At summit, southern EU leaders watch World Cup on Croatian PM's mobile

Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Pilenkovic couldn't hide his delight Friday night (9 December) at a summit of EU Mediterranean countries, after his country defeated Brazil on penalties to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Plenkovic said that he felt "the feeling was fantastic". He also revealed that he and eight other leaders including the French President Emmanuel Macron, and Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, kept close watch on the match during breaks at the summit in Alicante, Spain.

"We all followed each other a little during the break, and then everyone joined in to watch the penalties on my phone." He laughed and said that it was a lot fun.

Plenkovic couldn't hide his joy at the summit's end. The eight other leaders who stood beside him applauded.

He said: "I'm more focused on what's going at home and who should I play in the semi-finals."

"On all issues (raised during the summit's last briefing), I subscribe to everything that Pedro (Sanchez), the Spanish prime minister, has said," he said, concluding a speech of only 37 seconds.

Plenkovic sang praises for the Croatian team after the summit.

Advertisement

"This is a brilliant group of Croatian players, led by our captain Luka Modric... It's an incredible feeling to be back in the semi-finals and have the possibility that we might once again reach the final," he said.

"Croatia, the Croatian people across the globe and at home are in a very...good mood today."

Share this article: