Croatia national football team

Association football was first introduced to Croatia by English expatriates working on industrial projects in Rijeka and Županja in 1873. By 1907, local clubs had been established in Croatia and a modern edition of the sport's laws was translated and published.[5] Before the nation's independence, Croatian footballers played for the national teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1919–39) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–92), though during periods of political upheaval, ethnically Croatian sides occasionally formed to play unofficial matches.[6] A hastily arranged Croatian side, managed by Hugo Kinert, played a few matches in 1918–19.[7][8]

In 1940, Jozo Jakopić led an unofficial national team representing the Banovina of Croatia (part of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) in four friendly matches, against Switzerland and Hungary.[9] Following invasion by the Axis powers, the Croatian Football Federation became briefly active, joining FIFA on 17 July 1941, representing the Independent State of Croatia. The side, led by Rudolf Hitrec, went on to play 15 friendly matches, 14 of those as a member of FIFA.[10][11] Croatia's first recorded result as a FIFA member was a 1–1 draw with Slovakia on 8 September in Bratislava.[9] The Independent State of Croatia continued playing matches until 1945 and the end of World War II, when SR Croatia was formed as constituent part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[11] From 1950 to 1956, unofficial Croatian teams were briefly active once again—winning games against Indonesia and a Yugoslav team playing as "Serbia".[8] The Yugoslavia squad at the 1956 Summer Olympics included Croatian footballers,[12] as did Yugoslavia in World Cup and European Championship tournaments up to 1990.[13][14]

The last Yugoslav team to field a considerable Croatian contingent played against Faroe Islands on 16 May 1991, days before Croatia's independence referendum.[15] However, an unofficial Croatian team was formed shortly before, and played the team's first modern international game, against the United States on 17 October 1990 at Maksimir Stadium. The game, which Croatia won 2–1,[16] was one of three games played under caretaker manager Dražan Jerković. The match against the American side also marked the introduction of Croatia's national jersey, inspired by the chequered design of the country's coat of arms.[17] Although Croatia was still officially part of Yugoslavia until its independence declaration on 8 October 1991, this team already served as a de facto national side.[18][19] Croatia went on to win two more friendly games under Jerković, against Romania in December 1990 and Slovenia in June 1991.

On 3 July 1992, Croatia was re-admitted to FIFA, playing its first official matches in the modern era against Australia in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. This team was led by Stanko Poklepović as part of an international exhibition tour; in April 1993, Vlatko Marković was appointed as manager. Croatia finally gained admission into UEFA in June 1993, which was too late for the national team to enter the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, as these already commenced the year before. Marković only led the team in one match, a home win against Ukraine in June 1993, before being dismissed in February 1994 and replaced by Miroslav Blažević the following month. The team's performances before Croatia's official independence were not recorded by FIFA, so they entered the World Rankings in 125th place.[20][21] Blažević led Croatia's qualifying campaign for Euro 1996, beginning with the nation's first post-independence competitive victory, a 2–0 win over Estonia on 4 September 1994. Their first competitive defeat came on 11 June 1995 in a 1–0 away loss to Ukraine during the same qualifying campaign.[9] They eventually finished first in their qualifying group[22] and won FIFA's 1994 Best Mover of the Year award as they moved up to 62nd in the rankings by the end of the year.[23]

The 1998 Third Place Certificate for Croatia.

Goran Vlaović scored the team's first goal at a major tournament, a late winner against Turkey at the City Ground in Nottingham in their first group match at Euro 96.[24] After their opening victory, Croatia beat reigning champions Denmark 3–0,[25] but went on to lose against Portugal by the same scoreline in their final group fixture.[26] Croatia still advanced to the knockout stage, but were beaten in the quarter-finals 1–2 by Germany, who went on to win the tournament.[27]

