pioneering presence in their seemingly endless chain of midfield maestros.

What's Next?

Croatia progress and will face Group C runners-up Denmark in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday. Iceland's maiden World Cup campaign, meanwhile, has ended with a first-round departure.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

Get the best sports content from the web and social in the new B/R app. Get the app and get the game.