Croatia at the FIFA World Cup

Participation of Croatia's national football team in the FIFA World Cup

The national team starting lineup before the 2018 World Cup Final against France.

The national team of Croatia has competed in the FIFA World Cup six times, finishing on podium on three occasions.[1] Since gaining independence in 1991, Croatia has appeared in and qualified for the 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions of the tournament. Croatia's best result since gaining admission into FIFA in 1992 was securing second place against France in the 2018 World Cup Final, where they lost 4–2.[2] The national side has collected three World Cup medals, two bronze (1998, 2022) and one silver (2018).[3][4] Due to its small geography and populace, Croatia is often one of the smallest countries competing in the tournament. They are second-smallest country by population (after Uruguay) and land mass (after the Netherlands) to reach a World Cup Final.[5][6]

The World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II. The tournament consists of two parts, the three-year qualification phase and the one-month final phase. The current format involves 32 teams competing for the title, at venues within the host nation (or nations) over a period of about a month. It is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 1 billion people watching.[7]

## Overview

[edit]

Year  | Round  | Position  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | GF  | GA

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1998 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5
2002 | Group stage | 23rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3
2006 | Group stage | 22nd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3
2010 | did not qualify
2014 | Group stage | 19th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6
2018 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9
2022 | Third place | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7
2026 | To be determined
2030
2034
Total | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 33
Croatia's World Cup record

First match  |  Jamaica 1–3 Croatia
(14 June 1998; Lens, France)
Biggest win  |  Cameroon 0–4 Croatia
(18 June 2014; Manaus, Brazil)
Biggest defeat  |  Argentina 3–0 Croatia
(13 December 2022; Lusail, Qatar)
Best result  | Runners-up in 2018
Worst result  | Group stage in 2002, 2006 and 2014

## Croatia in France 1998

[edit]

Main article: Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup

In the draw for the final tournament, held on 4 December 1997 at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille,[8] Croatia was drawn to play in Group H, along with two-time World Cup winners Argentina in addition to fellow debutants Jamaica and Japan. In their first match Croatia beat Jamaica 3–1, in a game memorable for Croatia's first ever World Cup goal, an opener scored by Mario Stanić in the 27th minute. Croatia went on to beat Japan 1–0 before losing their third group stage match against Argentina 0–1, in a game which was of little importance as both teams had already qualified for the round of 16.

In round of 16, Croatia faced Group G winners Romania (who had finished top of their group in front of England) and won the game through a penalty converted by Davor Šuker in stoppage time of the first half after a foul on Aljoša Asanović by Gabriel Popescu. After that Croatia faced Germany in the quarter-finals, in a game which was at the time touted by the Croatian media as a great opportunity to get back at Germany as it was them who had knocked out Croatia in the UEFA Euro 1996 quarter-finals two years earlier. In the 40th minute Christian Wörns received a direct red card and was sent off for fouling Davor Šuker, and Robert Jarni opened the scoring eight minutes later in stoppage time of the first half. Goran Vlaović and Davor Šuker added a second and third and the game ended in a 3–0 win, which is still regarded by fans and the media as one of the most memorable matches Croatia ever played.

Croatia went on to face hosts France in the semi-finals, but lost the game 1–2 when an opener scored by Šuker in the 46th minute was immediately equalised by Lilian Thuram the following minute. Thuram also scored France's second goal in the 69th minute. These were the only two goals Thuram ever scored for France in an international career spanning from 1994 to 2008 which saw him earn a total of 147 caps. After Croatia's exit manager Blažević was heavily criticized by Croatian press for not sending in Robert Prosinečki soon enough after France took the lead (Prosinečki came on as a substitute for Mario Stanić just minutes before the final whistle). Croatia captain Zvonimir Boban tried to take the blame for the defeat saying that he felt he needed to be substituted but wanted to stay on the pitch just a little while longer (it was his defending mistake which led to Thuram's equaliser).

After being knocked out in the semi-finals, Croatia looked for consolation against Netherlands in the third place match played just three days later at Parc des Princes. Croatia went on to win 2–1 through goals by Šuker and Prosinečki, but after the final whistle Dražen Ladić was labelled player of the match, for a career-best performance which saw him save numerous shots from Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf and Marc Overmars.

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup squads

Ladić

Štimac

Šimić

Bilić

Soldo

Stanić

Jarni

Boban (c)

Asanović

Vlaović

Šuker

Croatia's 3-5-2 lineup in the 1998 World Cup

Manager Miroslav Blažević included the following 22 players in the finals tournament squad. The 16 players who were capped at least once in one of the seven matches Croatia played in France are highlighted in bold. The remaining six players were unused at the tournament (defenders Goran Jurić and Anthony Šerić, defensive midfielder Mamić, striker Ardian Kozniku, and second and third-choice goalkeepers Marijan Mrmić and Vladimir Vasilj). On the other hand, six players appeared in all seven matches: goalkeeper Dražen Ladić, defender Slaven Bilić, midfielders Aljoša Asanović, Mario Stanić, Robert Jarni, and striker Davor Šuker.