In spite of the quarter-final exit, Blažević continued to lead Croatia in the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, which ended successfully after an aggregate victory against Ukraine in the two-legged play-off. In the group stage of the World Cup, Croatia beat Jamaica and Japan but lost to Argentina, before defeating Romania to reach a quarter-final tie against Germany, then ranked second in the world.[28] Croatia won 3–0 with goals from Robert Jarni, Goran Vlaović and Davor Šuker, all after Christian Wörns had been sent off. Croatia then faced the host nation, France, in the semi-final. After a goalless first-half, Croatia took the lead, only to concede two goals by opposing defender Lilian Thuram and lose 1–2. In the third-place match, Croatia beat the Netherlands 2–1, with Davor Šuker winning the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals of the tournament with six goals in seven games.[29] Croatia's performance in 1998 was among the best debut performances in the World Cup (equaling Portugal's third place debut finish at the 1966 World Cup), and as a result, Croatia rose to number three in the January 1999 FIFA World Rankings, their highest ranking to date.[21][13] For their achievements, the team of the 1990s was dubbed the "Golden Generation."[30][31] A considerable portion of this squad (Jarni, Štimac, Boban, Prosinečki and Šuker), previously won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Yugoslavia under-20 team.

Despite good performances in their first two major competitions, Croatia's qualifying campaign for Euro 2000 was less successful, as they finished third in their qualifying group behind Yugoslavia and Republic of Ireland, and thus failed to qualify.[32] Both fixtures against archrivals Yugoslavia (the rump state which was later renamed Serbia and Montenegro) ended in draws, which prevented Croatia from qualifying for the tournament.[33]

Croatian football fans during the Euro 2004 in Portugal

Although Blažević continued his tenure in spite of failure to qualify for Euro 2000, he resigned in October 2000 following draws against Belgium and Scotland in the first two games of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. His successor at the helm of the national team was Mirko Jozić, who previously led the Yugoslavia under-20 team to a World Cup triumph in 1987. Despite the retirement of many Golden Generation players, Croatia went unbeaten during the rest of the qualifiers. They opened their 2002 World Cup campaign with a narrow loss to Mexico before producing a surprise 2–1 victory over Euro 2000 finalists Italy in the next fixture, giving life to hopes of passing through to the knockout stage.[34][35] However, they lost their final group fixture to Ecuador and were eliminated.[36] Jozić then resigned, and was replaced in July 2002 by Croatian-Austrian Otto Barić, the team's first manager born outside the Balkans.[37][38]

The 2002 Croatia's home jersey.

During Barić's tenure, most of the remaining players from the Golden Generation squad were gradually replaced by younger players over the course of the Euro 2004 qualifiers. Croatia went on to qualify for the tournament with a playoff victory against Slovenia, winning 2–1 on aggregate after Dado Pršo's decisive late goal in the second leg.[39] At the finals tournament in Portugal, Croatia drew 0–0 with Switzerland and 2–2 with reigning champions France[40] only to lose to England 2–4 and suffer another elimination in the group stage.[41] Barić's two-year contract ended in June 2004 and was not renewed.[42] Former Croatia international Zlatko Kranjčar, appointed to succeed Barić in July 2004, led the team through the 2006 World Cup qualifiers without losing a single match and topping the group ahead of Sweden and Bulgaria.[43][44] However, local media outlets accused him of nepotism for selecting his son Niko Kranjčar for the national squad.[45] At the 2006 World Cup, Croatia lost their opening game to Brazil and drew 0–0 with Japan after Darijo Srna missed a first-half penalty.[46][47] A 2–2 draw with Australia, in which three players were sent off, confirmed Croatia's exit in the group stage.[48] The game was also notable for a mistake by referee Graham Poll, who gave three yellow cards to Croatian defender Josip Šimunić, failing to send him off after his second offense. He later stated that he mistook Šimunić for an Australian player due to his Australian accent.[lower-alpha 1] Poll was heavily criticised for losing control of the match, and retired from refereeing shortly afterwards.[49]

In July 2006, the Croatian Football Federation replaced Kranjčar with Slaven Bilić, who played for the national team during their Golden Generation era.[50] Bilić, who previously managed the under-21 team between 2004 and 2006, introduced a host of young players into the squad, which ultimately proved successful. His first game was a friendly away victory against 2006 World Cup champions Italy.[51][52] After controversially suspending Darijo Srna, Ivica Olić and Boško Balaban for missing a curfew after a nightclub outing, Bilić led the team through qualifiers for Euro 2008.[53] Croatia topped their group, losing only one game to Macedonia and beating England twice, who as a result failed to qualify for the first time since 1984.[54][55]

