Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic's mind was elsewhere at a summit of the European Union's southern nations in Spain on Friday – namely on his country's stunning World Cup win against Brazil.
The gathering in Alicante was, he declared, "the most exciting meeting in Europe ever".
As Croatia snatched an equaliser late in extra time of the quarterfinal in Qatar to set up a nerve-jangling penalty shootout, the nine leaders from the EU-Med 9 group, including French President Emmanuel Macron, gathered to watch the action.
In evidenza: @Antonio_Tajani: 'Congratulazioni alla #Croazia e al mio amico @AndrejPlenkovic per la qualificazione alla semifinale della coppa del mondo. L'Europa che gioca di squadra e vince! ' pic.twitter.com/fHNNarnG9D, see more https://t.co/EP0hKomcOT
— Snodi (@SnodiEU) December 9, 2022
"Everybody joined in watching the penalties on my mobile, it was a lot of fun," Plenkovic said.
Croatia, the beaten World Cup finalists four years ago, won the shootout 4-2 to move into the semifinals.
"The feeling is fantastic. This is a brilliant generation of Croatian players," he said, before the emotion of the occasion really grabbed him and he added: "I always will cherish Alicante in my heart."
Croatia's primer minister, Andrej Plenkovic (left) celebrates with Sánchez, Macron and other European leaders his country's victory over Brasil at Qatar World Cup.
— Mario Saavedra (@MarioSaavedra) December 9, 2022
"Alicante will be forever in my heart", he said at the #MED9 summit pic.twitter.com/KtdqpVojWG
Macron joined Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in applauding Plenkovic.
His Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa also congratulated his Croatian colleague but did have a thought for his fellow lusophones, saying "every time Brazil loses, Portugal feels a little sad".
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