Out of 11 goals scored by Croatia at the tournament, six were scored by Davor Šuker, who was awarded the Golden Shoe Award for the top goalscorer of the tournament, as well as the Silver Ball Award as the second most outstanding player of the tournament (behind Ronaldo of Brazil). Robert Prosinečki (who was retroactively given the 1990 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award, where he had appeared for Yugoslavia), also scored two goals in matches against Jamaica and the Netherlands, which made him the only player in World Cup history to score goals at finals tournaments for two different countries.

For three players (Jarni, Prosinečki and Šuker) this was their second appearance at the World Cup, having been members of Yugoslavia squad at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Alen Bokšić would have been fourth, having been a key player in Croatia's qualifying campaign, but he was dropped from the tournament squad after sustaining an injury just months before the tournament in France.

* Aljoša Asanović
* Slaven Bilić
* Zvonimir Boban (c)
* Robert Jarni
* Krunoslav Jurčić
* Goran Jurić
* Ardian Kozniku
* Petar Krpan
* Dražen Ladić
* Zoran Mamić
* Silvio Marić
* Marijan Mrmić
* Robert Prosinečki
* Zvonimir Soldo
* Mario Stanić
* Anthony Šerić
* Dario Šimić
* Igor Štimac
* Davor Šuker
* Igor Tudor
* Vladimir Vasilj
* Goran Vlaović

Head coach: Miroslav Blažević

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup Group H

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Argentina | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 0  | +7  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Croatia | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 4  | 2  | +2  | 6
3  |  Jamaica | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 3  | 9  | −6  | 3  |
4  |  Japan | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 1  | 4  | −3  | 0

Source: FIFA

14 June 1998

21:00

Jamaica | 1–3|  Croatia

|
|

Earle 45' | Report |

* Stanić 27'
* Prosinečki 53'
* Šuker 69'

Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens

Attendance: 38,100

Referee: Vítor Melo Pereira (Portugal)

* * *

20 June 1998

14:30

Japan | 0–1|  Croatia

|
|

| Report | Šuker 77'

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

Attendance: 35,500

Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago)

* * *

26 June 1998

16:00

Argentina | 1–0|  Croatia

|
|

Pineda 36' | Report |

Parc Lescure, Bordeaux

Attendance: 31,800

Referee: Said Belqola (Morocco)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

Round of 16

30 June 1998

16:30

Romania | 0–1|  Croatia

|
|

| Report | Šuker 45+2' (pen.)

Parc Lescure, Bordeaux

Attendance: 31,800

Referee: Javier Castrilli (Argentina)

Quarter-finals

4 July 1998

21:00

Germany | 0–3|  Croatia

|
|

| Report |

* Jarni 45+3'
* Vlaović 80'
* Šuker 85'

Stade de Gerland, Lyon

Attendance: 39,100

Referee: Rune Pedersen (Norway)

Semi-finals

8 July 1998

21:00

France | 2–1|  Croatia

|
|

Thuram 47', 70' | Report | Šuker 46'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Attendance: 76,000

Referee: José María García-Aranda (Spain)

Third-place match

11 July 1998

21:00

Netherlands | 1–2|  Croatia

|
|

Zenden 22' | Report |

* Prosinečki 14'
* Šuker 36'

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 45,500

Referee: Epifanio González (Paraguay)

### Legacy

[edit]

By beating Netherlands, Croatia finished third in their World Cup debut, a feat matched only by Eusébio's Portugal in the 1966 World Cup 32 years earlier. Consequently, Croatia reached their highest ever FIFA ranking when they were third in the world for three months between January and March 1999 and were given the Best Mover of the Year Award in 1998, the only team so far which won the award twice (having been Best Movers in 1994). Upon returning to Croatia, the whole squad was decorated by President Franjo Tuđman, and were nicknamed "Brončani" ("The Bronze Ones") and "Vatreni'" ("The Fiery Ones") in the media. The latter stuck as a permanent nickname for the national team.

Most players continued playing for the team throughout the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers, but after Croatia failed to qualify manager Miroslav Blažević resigned and soon after that some of the players retired from the national team. The next manager Mirko Jozić kept some of the remaining members of the Bronze Generation and even took them to 2002 FIFA World Cup (such as Šuker, Prosinečki, Jarni, Stanić, Soldo, Vlaović, Šimić), but they failed to make an impact at the tournament and almost all of them retired soon afterwards, but a number of them later became prominent figures in Croatian football.