Croatia vs. Brazil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Shortly before the European Championships, first-choice striker Eduardo, who was the team's top goalscorer during qualifying, suffered a compound fracture while playing for Arsenal in the Premier League. Bilić was forced to alter his final Euro 2008 squad significantly and recruited Nikola Kalinić and Nikola Pokrivač, neither of whom had yet played competitive games for the national team.[56] The team received criticism after poor attacking performances in warm-up games against Scotland and Moldova, but at the tournament they beat Austria, Germany and Poland in the group stages to reach the quarter-finals with maximum group points for the first time in their tournament history.[57][58][59] Niko Kovač remained team captain at what was expected to be his final international tournament, except in the final group fixture when Dario Šimić temporarily held the captain's armband.[60][61] Croatia's campaign ended dramatically when they lost a penalty shoot-out to Turkey, with Luka Modrić, Mladen Petrić and Ivan Rakitić all missing their penalties. Croatia left the tournament with records for fewest goals conceded (2), fewest games lost (0),[lower-alpha 2] and earliest goal (in the fourth minute of their opening game against Austria; this was also the all-time earliest successful penalty at the European Championship Finals).[62][63][64][65]

Following the tournament, Bilić renewed his contract, becoming the first manager since Blažević to lead Croatia to successive tournaments.[66] Croatia were again drawn to play England in the qualifying stages for the 2010 World Cup; the tie was voted the most anticipated of the campaign on FIFA.com.[67] After a home win against Kazakhstan Croatia lost at home to England, ending a 14-year unbeaten home record.[68][69] The team was eventually weakened due to a number of key players' injuries and went on to suffer their biggest defeat in history, losing 5–1 to England at Wembley Stadium. Although Croatia defeated Kazakhstan in their final qualifying fixture, they were ultimately eliminated as Ukraine, who had previously defeated group leaders England, beat Andorra to win second place in the group. Bilić was once again heavily expected to resign as national coach, but instead vowed to renew his contract and remain in charge.

Croatia vs. Italy match at UEFA Euro 2012

Despite heavy loss of form, which also saw the team fall outside the top ten in the FIFA rankings, Croatia were placed in the top tier of teams for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying draw; Croatia was previously a candidate to co-host the tournament with Hungary which would have allowed the team to qualify automatically, but UEFA eventually chose Poland and Ukraine as hosts instead. Despite being top-seeds in their qualifying group, Croatia finished second behind Greece, settling for a play-off against Euro 2008 rivals Turkey.[70] Croatia proceeded to beat Turkey 3–0 on aggregate, with all three goals coming in the away leg in Istanbul, thereby qualifying for the 2012 European championship. In the proceeding group-stage draw for the tournament, Croatia were placed in the third tier of teams, and were eventually grouped with Ireland, Italy and defending champions Spain.

In the buildup towards the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, the team's first major competition since their 2008 run at the same event, manager Slaven Bilić formally agreed a deal to manage Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow, thereby announcing he would resign from the national team when the tournament ended. Croatia opened their campaign with a comfortable 3–1 victory over the Republic of Ireland, with striker Mario Mandžukić scoring twice. Mandžukić continued his run at the tournament with an equaliser in the 1–1 draw against Italy, which was marred by controversial fan reactions and referee decisions from English official Howard Webb. In their last group match, Croatia suffered a 0–1 defeat to Spain. The late Spanish goal by Jesús Navas, along with Italy's victory over the Republic of Ireland in the final round, forced Croatia to exit the tournament in the group stage once again. Upon his formal departure, Bilić was also praised for his long-standing service to the national side. Jutarnji List daily labelled him as Croatia's only manager to depart on such positive terms and credited him for his strong revival of the national side during his six-year tenure.[71]

Croatia vs. Brazil at 2014 World Cup

Following Bilić's departure, former player and pundit Igor Štimac was appointed manager of the national team. Croatia's all-time top goalscorer Davor Šuker also took over as president of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) after the death of Vlatko Marković ended a 14-year tenure.[72][73] Štimac's managerial campaign was unsuccessful, as the team endured a succession of poor performances and narrowly finished second in their 2014 World Cup qualifying group. After only a year of his appointment, Štimac was replaced by former captain Niko Kovač, who previously managed the under-21 youth side.[74] Kovač led the team to a 2–0 aggregate victory over Iceland in the qualifying playoffs for the 2014 World Cup, with both goals coming in the home leg in Zagreb.[75] At the World Cup, Croatia were drawn with host-nation Brazil, Mexico and Cameroon. In the opening match of the tournament, Croatia lost 3–1 to Brazil. The match garnered heavy media attention and controversy as Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura was scrutinized for a number of controversial decisions.[76] In their second match, Croatia won 4–0 against Cameroon,[77] but did not progress from the group as they lost 3–1 to Mexico in their final fixture.[78][79]

