“Clear of all the Croatian players combined” – Fans left stunned by ‘insane’ display from sensational Croatia star in FIFA World Cup draw with Belgium

Fans are lauding Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol for his stunning display in the side's 0-0 draw with Belgium at the FIFA World Cup on 1 December.

Vatreni secured qualification to the last 16 with an enthralling draw against the Red Devils, who exit the FIFA World Cup.

There's a reason Chelsea manager Graham Potter has reportedly earmarked Gvardiol as the first signing of his tenure, as he was immovable at the back for Zlatko Dalic's side throughout.

The RB Leipzig centre-back made nine clearances, two tackles, and won three of his four ground duals.

He pulled off an incredible last-ditch tackle to deny Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku a winner in the 90+2nd minute as he stretched his leg to divert the ball away.

It was a monster of a performance from the Croatian, who was instrumental in helping his side reach the last 16.

Gvardiol was even an attacking threat for Vatreni, constantly in the thick of the game and showing maturity beyond his mere age of 20.

Belgium could have won the game on several occasions during the second half, but Lukaku's disappointing performance saw him spurn four glaring chances.

Croatia will now face the winner of Group E, which could be Spain, Costa Rica, or Japan.

Here are some reactions from fans on Twitter to Gvardiol's excellent outing as Dalic's men progressed to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup:

Belgium's pre-match huddle is in vain as they exit the FIFA World Cup after drawing with Croatia

All the pre-match talk ahead of Belgium's clash with Croatia surrounded rumors of in-fighting in the Belgian camp.

Reports claim that Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and Jan Vertonghen were involved in a bust-up.

Red Devils players moved to rubbish claims of unrest in the squad and came together before kick-off against Croatia to show their solidarity.

Roberto Martinez's men joined each other arm-in-arm in a huddle in front of the media who had reported on the apparent bust-up.

The team spirit that the Belgians were trying to conjure up was in vain, as the side lacked the quality to defeat Vatreni.

It is the first time Belgium have failed to reach the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup since 1998.

They have scored just one goal throughout the tournament, the second lowest amount they have managed in all World Cup and the European Championship competitions they have participated in.

It is a campaign to forget for the Red Devils, whose golden generation bow out in disarray.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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