Zvonimir Boban went into sports publishing and took over as CEO of Croatia's sports daily Sportske novosti in 2005 and worked as a commentator for Italian television stations. Šuker launched his line of sports apparel and established a football academy carrying his name. Zvonimir Soldo, Robert Jarni, Slaven Bilić, Igor Štimac and Dražen Ladić all took up managing jobs (Soldo coached Dinamo Zagreb to a Double in 2008, while Jarni, Bilić and Štimac all had managerial spells at Hajduk Split). Štimac later became chairman of the association of Prva HNL clubs, the body regulating top flight football in Croatia, and Bilić took over as Croatia manager in 2006, hiring Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki and Marijan Mrmić as his assistants. Dražen Ladić took up managing the Croatia under-21 team in 2006, and Krunoslav Jurčić is the current manager at the Egyptian side Pyramid FC which he led to the CAF Champions League title in 2025. Miroslav Blažević later managed a number of clubs in Croatia, Slovenia and Switzerland before taking over as Bosnia and Herzegovina manager in 2008 and sensationally leading them to the verge of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

## Croatia in South Korea/Japan 2002

[edit]

Croatia qualified for their second world cup after navigating Group 6 of UEFA's World Cup qualifications without a loss, finishing first and directly qualifying ahead of Belgium, Scotland, Latvia and San Marino.

Croatia qualification led by manager Miroslav Blažević, but after tying the initial two matches, he was replaced by Mirko Jozić, who would manage the team during the World Cup.[9]

Croatia started their World Cup campaign by losing 1-0 to Mexico. They defeated Italy 2-1 after two Italian goals were incorrectly disallowed. Croatia needed a two goal victory over debutants Ecuador to confirm qualification for the knockout stages but would be eliminated if they lost by two goals (regardless of the concurrent Italy vs Mexico match), but also could qualify with a one goal victory if Italy didn’t defeat Mexico, and could also qualify with a draw if Italy lost to Mexico. Ecuador had taken a shock 1-0 lead over Croatia, who could not break down the Ecuadorian defense, and only solid goalkeeping from Stipe Pletikosa prevented the South Americans from winning by a greater scoreline. A late Italy goal to make the scoreline 1-1 in their match vs Mexico meant a draw would not send Croatia through, requiring two goals in three minutes to advance, but the Vatreni did not score and exited the competition at the group stage for the first time.[10]

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup squads

Pletikosa

Kovač

Tomas

Šimunić

Soldo

Šarić

Jarni (c)

Kovač

Rapaić

Bokšić

Olić

Croatia's 3–4–1-2 lineup at the 2002 World Cup

* Boško Balaban
* Alen Bokšić
* Tomislav Butina
* Robert Jarni (c)
* Niko Kovač
* Robert Kovač
* Ivica Olić
* Stipe Pletikosa
* Robert Prosinečki
* Milan Rapaić
* Zvonimir Soldo
* Mario Stanić
* Daniel Šarić
* Anthony Šerić
* Dario Šimić
* Josip Šimunić
* Davor Šuker
* Stjepan Tomas
* Vladimir Vasilj
* Goran Vlaović
* Jurica Vranješ
* Davor Vugrinec
* Boris Živković

Head coach: Mirko Jozić

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup Group G

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Mexico | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 4  | 2  | +2  | 7  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Italy | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 4  | 3  | +1  | 4
3  |  Croatia | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 2  | 3  | −1  | 3  |
4  |  Ecuador | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 2  | 4  | −2  | 3

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

3 June 2002

15:30

Croatia | 0–1|  Mexico

|
|

| Report | Blanco 60' (pen.)

Niigata Big Swan Stadium, Niigata

Attendance: 32,239

Referee: Lu Jun (China)

* * *

8 June 2002

18:00

Italy | 1–2|  Croatia

|
|

Vieri 55' | Report | Olić 73'
Rapaić 76'

Kashima Soccer Stadium, Ibaraki

Attendance: 36,472

Referee: Graham Poll (England)

* * *

13 June 2002

20:30

Ecuador | 1–0|  Croatia

|
|

Méndez 48' | Report |

International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama

Attendance: 65,862

Referee: William Mattus (Costa Rica)

## Croatia in Germany 2006

[edit]

Croatia qualified automatically for the World Cup after topping their qualification group without losing a game, ahead of Sweden, who tied on points and had a better goal difference but who Croatia had defeated twice. Future superstar Luka Modrić made the final World Cup squad in spite of not playing in a single qualification match.

Croatia selected Bad Brückenau in northern Bavaria as their training base.[11] The team played four warm-up matches in preparation for the World Cup, defeating Austria in Vienna 4–1, drawing Iran in Osijek 2–2, before losing to Poland and Spain in friendlies in Germany and Switzerland, respectively.

A pitch incident marred Croatia's opening game against Brazil, a 1–0 loss, when a Croatian fan ran onto the pitch near Dado Pršo. Security also confiscated 823 flares, but two flares were successfully lit in the Croatian supporters' section.[12]

After a scoreless draw with Japan, Croatia entered their final match against Australia needing a win to advance. Darijo Srna scored the opener after two minutes and Croatia immediately began playing defensively to protect their lead, allowing the Australians to pressure for the rest of the first half until Craig Moore converted a penalty in the 38th minute after a Stjepan Tomas handball. A defensive error by Australian keeper Kalac led to Niko Kovač putting Croatia up again in the 58th, but this led to Australia pressing again with Harry Kewell equalising with eleven minutes left. The final part of the game was marred by a second yellow card shown to Josip Šimunić without him getting sent off by referee Graham Poll \- Šimunić would eventually receive his sending off after a "third" yellow card in the game's final moments.[13]

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup squads

Pletikosa

Kovač

Šimić

Šimunić

Tudor

Kovač (c)

Srna

Babić

Kranjčar

Klasnić

Pršo

Croatia's 3–4–1–2 lineup at the 2006 World Cup

* Marko Babić
* Boško Balaban
* Ivan Bošnjak
* Tomislav Butina
* Joey Didulica
* Ivan Klasnić
* Niko Kovač (c)
* Robert Kovač
* Niko Kranjčar
* Ivan Leko
* Jerko Leko
* Luka Modrić
* Ivica Olić
* Stipe Pletikosa
* Dado Pršo
* Darijo Srna
* Anthony Šerić
* Dario Šimić
* Josip Šimunić
* Mario Tokić
* Stjepan Tomas
* Igor Tudor
* Jurica Vranješ

Head coach: Zlatko Kranjčar

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup Group F

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Brazil | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 1  | +6  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Australia | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 5  | 5  | 0  | 4
3  |  Croatia | 3  | 0  | 2  | 1  | 2  | 3  | −1  | 2  |
4  |  Japan | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 7  | −5  | 1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

13 June 2006

21:00

Brazil | 1–0|  Croatia

|
|

* Kaká 44'

| Report |

Olympiastadion, Berlin

Attendance: 72,000

Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

* * *

18 June 2006

15:00

Japan | 0–0|  Croatia

|
|

| Report |

FIFA WM Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg

Attendance: 41,000

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

* * *

22 June 2006

21:00

Croatia | 2–2|  Australia

|
|

* Srna 2'
* N. Kovač 56'

| Report |

* Moore 38' (pen.)
* Kewell 79'

Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: Graham Poll (England)

## Croatia in Brazil 2014

[edit]

Main article: Croatia at the 2014 FIFA World Cup

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup squads

Pletikosa

Ćorluka

Lovren

Srna (c)

Vrsaljko

Rakitić

Modrić

Perišić

Olić

Kovačić

Mandžukić

Croatia's 4–2–3–1 lineup at the 2014 World Cup

* Milan Badelj
* Marcelo Brozović
* Vedran Ćorluka
* Eduardo da Silva
* Nikica Jelavić
* Mateo Kovačić
* Dejan Lovren
* Mario Mandžukić
* Luka Modrić
* Ivica Olić
* Ivan Perišić
* Stipe Pletikosa
* Danijel Pranjić
* Ivan Rakitić
* Ante Rebić
* Sammir
* Gordon Schildenfeld
* Darijo Srna (c)
* Danijel Subašić
* Domagoj Vida
* Šime Vrsaljko
* Ognjen Vukojević
* Oliver Zelenika

Head coach:Niko Kovač

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup Group A

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Brazil (H) | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 7  | 2  | +5  | 7  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Mexico | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 4  | 1  | +3  | 7
3  |  Croatia | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 6  | 6  | 0  | 3  |
4  |  Cameroon | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 1  | 9  | −8  | 0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts

12 June 2014

17:00 BRT (UTC−3)

Brazil | 3–1|  Croatia

|
|

* Neymar 29', 71' (pen.)
* Oscar 90+1'

| Report |

* Marcelo 12' (o.g.)

Arena de São Paulo, São Paulo

Attendance: 62,103

Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

* * *

18 June 2014

18:00 AMT (UTC−4)

Cameroon | 0–4|  Croatia

|
|

| Report |

* Olić 11'
* Perišić 48'
* Mandžukić 61', 73'

Arena da Amazônia, Manaus

Attendance: 39,982

Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal)

* * *

23 June 2014

17:00 BRT (UTC−3)

Croatia | 1–3|  Mexico

|
|

* Perišić 87'

| Report |

* Márquez 72'
* Guardado 75'
* Hernández 82'

Itaipava Arena Pernambuco, Recife

Attendance: 41,212

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

## Croatia in Russia 2018

[edit]

Main article: Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup squads

Subašić

Lovren

Vida

Vrsaljko

Strinić

Brozović

Rakitić

Modrić (c)

Rebić

Perišić

Mandžukić

Croatia's 4–3–3 lineup at the 2018 World Cup

* Milan Badelj
* Filip Bradarić
* Marcelo Brozović
* Duje Ćaleta-Car
* Vedran Ćorluka
* Tin Jedvaj
* Lovre Kalinić
* Nikola Kalinić
* Mateo Kovačić
* Andrej Kramarić
* Dominik Livaković
* Dejan Lovren
* Mario Mandžukić
* Luka Modrić (c)
* Ivan Perišić
* Josip Pivarić
* Marko Pjaca
* Ivan Rakitić
* Ante Rebić
* Ivan Strinić
* Danijel Subašić
* Domagoj Vida
* Šime Vrsaljko