In the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, Croatia were drawn against Italy, Bulgaria, Norway, Azerbaijan and Malta.[80] Following a goalless away draw against Azerbaijan and an away defeat to Norway,[81] in early September 2015, the Executive Committee of the Croatian Football Federation unanimously decided to terminate Kovač's contract.[82] On 21 September 2015, Ante Čačić was named head coach of the Croatian national team.[83] On 13 October 2015, Croatia qualified for the finals by finishing as runners-up in Group H.[84] Under Čačić, Croatia broke the record for most goals scored in one match after defeating San Marino 10–0 in a friendly.[85]

Croatia's team at the Euro 2016.

At Euro 2016, Croatia were drawn in Group D alongside Turkey, the Czech Republic and defending champions Spain, who had won the two previous editions of the tournament, in 2008 and 2012. Croatia began their campaign with a 1–0 win over Turkey; following a sensational long-volley kick from Luka Modrić, with the goal receiving praise and being considered one of the best of the tournament.[86][87] The next match was against the Czech Republic. With Croatia taking the lead through Ivan Perišić and doubling it through Ivan Rakitić, before goals from Milan Škoda and a last-minute penalty from Tomáš Necid; but the match received controversy for crowd trouble in the last minutes of the match, with Flares being thrown on the pitch and a steward being hurt by a firework during stoppage time.[88][89] Croatia's final match was against Spain; conceding an early goal from Álvaro Morata, before goals from Nikola Kalinić and a late winning goal from Perišić, securing Croatia a historic win as they topped the group, meanwhile for Spain it was their first defeat at a Euro finals match for the first time since 2004.[90][91] After the match, Croatia were tipped as one of the tournament favourites,[92][93] and drew Portugal in the round of 16, who surprisingly finished third in the group, advancing only as the third-best third-placed team.[94] The match was extremely poor, described by BBC Sport as "abysmal", as there were no serious efforts on goal, with Ricardo Quaresma's winning goal in the 117th minute after Ivan Perišić hit the post with a header in the previous attack, knocking Croatia out of the tournament.[95] Shortly after the Euro 2016 campaign, long-standing captain Darijo Srna announced his retirement from international football, amassing a record 134 appearances for the national side. Luka Modrić was announced as his successor for team captain.[96][97]

The national squad, lining up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

Croatia started their 2018 World Cup qualification strongly, leading their group and remaining undefeated for the first round of matches. However, consecutive defeats against Iceland and Turkey, as well as a draw against lowly-ranked Finland threatened their qualification hopes and caused a public outcry against manager Ante Čačić.[98][99] He was quickly replaced by Zlatko Dalić, who led the team to a crucial 2–0 win against Ukraine in Kiev,[100] securing a spot in the playoff round against Greece. Croatia went on to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after beating Greece 4–1 on aggregate, with all goals coming in the first leg in Zagreb.[101][102]

In the buildup to the tournament, The Guardian, among other news outlets, labelled the 2017–18 squad as Croatia's second golden generation.[103][104] Key players such as Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić drew close comparisons to their 1998 counterparts, and were expected to achieve similar success.[105][106][107] Despite a poor showing in their friendly matches, Croatia started their World Cup campaign with a 2–0 victory over Nigeria, with Luka Modrić scoring a penalty.[108][109] Modrić went on to score again in a highly-applauded 3–0 victory over previous finalists Argentina, which was also marked by Vedran Ćorluka earning his 100th cap for the national team.[110][111][112] Croatia then defeated Iceland to top the group with maximum points, marking their best ever performance in the group stages of the World Cup.[113][114]

They went on to play Denmark in the round of sixteen; the match was dubbed as Croatia's best chance to finally win a knockout round fixture at a major tournament, which they hadn't done since 1998. Despite conceding in the first minute of the match, they equalized into the fourth minute of the game to force extra-time, where Modrić failed to convert a penalty in the 116th minute. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Croatia prevailed after goalkeeper Danijel Subašić saved three penalties, equalling the record for most penalties saved in a match. This was the team's first ever successful penalty shootout, garnering praise from the local public and international media.[115][116][117] In the quarter-finals, Croatia drew 2–2 with hosts Russia, but advanced after another successful penalty shootout. This made them the first team since 1990 to win two consecutive penalty shootouts at the World Cup, and also equalled their best ever run at the tournament.[118][119][120]

The 2017–18 national squad, dubbed the "Second Golden Generation", posing with Vladimir Putin and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović after the 2018 World Cup Final against France.

