| General |
 Croatia
| |
| |
| Nickname(s) | Vatreni (The Blazers) Kockasti (The Chequered Ones) |
|---|---|
| Association | Croatian Football Federation |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Zlatko Dalić
|
| Captain | Luka Modrić |
| Most caps | Luka Modrić (162) |
| Top scorer | Davor Šuker (45) |
| Home Stadium | Stadion Maksimir (38,079) |
| FIFA code | CRO |
| FIFA ranking | 12  3 (6 October 2022)
|
| Highest FIFA ranking | 3 (January 1999) |
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 125 (March 1994) |
| Elo ranking | 18  5 (31 March 2021)
|
| Highest Elo ranking | 5 (July 1998, July 2018) |
| Lowest Elo ranking | 26 (October 2002) |
| First international |  Croatia 4–0 Switzerland  (Zagreb, Croatia; 2 April 1940) As modern Croatia |
| Biggest win | Croatia 10–0 San Marino  (Rijeka, Croatia; 4 June 2016) |
| Biggest defeat |  Spain 6–0 Croatia (Elche, Spain; 11 September 2018) |
| World Cup appearances | 6 (First in 1998) |
| Best result | Runners-up, 2018 |
| UEFA European Championship appearances | 6 (First in 1996) |
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 1996, 2008 |
 
| |
The Croatia national football team is the national association football team of Croatia and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the nation's governing body of football in Croatia. Most home matches are played at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, with some fixtures also taking place at the Poljud Stadium in Split or at other smaller venues. Their current manager is Zlatko Dalić.
The team played its first competitive matches in the successful qualifying campaign for Euro 1996, leading to its first appearance at a major tournament. In Croatia's FIFA World Cup debut in 1998, where they assembled their first "Golden Generation", the team finished third and provided the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Exactly twenty years later, anchored by their second "Golden Generation", Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup Final after finishing all tournament stages undefeated and secured second place to France, providing the tournament's best player, Luka Modrić. Since becoming eligible to compete in international tournaments, Croatia has failed to qualify for only one World Cup (in 2010) and one European Championship (in 2000).
History[]
- Main article: History of the Croatia national football team
Competitive records[]
FIFA World Cup[]
| FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930–1990 | Part of  Yugoslavia |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
 1994
|
Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||
 1998
|
Third place | 3rd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | Squad | 2nd | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 13 | |
  2002
|
Group stage | 23rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | Squad | 1st | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | |
 2006
|
22nd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Squad | 1st | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 5 | ||
 2010
|
Did not qualify | 3rd | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 13 | |||||||||
 2014
|
Group stage | 19th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | Squad | 2nd | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 9 | |
 2018
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 9 | Squad | 2nd | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 5 | |
 2022
|
Third place | 3rd | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | Squad | ||||||||
  2026
| |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 5/6 | Runners-up | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 26 | – | – | 62 | 36 | 18 | 8 | 108 | 47 | |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks
UEFA European Football Championship[]
| UEFA European Championship record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1960 to 1992 | Part of Yugoslavia |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
 1996
|
Quarter-final | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | Squad | 1st | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 5 | |
  2000
|
Did not qualify | 3rd | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | |||||||||
 2004
|
Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | Squad | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 5 | |
  2008
|
Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | Squad | 1st | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 8 | |
  2012
|
Group stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Squad | 2nd | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 7 | |
| 2016
|
Round of 16 | 9th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | Squad | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 5 | |
 2020
|
Round of 16 | 14th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 8 | Squad | 1st | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 7 | |
| 2024
|
Group stage | 20th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Squad | To be determined | |||||||
| Total | Quarter-final | 5/6 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 34 | – | – | 70 | 45 | 16 | 9 | 135 | 46 | |
UEFA Nations League[]
| UEFA Nations League record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Group | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | P/R | Rank |
| 2018–19
|
A | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 |  |
9th |
 2020–21
|
A | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 16 | |
12th |
| 2022–23
|
A | 1 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
|
2nd |
 2024-25
|
A | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 |
|
? |
| Total | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 35 | 44 | 2nd | |||
Results and fixtures[]
2020[]
| International friendly 1 June | Croatia
|
Cancelled |  Turkey
|
Osijek, Croatia | |
| Report | Stadium: Stadion Gradski vrt |
| International friendly 8 June | France 
|
Cancelled | Croatia
|
Nice, France | |
| 21:00 CEST | Report | Stadium: Allianz Riviera |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 5 September | Portugal 
|
4–1 | Croatia
|
Porto, Portugal | |
| 20:45 CEST (19:45 WEST) |
Cancelo  41'Jota 58'Félix 70'A. Silva 90+4'
|
Report | Petković 90+1'
|
Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 0 Referee: Davide Massa (Italy) Assistant Referees: Filippo Meli (Italy) Fourth Official: Paolo Valeri (Italy) |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 8 September | France
|
4–2 | Croatia
|
Saint-Denis, France | |
| 20:45 CEST | Griezmann 43' Livaković 45+1' (o.g.)Upamecano 65'Giroud 77' (pen.)