Head coach: Zlatko Dalić

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup Group D

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Croatia | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 7  | 1  | +6  | 9  | Advance to knockout stage
2  |  Argentina | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 3  | 5  | −2  | 4
3  |  Nigeria | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 3  | 4  | −1  | 3  |
4  |  Iceland | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 5  | −3  | 1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

16 June 2018 (2018-06-16)

21:00 KALT (UTC+2)

Croatia | 2–0|  Nigeria

|
|

* Etebo 32' (o.g.)
* Modrić 71' (pen.)

| Report |

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Attendance: 31,136[14]

Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

* * *

21 June 2018 (2018-06-21)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Argentina | 0–3|  Croatia

|
|

| Report |

* Rebić 53'
* Modrić 80'
* Rakitić 90+1'

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod

Attendance: 43,319[15]

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

* * *

26 June 2018 (2018-06-26)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Iceland | 1–2|  Croatia

|
|

* Sigurðsson 76' (pen.)

| Report |

* Badelj 53'
* Perišić 90'

Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don

Attendance: 43,472[16]

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

Round of 16

1 July 2018 (2018-07-01)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Croatia | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  Denmark

|
|

* Mandžukić 4'

| Report |

* M. Jørgensen 1'

Penalties

* Badelj
* Kramarić
* Modrić
* Pivarić
* Rakitić

| 3–2 |

* Eriksen
* Kjær
* Krohn-Dehli
* Schöne
* N. Jørgensen

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod

Attendance: 40,851[17]

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Quarter-finals

7 July 2018 (2018-07-07)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Russia | 2–2 (a.e.t.)|  Croatia

|
|

* Cheryshev 31'
* Fernandes 115'

| Report |

* Kramarić 39'
* Vida 101'

Penalties

* Smolov
* Dzagoev
* Fernandes
* Ignashevich
* Kuzyayev

| 3–4 |

* Brozović
* Kovačić
* Modrić
* Vida
* Rakitić

Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Attendance: 44,287[18]

Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

Semi-finals

11 July 2018 (2018-07-11)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Croatia | 2–1 (a.e.t.)|  England

|
|

* Perišić 68'
* Mandžukić 109'

| Report |

* Trippier 5'

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

Attendance: 78,011[19]

Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Final

15 July 2018 (2018-07-15)

18:00 MSK (UTC+3)

France | 4–2|  Croatia

|
|

* Mandžukić 18' (o.g.)
* Griezmann 38' (pen.)
* Pogba 59'
* Mbappé 65'

| Report |

* Perišić 28'
* Mandžukić 69'

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

Attendance: 78,011

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

## Croatia in Qatar 2022

[edit]

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup

### Squad

[edit]

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup squads

Livaković

Lovren

Gvardiol

Juranović

Sosa

Brozović

Modrić (c)

Kovačić

Pašalić

Perišić

Kramarić

Croatia's 4–3–3 lineup at the 2022 World Cup

* Borna Barišić
* Marcelo Brozović
* Ante Budimir
* Martin Erlić
* Ivo Grbić
* Joško Gvardiol
* Ivica Ivušić
* Kristijan Jakić
* Josip Juranović
* Mateo Kovačić
* Andrej Kramarić
* Marko Livaja
* Dominik Livaković
* Dejan Lovren
* Lovro Majer
* Luka Modrić (c)
* Mislav Oršić
* Mario Pašalić
* Ivan Perišić
* Bruno Petković
* Borna Sosa
* Josip Stanišić
* Luka Sučić
* Josip Šutalo
* Domagoj Vida
* Nikola Vlašić

Head coach: Zlatko Dalić

### Group stage

[edit]

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Morocco | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 4  | 1  | +3  | 7  | Advanced to knockout stage
2  |  Croatia | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 4  | 1  | +3  | 5
3  |  Belgium | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 2  | −1  | 4  |
4  |  Canada | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 2  | 7  | −5  | 0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

23 November 2022 (2022-11-23)

13:00

Morocco | 0–0|  Croatia

|
|

| Report |

Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor

Attendance: 59,407

Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

* * *

27 November 2022 (2022-11-27)

19:00

Croatia | 4–1|  Canada

|
|

* Kramarić 36', 70'
* Livaja 44'
* Majer 90+4'

| Report |

* Davies 2'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 44,374

Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

* * *

1 December 2022 (2022-12-01)

18:00

Croatia | 0–0|  Belgium

|
|

| Report |

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 43,984

Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

### Knockout stage

[edit]

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup knockout stage

Round of 16

5 December 2022 (2022-12-05)

18:00

Japan | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  Croatia

|
|

Maeda 43' | Report | Perišić 55'
Penalties

* Minamino
* Mitoma
* Asano
* Yoshida

| 1–3 |

* Vlašić
* Brozović
* Livaja
* Pašalić

Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah

Attendance: 42,523

Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)