Croatia went on to play England in the semi-finals. After falling behind once more, they equalized to force their third consecutive extra-time, equalling another record for most extra-time matches at the tournament.[121][122] Mario Mandžukić eventually scored as Croatia won 2–1, making them the second-smallest country by population to reach a World Cup final (after Uruguay in 1930).[123][124] Croatia eventually lost the final 4–2 to France, where a controversial free kick was awarded to France for a possible dive by Antoine Griezmann, as well as controversial penalty later in the game awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a handball by Perišić.[125] After the match, Luka Modrić became the first Croatian to win the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. For achieving their best ever World Cup finish, the Croatian players were welcomed by an estimated half a million people at their homecoming in the capital of Zagreb.[126]

On 23 January 2018, Croatia were drawn to play against England and Spain in the League A of inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League; an international tournament contested by all UEFA member's national teams.[127][128] On 11 September 2018, Croatia lost 6–0 away to Spain in their first Nations League game, with the result becoming Croatia's record loss in the process.[129] Croatia drew 0–0 home with England.[130] The match was played behind closed doors due to UEFA punishment.[131] In the next match against Spain, Croatia won 3–2 home due to a goal in stoppage time.[132] But due to 2–1 away defeat to England, Croatia placed last in the group and got relegated to League B of the next edition of the tournament.[133]

On 2 December 2018, the draw for the Euro 2020 qualifiers was held in Dublin, Ireland. Croatia was the seeded team of the Group E and grouped with Wales, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.[134] Croatia started their qualifying campaign poorly by narrowly winning on 21 March by the score of 2–1 against Azerbaijan and narrowly losing on 24 March by the same score to Hungary.[135][136][137] Although they dropped points by drawing with Azerbaijan and Wales away, Croatia managed to top their qualifying group for the first time since Euro 2008 qualification.[138]

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croatia national football team kits.

The Croatian chequy has been a symbol of Croatia since the Middle Ages.

Croatia's modern-day jersey was designed in 1990 by locally acclaimed painter Miroslav Šutej, who also designed the nation's flag, coat of arms and banknotes. The traditional red and white motif is based on the historic Croatian checkerboard (šahovnica), which has been used to represent Croats since the Middle Ages.[139][140][141] Although there have been many slight variations made by the kit manufacturers since the original release, the jersey design has remained consistent throughout the years, and has served as a blueprint for many other Croatian national sports teams and entities.[17] The typical combination has featured red-and-white chequred shirts, white shorts and blue socks, mirroring the tricolour of the country's flag.

Away kits used by the team have traditionally been all-blue, incorporating the red-and-white chequers as a trim. In recent years, Croatia has moved to using darker away kits, such as the now-infamous dark navy-and-black chequered design that featured prominently in the 2018 World Cup campaign. The Vatreni have often been required to use their away kits even when playing at home or when being listed as the designated "home" team at neutral venues, as teams also using a red-and-white colour scheme often use a red home kit and white away kit, or vice versa. Since both kits clash with the chequers of Croatia, frequent use of the away kit has been necessitated.

