Croatia making the World Cup final is the most amazing achievement. This is an incredible time for everybody in Croatia and everybody around the world with a connection to Croatia. We are only a small country of four million people, but we have big hearts.

A lot of people have been surprised by Croatia’s results, but not me. This generation of the national team has not one but two world-class midfielders in Luka Modric, of Real Madrid, and Ivan Rakitic, of Barcelona. Together they form the best midfield partnership in the world. Then look elsewhere in the team: Mario Mandzukic plays for Juventus, Ivan Perisic for Internazionale; you must respect players who play for these kinds of clubs.

My friend Didier Deschamps has always been a step ahead | Marcel Desailly Read more

Clearly Luka is a player anybody would want in their team and he has shown his qualities to the world in Russia. When you look at his background, disrupted by the war, it’s amazing what he has accomplished. He started playing at a small team in Zadar but, after that, the big clubs didn’t want him because he was considered too small, so he went to the Bosnian league and then Inter Zapresic. It’s crazy, and not what people expect, but now he is deserving of the Golden Ball. His story is a fairytale really. It will be a bestseller one day.

How does such a small country produce so many phenomenal talents such as Luka and Raketa? I don’t know. Maybe God has singled out Croatians to have special talent? We have good schools and good coaches – that helps – but when you look at the success in basketball, handball, water polo, and individual sport stars such as Goran Ivanisevic and Janica Kostelic, it’s astounding for such a small country, and every year more keep emerging.

People keep asking me if this generation compares to the era I played in, and I think it’s better. There is more quality in this team. Also, what stands out in this generation is their belief. It’s not something that happened overnight, but it has grown over time.

I was assistant coach to Slaven Bilic with the under-21s in 2004. In 2006, we took over the senior side and at Euro 2008 we were unlucky to lose to Turkey on penalties in the quarter-finals. During this period, the team was improving all the time. At Euro 2012, we were in a tough group with Italy and Spain and lost to Spain only in the last minute. Everything was good, but not quite good enough. Now, this generation has matured, the best players are all in top form and they have the mentality to succeed.

Barney Ronay’s World Cup diary: ‘Football is not coming home. It never really was. But it’s been a ride’ Read more

You can see it in their faces, the determination – they want to reach the top. It’s in the eyes of the players during the games, especially during the semi-final against England. After half-time, you could see the guys who wanted to win. At 1-1, the Croatian players had a renewed focus; they grew stronger as the occasion became tougher. There was no way they were going to lose.

We will see what will happen on Sunday but it will not be easy for France. They will be scared of the fight Croatia have shown in this World Cup. They are a very strong team, but anything is possible in a one-off game.

Whenever you play in a final you must be clever. It’s not only 90 minutes – there could be extra time and penalties. You must concentrate and try not to play only with emotions. Sometimes emotion kills you, especially in our country because we are small; it’s not usual for a small country to make the final. Look at France; 20 years ago they were champions of the world. These differences create different pressures. For us, the pressure of being small; for France, the pressure of expectation.

The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.

Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to experience the final in Moscow. I’ll be in Melbourne, coaching. Apart from the 1am kick‑off time, this is the best place in the world outside Croatia to experience Croatian football culture. My club, Melbourne Knights, is built on Croatian heritage. It makes me so proud when I see the people, second- and third‑generation fans, so passionate about Croatia. I’ve never seen it anywhere else in the world.

After the 1998 semi-final with France, what I remember most is the crowd in Zagreb when we returned home, thousands of people flocking to celebrate. Imagine what the scenes will be like if this team takes the World Cup home. Four million people will be out on the streets. It will be unbelievable. Croatia will never be the same again.

Aljosa Asanovic was speaking to Jonathan Howcroft