Quarter-finals

9 December 2022 (2022-12-09)

18:00

Croatia | 1–1 (a.e.t.)|  Brazil

|
|

Petković 117' | Report | Neymar 105+1'
Penalties

* Vlašić
* Majer
* Modrić
* Oršić

| 4–2 |

* Rodrygo
* Casemiro
* Pedro
* Marquinhos

Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 43,893

Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

Semi-finals

13 December 2022 (2022-12-13)

22:00

Argentina | 3–0|  Croatia

|
|

* Messi 34' (pen.)
* Alvarez 39', 69'

| Report |

Lusail Stadium, Lusail

Attendance: 88,966

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

Third-place match

17 December 2022 (2022-12-17)

18:00

Croatia | 2–1|  Morocco

|
|

* Gvardiol 7'
* Oršić 42'

| Report |

* Dari 9'

Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 44,137

Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

## List of matches

[edit]

World Cup  | Round  | Opponent  | Confederation  | Score  | Result  | Venue  | Croatia scorers

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1998 | Group stage |  Jamaica | CONCACAF | 3–1 | W | Lens | Stanić, Prosinečki, Šuker
Japan | AFC | 1–0 | W | Nantes | Šuker
Argentina | CONMEBOL | 0–1 | L | Bordeaux | —
Round of 16 |  Romania | UEFA | 1–0 | W | Bordeaux | Šuker
Quarter-final |  Germany | UEFA | 3–0 | W | Lyon | Jarni, Vlaović, Šuker
Semi-final |  France | UEFA | 1–2 | L | Saint-Denis | Šuker
Third place match |  Netherlands | UEFA | 2–1 | W | Paris | Prosinečki, Šuker
2002 | Group stage |  Mexico | CONCACAF | 0–1 | L | Niigata | —
Italy | UEFA | 2–1 | W | Ibaraki | Olić, Rapaić
Ecuador | CONMEBOL | 0–1 | L | Yokohama | —
2006 | Group stage |  Brazil | CONMEBOL | 0–1 | L | Berlin | —
Japan | AFC | 0–0 | D | Nuremberg | —
Australia | OFC | 2–2 | D | Stuttgart | Srna, N. Kovač
2014 | Group stage |  Brazil | CONMEBOL | 1–3 | L | São Paulo | Marcelo (o.g.)
Cameroon | CAF | 4–0 | W | Manaus | Olić, Perišić, Mandžukić (2)
Mexico | CONCACAF | 1–3 | L | Recife | Perišić
2018 | Group stage |  Nigeria | CAF | 2–0 | W | Kaliningrad | Etebo (o.g.), Modrić
Argentina | CONMEBOL | 3–0 | W | Nizhny Novgorod | Rebić, Modrić, Rakitić
Iceland | UEFA | 2–1 | W | Rostov-on-Don | Badelj, Perišić
Round of 16 |  Denmark | UEFA | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–2 p) | D | Nizhny Novgorod | Mandžukić
Quarter-finals |  Russia | UEFA | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) | D | Sochi | Kramarić, Vida
Semi-finals |  England | UEFA | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | W | Moscow | Perišić, Mandžukić
Final |  France | UEFA | 2–4 | L | Moscow | Perišić, Mandžukić
2022 | Group stage |  Morocco | CAF | 0–0 | D | Al Khor | —
Canada | CONCACAF | 4–1 | W | Al Rayyan | Kramarić (2), Livaja, Majer
Belgium | UEFA | 0–0 | D | Al Rayyan | —
Round of 16 |  Japan | AFC | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p) | D | Al Wakrah | Perišić
Quarter-finals |  Brazil | CONMEBOL | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | D | Al Rayyan | Petković
Semi-finals |  Argentina | CONMEBOL | 0–3 | L | Lusail | —
Third place match |  Morocco | CAF | 2–1 | W | Al Rayyan | Gvardiol, Oršić

### By opponent

[edit]

Opponent  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Argentina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −2
Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0
Belgium | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Brazil | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3
Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4
Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3
Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
Ecuador | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1
England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
France | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3
Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3
Iceland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2
Japan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3
Morocco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1
Nigeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2
Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1
Russia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0

## Players with most appearances

[edit]

Luka Modrić became Croatia's record World Cup player when he captained his team in the final of the 2018 tournament. In 1998, Davor Šuker became the oldest Golden Boot winner ever at age 30 and went on to become the president of the Croatian Football Federation in 2012. The Croatia national football team in Russia 2018

Luka Modrić is the only Croatian player to ever win the Golden Ball award. He was team captain in 2018, when Croatia reached the World Cup final.