Kit supplier	Period
Uhlsport	1990–1991
Lotto	1992–1994
Kappa	1994
Lotto	1994–2000
Nike	2000–present

Croatia supporters at UEFA Euro 2012

Football is Croatia's most popular team sport, and the national team has developed an extensive fan base since its formation in 1991.[142] Following their run at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, just three years after the Croatian War of Independence, there was a rapid rise in domestic and global attention for the side. Balkan Insight commented that the national team became a symbol of Croatian independence from Yugoslavia.[143] However, after the death of former-president Franjo Tuđman, local political ties with the national team have loosened. All matches are widely followed and televised throughout the country, particularly during tournaments.[144]

A large part of the team's support base consists of fans of Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb, the two best-supported clubs in the Croatian domestic league, the Prva HNL.[145] Both sets of fans Bad Blue Boys of Zagreb and Torcida from Split—have been associated with hooliganism due to their ultra-style support,[146][147] though violence between them does not occur at international matches. Other ultras groups are Armada Rijeka, Kohorta Osijek, Ultras Vinkovci, Tornado Zadar, Funcuti Šibenik and Demoni Pula. Heavy support for the Croatian national team also comes from Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina, particularly from fans of Zrinjski Mostar and Široki Brijeg.[148] There are also considerable Croatian communities in Australia, North America, and South America that follow the team.[149][150]

Among supporters, it is customary to include an inscription of their city of origin onto the Croatian flag to indicate where they are from. They are also notable for their vocal support and orchestrated chants during matches. It is common for one section to shout "U boj, u boj" (To Battle, to Battle), with another responding "Za narod svoj" (For Our People), which is an old Croatian patriotic song. When the team wins, supporters often chant "Bježite ljudi, bježite iz grada" (Run Away People, Run Away From the City), which is a song praising the large presence of euphoric Croatian fans.[151] The Croatian Football Federation endorses an official fan club for the team, known as Uvijek Vjerni (Always Faithful).[152]

The national team enjoys widespread support from various local musicians, who often release tracks dedicated to them. Former manager Slaven Bilić and his rock band released a single, "Vatreno ludilo" (Fiery Madness), which reached the top position on the Croatian music charts during Euro 2008.[153][154] Other Croatian artists such as Baruni, Connect, Dino Dvornik, Gibonni, Prljavo Kazalište, Colonia, Stoka, Nered and Thompson have also recorded songs praising the team. The most widely used among supporters are "Moja domovina" (My Homeland), "Srce vatreno" (Fiery Heart), "Hrvatska je prvak svijeta" (Croatia Are World Champions), and "Malo nas je, al' nas ima" (We Are Few, But We Exist). Most popular among the fans and played at every home match is "Lijepa li si" (How Beautiful You Are) by Thompson and fans sing it themselves during the match. Bad Blue Boys supporters from Zaprešić made their band Zaprešić Boys and made few popular songs for each tournament like "Samo je jedno" (Only One Thing), "U pobjedi i porazu" (In Victory and Defeat) "Neopisivo" (Undescribable), "Igraj moja Hrvatska" (Play, My Croatia), with the latter being an unofficial anthem for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The players and fans often adopt other patriotic songs to celebrate victories as well.

Croatian supporters have traditionally used flares to celebrate the team's victories, though the use of pyrotechnics has become increasingly controversial due to sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA.

Fans' behaviour at international games has led to various sanctions against the national side, despite due efforts by the HNS, Croatian government and players to prevent unwanted incidents. The team has been penalized for multiple acts of racist behaviour by its fans, including racial abuse towards English striker Emile Heskey in 2010, racial chants at a home game against Norway in 2015 and the carving of a swastika into the pitch at a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy that same year (to which no fans were allowed, as penalty for the infraction against Norway). The 12 October 2018 UEFA Nations League game against England was played in Croatia, also without fans.[155] (This penalty is commonly referred to as a "ghost game", which is played by the teams but which has no audience.) [156][157] There have also been reports of minor clashes involving Croatian fans at various tournaments, leading to further sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA.[158][159]

There are often fears of particular violence during matches against Serbia, such as the politically-fuelled football riot following the 1990 parliamentary election.[160] This has led to extra security measures being imposed for these matches and general restrictions on traveling fans. There have also been multiple acts of protest against the national team, in response to widespread allegations of corruption within the Croatian Football Federation, and other fan disturbances whose cause is not easily defined.[161] Croatia's Euro 2016 qualifying fixture against Italy in Milan was interrupted due to flares being thrown onto the field by a small section of attendants, which also occurred at a European Championship match against Czech Republic.[162][163]

FIFA World Cup record											FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of  Kingdom of Yugoslavia										N/A
1934
1938
1950	Part of  SFR Yugoslavia
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Not a FIFA member
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	To be determined										To be determined
2026
Total	Runners-up	5/6	23	11	4	8	35	26			62	36	18	8	108	47

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 15 July 2018 after the match against  France.