|
Report | Lovren 17' Brekalo 55'
|
Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 0 Referee: Ovidiu Haţegan (Romania) Assistant Referees: Octavian Șovre (Romania) Fourth Official: Sebastian Colţescu (Romania) |
| International friendly 7 October | Switzerland
|
1–2 | Croatia
|
St. Gallen, Switzerland | |
| 20:45 CEST | Gavranović 31'
|
Report | Brekalo 42' Pašalić 67'
|
Stadium: Kybunpark Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal) Assistant Referees: Luis Campos (Portugal) Fourth Official: Urs Schnyder (Switzerland) |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 11 October | Croatia
|
2–1 |  Sweden
|
Zagreb, Croatia | |
| 18:00 CEST | Vlašić 32' Kramarić 84'
|
Report | Berg 66'
|
Stadium: Stadion Maksimir Attendance: 2,020 Referee: John Beaton (Scotland) Assistant Referees: Douglas Potter (Scotland) Fourth Official: Steven McLean (Scotland) |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 14 October | Croatia
|
1–2 | France
|
Zagreb, Croatia | |
| 20:45 CEST | Vlašić 65'
|
Report | Griezmann 8' Mbappé 79'
|
Stadium: Stadion Maksimir Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands) Assistant Referees: Sander van Roekel (Netherlands) Fourth Official: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands) |
| International friendly 11 November | Turkey
|
3–3 | Croatia
|
Istanbul, Turkey | |
| 18:45 CET (20:45 FET) |
Tosun 23' (pen.) Türüç 41'Ünder 58'
|
Report | Budimir 32' Pašalić 53'Brekalo 56'
|
Stadium: Vodafone Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia) Assistant Referees: Grega Kordež (Slovenia) Fourth Official: Matej Jug (Slovenia) |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 14 November | Sweden
|
2–1 | Croatia
|
Solna, Sweden | |
| 20:45 CET | Kulusevski 36' Danielson 45+2'
|
Report | Danielson 82' (o.g.)