Rank  | Player  | Matches  | World Cups

|
|
|

1  | Luka Modrić | 19 | 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022
2  | Ivan Perišić | 17 | 2014, 2018 and 2022
3  | Dejan Lovren | 16 | 2014, 2018 and 2022
4  | Mateo Kovačić | 15 | 2014, 2018 and 2022
5  | Andrej Kramarić | 14 | 2018 and 2022
6  | Marcelo Brozović | 13 | 2014, 2018 and 2022
7  | Dario Šimić | 11 | 1998, 2002 and 2006
8  | Robert Jarni* | 10 | 1998 and 2002
Ivan Rakitić | 10 | 2014 and 2018
10  | Mario Stanić | 9 | 1998 and 2002
Stipe Pletikosa | 9 | 2002, 2006 and 2014
Ante Rebić | 9 | 2014 and 2018
13  | Zvonimir Soldo | 8 | 1998 and 2002
Davor Šuker | 8 | 1998 and 2002
Ivica Olić | 8 | 2002, 2006 and 2014
Šime Vrsaljko | 8 | 2014 and 2018
Mario Mandžukić | 8 | 2014 and 2018

*Robert Jarni also played one match at the 1990 World Cup, representing SFR Yugoslavia.

## Top goalscorers

[edit]

Rank  | Player  | Goals  | World Cups

|
|
|

1  | Davor Šuker | 6 | 1998
Ivan Perišić | 6 | 2014 (2), 2018 (3) and 2022
3 | Mario Mandžukić | 5 | 2014 (2) and 2018 (3)
4 | Andrej Kramarić | 3 | 2018 (1) and 2022 (2)
5  | Robert Prosinečki* | 2 | 1998
Ivica Olić | 2 | 2002 and 2014
Luka Modrić | 2 | 2018

*Robert Prosinečki also scored one goal at the 1990 World Cup, representing SFR Yugoslavia.

## Awards

[edit]

Team Awards

* Runners-up: 2018
* Third place: 1998, 2022

Individual Awards

* Golden Ball: Luka Modrić (2018)
* Silver Ball: Davor Šuker (1998)
* Bronze Ball: Luka Modrić (2022)
* Golden Boot: Davor Šuker (1998)
* All-Star Team: Davor Šuker (1998), Luka Modrić (2018)

## See also

[edit]

* Croatia in the UEFA Nations League
* Croatia at the UEFA European Championship
* List of Croatia international footballers
* Serbia at the FIFA World Cup (records for Yugoslavia)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Scribner, Herb (2022-12-17). "Croatia wins third place in World Cup over Morocco". Axios. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
2. ^ Taylor, Daniel (2018-07-15). "France seal second World Cup triumph with 4-2 win over brave Croatia". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
3. ^ "Croatia beats Morocco 2-1 to take 3rd place at the World Cup". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
4. ^ "Luke Modric helps Croatia to third place at Qatar World Cup". uk.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
5. ^ FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia - Matches - Croatia - England - FIFA". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
6. ^ Taylor, Daniel (11 July 2018). "England's World Cup dream dashed as Croatia win semi-final in extra time". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
7. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup reached 3.2 billion viewers, one billion watched final" (Press release). FIFA. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
8. ^ "History of the World Cup Final Draw" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
9. ^ "Mirko Jozić Nogometni selektor u tajnom ratu" [Mirko Jozić, national coach in a secret war]. Nacional (in Croatian). No. 334\. 9 April 2002. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
10. ^ Bernard Jurišić; Bojan Purić (13 June 2002). "Ekvador - Hrvatska: Poraz i putokaz prema kući - Sportnet" (in Croatian). RTL.
11. ^ "Bad Brückenau će nam ispuniti sve zelje" (in Croatian). Vecernji. 2 June 2006.
12. ^ "Fan on field exposes flaws in security net". USA Today. 14 June 2006.
13. ^ Pacak, Tomislav (22 June 2006). "Hrvatska – Australija: Tuga i Jad..." (in Croatian). RTL Sportnet.
14. ^ "Match report – Group D – Croatia v Nigeria" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
15. ^ "Match report – Group D – Argentina v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
16. ^ "Match report – Group D – Iceland v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
17. ^ "Match report – Round of 16 – Croatia v Denmark" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
18. ^ "Match report – Quarter-final – Russia v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
19. ^ "Match report – Semi-final – Croatia v England" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

* v
* t
* e

Croatia national football team

General|

* Croatian Football Federation
* History
* Managers

Statistics|

* Head to head
* Hat-tricks

Results|

* Pre-independence (1940–91)
* 1992–99
* 2000–09
* 2010–19
* 2020–present

Players|

* 20+ caps
* 1–19 caps

World Cup Finals|

* Summary
* 1998
* 2002
* 2006
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022

UEFA Euro Finals|

* Summary
* 1996
* 2004
* 2008
* 2012
* 2016
* 2020
* 2024

UEFA Nations League Finals|

* Summary
* 2023

Rivalries|

* Serbia

Matches|

* Croatia v Indonesia (1956)
* Croatia v United States (1990)
* 2018 FIFA World Cup final
* 2023 UEFA Nations League final

Goal scorers|

* Davor Šuker

Other teams|

* Men's
* B
* Under-23
* Under-21
* Under-20
* Under-19
* Under-18
* Under-17
* Under-16
* Under-15
* Women's
* Under-19
* Under-17
* Under-15