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	Brazil 3–1 Croatia  (12 June 2014; São Paulo, Brazil)  Croatia 1–3 Mexico  (23 June 2014; Recife, Brazil)  France 4–2 Croatia  (15 July 2018; Moscow, Russia)
Best Result	Runners-up at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Worst Result	Group stage in 2002, 2006 and 2014

UEFA European Championship record/UEFA European Championship qualifying
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Part of  SFR Yugoslavia										N/A
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
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	Qualified										1st	8	5	2	1	17	7
2024	To be determined										To be determined
Total	Quarter-final	6/7	18	8	5	5	23	20				70	45	16	9	135	46

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 16 November 2019 after the match against  Slovakia.

Croatia's European Championship record
First Match	Turkey 0–1 Croatia  (11 June 1996; Nottingham, England)
Biggest Win	Croatia 3–0 Denmark  (16 June 1996; Sheffield, England)
Biggest Defeat	Croatia 0–3 Portugal  (19 June 1996; Nottingham, England)
Best Result	Quarter-final in 1996 and 2008
Worst Result	Group stage in 2004 and 2012

UEFA Nations League record
Season	Division	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK
2018–19	A	4	4	1	1	2	4	10		9th
2020–21	A	3	To be determined
Total			4	1	1	2	4	10	9th

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 18 November 2018 after the match against  England.

Croatia's Nations League record
First Match	Spain 6–0 Croatia  (Elche, Spain; 11 September 2018)
Biggest Win	Croatia 3–2 Spain  (Zagreb, Croatia; 15 November 2018)
Biggest Defeat	Spain 6–0 Croatia  (Elche, Spain; 11 September 2018)
Best Result	9th place in 2018–19
Worst Result

The following is a chart of yearly averages of Croatia's FIFA ranking.[211] Upon admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world. The 1998 World Cup propelled Croatia to third place immediately after the tournament, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history. It held that rank until February 1999.[212][213]

The following is the list of players for friendly games against   Switzerland on 26 March 2020 and  Portugal on 30 March 2020 that have in the meantime been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[216][214]
Caps and goals as of 19 November 2019 after match against  Georgia; only matches as FIFA member are included.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Lovre Kalinić	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990	19	0	Toulouse
	1GK	Dominik Livaković	(1995-01-09) 9 January 1995	9	0	Dinamo Zagreb
	1GK	Simon Sluga	(1993-03-17) 17 March 1993	2	0	Luton Town
	2DF	Domagoj Vida (Third captain)	(1989-04-29) 29 April 1989	79	4	Beşiktaş
	2DF	Dejan Lovren	(1989-07-05) 5 July 1989	57	3	Liverpool
	2DF	Šime Vrsaljko	(1992-01-10) 10 January 1992	45	0	Atlético Madrid
	2DF	Tin Jedvaj	(1995-11-28) 28 November 1995	24	2	Augsburg
	2DF	Borna Barišić	(1992-11-10) 10 November 1992	12	1	Rangers
	2DF	Duje Ćaleta-Car	(1996-09-17) 17 September 1996	5	0	Marseille
	2DF	Mile Škorić	(1991-06-19) 19 June 1991	3	0	Osijek
	2DF	Dario Melnjak	(1992-10-31) 31 October 1992	2	0	Çaykur Rizespor
	3MF	Luka Modrić (Captain)	(1985-09-09) 9 September 1985	127	16	Real Madrid
	3MF	Ivan Rakitić (Vice-captain)	(1988-03-10) 10 March 1988	106	15	Barcelona
	3MF	Mateo Kovačić	(1994-05-06) 6 May 1994	56	1	Chelsea
	3MF	Marcelo Brozović	(1992-11-16) 16 November 1992	51	6	Internazionale
	3MF	Milan Badelj	(1989-02-25) 25 February 1989	50	2	Fiorentina
	3MF	Mario Pašalić	(1995-02-09) 9 February 1995	12	0	Atalanta
	3MF	Nikola Vlašić	(1997-10-04) 4 October 1997	11	3	CSKA Moscow
	4FW	Ivan Perišić	(1989-02-02) 2 February 1989	88	26	Bayern Munich
	4FW	Andrej Kramarić	(1991-06-19) 19 June 1991	46	13	1899 Hoffenheim
	4FW	Ante Rebić	(1993-09-21) 21 September 1993	34	3	Milan
	4FW	Josip Brekalo	(1998-06-23) 23 June 1998	11	0	VfL Wolfsburg
	4FW	Bruno Petković	(1994-09-16) 16 September 1994	8	5	Dinamo Zagreb

