And breathe! Croatia are into the knockout stages of World Cup in Qatar after holding off Belgium. Coming into the final group match the Croatians needed at least a point to progress into the last 16, and a point is exactly what they got. The second gest ranked side in the world couldn’t find a way to break down the Croatian defence and the chances that did fall their way were missed.

The first half was at times a dull affair, however the introduction of the Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku at the break seemed to give the Belgiums a new lease of life. He smashed a shot against the post and missed another chance from a few metres out.

The Croatian midfield, once again led by the captain Luka Modric, passed their way out of trouble for most of the match and opened up the Belgium defence only for Thibaut Courtois to save.

The 0 – 0 result now means that Croatia finish second in the group behind Morocco, whilst Belgium crash out of the tournament.

Croatia will face the winners of Group E – which could be Spain, Japan or Costa Rica – on Monday.