Croatia squads at the FIFA World Cup

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup third place

* 1 Ladić
* 2 Krpan
* 3 Šerić
* 4 Štimac
* 5 Jurić
* 6 Bilić
* 7 Asanović
* 8 Prosinečki
* 9 Šuker
* 10 Boban (c)
* 11 Marić
* 12 Mrmić
* 13 Stanić
* 14 Soldo
* 15 Tudor
* 16 Kozniku
* 17 Jarni
* 18 Mamić
* 19 Vlaović
* 20 Šimić
* 21 Jurčić
* 22 Vasilj
* Coach: Blažević

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup

* 1 Pletikosa
* 2 Šerić
* 3 Šimunić
* 4 Tomas
* 5 Rapaić
* 6 Živković
* 7 Vugrinec
* 8 Prosinečki
* 9 Šuker (c)
* 10 N. Kovač
* 11 Bokšić
* 12 Butina
* 13 Stanić
* 14 Soldo
* 15 Šarić
* 16 Vranješ
* 17 Jarni
* 18 Olić
* 19 Vlaović
* 20 Šimić
* 21 R. Kovač
* 22 Balaban
* 23 Vasilj
* Coach: Jozić

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup

* 1 Pletikosa
* 2 Srna
* 3 Šimunić
* 4 R. Kovač
* 5 Tudor
* 6 Vranješ
* 7 Šimić
* 8 Babić
* 9 Pršo
* 10 N. Kovač (c)
* 11 Tokić
* 12 Didulica
* 13 Tomas
* 14 Modrić
* 15 I. Leko
* 16 J. Leko
* 17 Klasnić
* 18 Olić
* 19 N. Kranjčar
* 20 Šerić
* 21 Balaban
* 22 Bošnjak
* 23 Butina
* Coach: Z. Kranjčar

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 2014 FIFA World Cup

* 1 Pletikosa
* 2 Vrsaljko
* 3 Pranjić
* 4 Perišić
* 5 Ćorluka
* 6 Lovren
* 7 Rakitić
* 8 Vukojević
* 9 Jelavić
* 10 Modrić
* 11 Srna (c)
* 12 Zelenika
* 13 Schildenfeld
* 14 Brozović
* 15 Badelj
* 16 Rebić
* 17 Mandžukić
* 18 Olić
* 19 Sammir
* 20 Kovačić
* 21 Vida
* 22 Eduardo
* 23 Subašić
* Coach: Kovač

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up

* 1 Livaković
* 2 Vrsaljko
* 3 Strinić
* 4 Perišić
* 5 Ćorluka
* 6 Lovren
* 7 Rakitić
* 8 Kovačić
* 9 Kramarić
* 10 Modrić (c)
* 11 Brozović
* 12 L. Kalinić
* 13 Jedvaj
* 14 Bradarić
* 15 Ćaleta-Car
* 16 N. Kalinić
* 17 Mandžukić
* 18 Rebić
* 19 Badelj
* 20 Pjaca
* 21 Vida
* 22 Pivarić
* 23 Subašić
* Coach: Dalić

* v
* t
* e

Croatia squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup third place

* 1 Livaković
* 2 Stanišić
* 3 Barišić
* 4 Perišić
* 5 Erlić
* 6 Lovren
* 7 Majer
* 8 Kovačić
* 9 Kramarić
* 10 Modrić (c)
* 11 Brozović
* 12 Grbić
* 13 Vlašić
* 14 Livaja
* 15 Pašalić
* 16 Petković
* 17 Budimir
* 18 Oršić
* 19 Sosa
* 20 Gvardiol
* 21 Vida
* 22 Juranović
* 23 Ivušić
* 24 Šutalo
* 25 Sučić
* 26 Jakić
* Coach: Dalić

* v
* t
* e

Croatia at the FIFA World Cup

* France 1998
* Korea/Japan 2002
* Germany 2006
* Brazil 2014
* Russia 2018
* Qatar 2022

* v
* t
* e

Countries at the FIFA World Cup

* Team appearances
* All-time table

AFC|

* Australia1
* China
* Indonesia2
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* North Korea
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* South Korea
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan

CAF|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Cameroon
* DR Congo2
* Egypt
* Ghana
* Ivory Coast
* Morocco
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* South Africa
* Togo
* Tunisia

CONCACAF|

* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* El Salvador
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Panama
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States

CONMEBOL|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay

OFC|

* New Zealand

UEFA|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czech Republic2
* Denmark
* East Germany3
* England
* France
* Germany2
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Israel1
* Italy
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Russia2
* Scotland
* Serbia2
* Slovakia2
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Wales

1 Have been member of multiple confederations. 2 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). 3 Team and national federation no longer exist.
*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: games played
*[W]: games won
*[D]: games drawn
*[L]: games lost
*[GF]: goals for
*[GA]: goals against
*[GD]: goal difference
*[Pts]: Points