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Getty Images Belgium can become the smallest country to win the World Cup
Belgium and Croatia have ousted major teams in the world of football and achieved a feat by reaching the half -finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. That Belgium and Croatia are two of the smallest countries to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup
If Belgium won the World Cup, it would be the smallest country in terms of space wins this world title, no more than 30 thousand square kilometers. Croatia, with a population of 4.1 million, will be the smallest country in terms of numbers for a population that has won the World Cup since Uruguay won the title in 1950.
Of the 32 teams participating in the 2018 World Cup, Iceland, Uruguay and Panama are the only countries to have a lower population than Croatia.
The great success of Belgium and Croatia in Russia this summer seems to contradict the old adage that, as the country expands and expands its population, new talents emerge and increase chances of success in sports competitions.
In view of the former World Cup teams, with the exception of Uruguay, most of these teams are important in terms of population: Brazil (207 million), Germany (83 million) , France (67 million)), Italy (60 million), England (53 million), Argentina (43 million).
But Belgium and Croatia have challenged this trend, not just once.
Belgium, more famous than football for chocolate, beer and potatoes, reached the semifinals of the 1986 World Cup and only Argentina, led by its legendary Diego Maradona , has stopped.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, Croatia surprised the world by winning Germany and the semifinals.
This victory was impressive, especially as Croatia had just emerged from the Balkan war of the 1990s.
Getty Images Uruguay is the smallest country in terms of population wins the World Cup
How overtook Belgium and Croatia?
Of course, the athletic success of small countries was nothing new.
The most striking example is the second Yosin Bolt, who has won many gold medals while he is Jamaican with only 2.1 million inhabitants.
But it is much more difficult to achieve such success in group sports like football.
Belgium and Croatia achieved this success by emphasizing their strengths and their full exploitation.
In the case of Belgium, these assets were the money and the popularity of football.
Belgium is one of the 20 richest countries in the world and Belgians treat football very seriously.
According to data from the European Union, there were 17,000 football clubs in Belgium in 2010, with 1.35 million members, or 10% of the total population.
Young Players Development
After 20 years of national football at the 1986 World Cup, football authorities in Belgium began to develop a plan to develop young talents in the country's football clubs.
At the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer, the Belgian team played a "golden generation" of highly talented players, led by Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruin and Romilu Lucaco.
Lukaku, born to parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is an example of the success of the national program for the promotion of first and second generation immigrants in Belgium
Belgium, who will face France in the semifinals,
Croatia does not have the same financial capacity as Belgium, but it usually has success in major sporting events.
At the 2016 Olympic Games, Croatia ranked 17th out of 207 countries – Brazil, which hosted the tournament in 13th place.
Getty Images Luka Modric is the backbone of Real Madrid and the Croatian team
State Investment
According to one theory, Croatia has benefited from public investment in sport in former Yugoslavia and inherited a good level of training.
"We have high level training in sports such as football, handball, basketball and water polo, which play an important role in our technical development."
Levels of participation In sports is very high, with the number of registered football players in Croatia to 120 thousand, or about 3 percent of the total population.
This figure surpasses that of Brazil, where the number of registered footballers represents only one percent of the total population, according to FIFA data.
Belgium and Croatia have benefited from the fact that many football stars are playing in big clubs around the world.
Foreign players
11 players from Belgium play in the Premier League.
Luka Modric is the backbone of Real Madrid's midfield line, which has won three Champions League titles over the last four years.
The list of Belgium and Croatia in the World Cup only includes two players who play in the local league.
This is also one of the main reasons for their arrival in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup feature. (D) {
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