|
Stadium: Friends Arena Attendance: 0 Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany) Assistant Referees: Jan Seidel (Germany) Fourth Official: Robert Schröder (Germany) |
| 2020–21 UEFA Nations League 17 November | Croatia
|
2–3 | Portugal
|
Split, Croatia | |
| 20:45 CET | Kovačić 29', 65'
|
Report | Dias 52', 90' Félix 60'
|
Stadium: Stadion Poljud Attendance: 0 Referee: Michael Oliver (England) Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt (England) Fourth Official: Paul Tierney (England) |
2021[]
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 24 March | Slovenia 
|
1–0 | Croatia
|
Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| 20:45 CET | Lovrić 15'
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Stožice Attendance: 0 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain) Assistant Referees: Roberto del Palomar (Spain) Fourth Official: Harm Osmers (Germany) |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 27 March | Croatia
|
1–0 |  Cyprus
|
Rijeka, Croatia | |
| 18:00 CET | Pašalić 40'
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Rujevica Attendance: 0 Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia) Assistant Referees: Silver Koiv (Estonia) Fourth Official: Juri Frischer (Estonia) |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 30 March | Croatia
|
3–0 |  Malta
|
Rijeka, Croatia | |
| 20:45 CEST | Perišić 62' Modrić 76' (pen.)Brekalo 90'
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Rujevica Attendance: 0 Referee: Lionel Tschudi (Switzerland) Assistant Referees: Sladan Josipović (Switzerland) Fourth Official: Lukas Fähndrich (Switzerland) |
| International friendly 1 June | Croatia
|
1-1 |  Armenia
|
Velika Gorica, Croatia | |
| 18:00 CEST | Perišić 24'
|
Angulo 72'
|
Stadium: Gradski stadion |
| International friendly 6 June | Belgium 
|
1-0 | Croatia
|
Brussels, Belgium | |
| 20:45 CEST | Lukaku 38'
|
Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium |
| UEFA Euro 2020 13 June | England 
|
1-0 | Croatia
|
London, England | |
| 15:00 CEST (14:00 BST) |
Sterling 57'
|
Report | Stadium: Wembley Stadium |
| UEFA Euro 2020 18 June | Croatia
|
1-1 |  Czech Republic
|
Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 18:00 CEST (17:00 BST) |
Perišić 47'
|
Report | Schick 37' (pen.)
|
Stadium: Hampden Park |
| UEFA Euro 2020 22 June | Croatia
|
3-1 |  Scotland
|
Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 21:00 CEST (20:00 BST) |
Vlašić {goal|17}} Modrić {goal|62}} Perišić {goal|77}} |
Report | McGregor 42'
|
Stadium: Hampden Park |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 1 September | Russia 
|
0-0 | Croatia
|
Moscow, Russia | |
| 20:45 CEST (21:45 MSK) |
Report | Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 4 September | Slovakia 
|
0-1 | Croatia
|
Slovakia | |
| 20:45 CEST | Report | Brozović 86'
|
Stadium: Tehelene Pole |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 7 September | Croatia
|
3-0 | Slovenia
|
Split, Croatia | |
| 20:45 CEST | Livaja 33' Pašalić 66' Vlašić 90+4'
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Poljud |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 8 October | Cyprus
|
0-3 | Croatia
|
Cyprus | |
| 20:45 CEST (21:45 EEST) |
Report | Perišić 45+2' Gvardiol 80' Livaja 90+2'
|
Stadium: AEK-Arena |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 October | Croatia
|
2-2 | Slovakia
|
Croatia | |
| 20:45 CEST | Kramarić 25' Modrić 71'
|
Report | Schranz 20' Haraslín 45'
|
Stadium: Gradski vrt |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 November | Malta
|
1-7 | Croatia
|
Malta | |
| 20:45 CET | Brozović 31' (o.g)
|
Report | Perišić 6' Ćaleta-Car 22' Pašalić 39' Modrić 45+1' Majer 47', 64' Kramarić 53'
|
Stadium: Ta' Qali National Stadium |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification 14 November | Croatia
|
1-0 | Russia
|
Croatia | |
| 15:00 CET | Kudrayshov 81' (o.g)
|
Report |
Players[]
Current squad[]
The following is the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.
All numbers, caps and goals as of 30 March 2021 after match against Malta; only matches as FIFA member are included.
Recent call-ups[]
The following players have also been called up to the Croatia squad in the last 12 months and are still eligible for selection.
Previous squads[]
Current coaching staff[]
Alumni[]Former players[]Managers[]Honours[]
Friendly titles[]
Other awards[]
External links[]
Template:Croatia squad (2002 FIFA World Cup) Template:Croatia squad (UEFA Euro 2004)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