The following players have also been called up to the Croatia squad in the last 12 months and are still eligible for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Karlo Bartolec	(1995-04-20) 20 April 1995	5	0	Copenhagen	v.  Georgia, 19 November 2019
DF	Josip Juranović	(1995-08-16) 16 August 1995	2	0	Hajduk Split	v.  Georgia, 19 November 2019
DF	Dino PerićINJ	(1994-07-12) 12 July 1994	2	0	Dinamo Zagreb	v.  Georgia, 19 November 2019
DF	Matej Mitrović	(1993-11-10) 10 November 1993	12	2	Club Brugge	v.  Slovakia, 16 November 2019
DF	Filip Benković	(1997-07-13) 13 July 1997	1	0	Bristol City	v.  Tunisia, 11 June 2019
MF	Marko Rog	(1995-07-19) 19 July 1995	17	0	Cagliari	v.  Georgia, 19 November 2019
MF	Filip Bradarić	(1992-01-11) 11 January 1992	6	0	Celta Vigo	v.  Wales, 13 October 2019
MF	Mijo Caktaš	(1992-05-08) 8 May 1992	1	0	Hajduk Split	v.  Azerbaijan, 9 September 2019
FW	Mislav Oršić	(1992-12-29) 29 December 1992	3	0	Dinamo Zagreb	v.  Georgia, 19 November 2019
FW	Alen Halilović	(1996-06-18) 18 June 1996	10	0	Heerenveen	v.  Tunisia, 11 June 2019

Key

• ^INJ = Injured.
• ^WD = Withdrew from the current squad.
• ^SUS = Suspended from participating.
• ^RET = Retired after latest call-up.
• ^U21 = Joined the Croatia U21 team instead.

Darijo Srna, former captain (2008–2016) and all-time most capped player.

Last updated: Croatia vs. Georgia, 19 November 2019.

Source: Croatian Football Federation

Davor Šuker, Croatia's all-time top scorer.

Last updated: Croatia vs. Georgia, 19 November 2019.

Source: Croatian Football Federation

Last updated: Croatia vs. Georgia, 19 November 2019.

Source: Croatian Football Federation

The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Croatia manager including their results regarding World Cups and European Championships.

Manager	Period	Pld	W	D	L	Win %	Major competitions
Jozo Jakopić	1939–1941	4	2	1	1	050.00	N/A
Rudolf Hitrec	1941	1	0	0	1	000.00
Bogdan Cuvaj	1941–1943	13	6	3	4	046.15
Bernard Hügl	1943–1945	1	1	0	0	100.00
Bogdan Cuvaj	1956	1	1	0	0	100.00
Dražan Jerković	1990–1991	3	3	0	0	100.00
Stanko Poklepović	1992	4	1	1	2	025.00
Vlatko Marković	1993–1994	1	1	0	0	100.00
Miroslav Blažević	1994–2000	72	33	24	15	045.83	1996 European Championship – Quarter-final 1998 World Cup – Third place 2000 European Championship – Failed to qualify
Tomislav Ivić (c)[lower-alpha 1]	1994	1	1	0	0	100.00	N/A
Mirko Jozić	2000–2002	18	9	6	3	050.00	2002 World Cup – Group stage
Otto Barić	2002–2004	24	11	8	5	045.83	2004 European Championship – Group stage
Zlatko Kranjčar	2004–2006	25	11	8	6	044.00	2006 World Cup – Group stage
Slaven Bilić	2006–2012	65	42	15	8	064.62	2008 European Championship – Quarter-final 2010 World Cup – Failed to qualify 2012 European Championship – Group stage
Igor Štimac	2012–2013	15	8	2	5	053.33	N/A
Niko Kovač	2013–2015	19	10	5	4	052.63	2014 World Cup – Group stage
Ante Čačić	2015–2017	25	15	6	4	060.00	2016 European Championship – Round of 16
Zlatko Dalić	2017–	30	16	7	7	053.33	2018 World Cup – Runners-up 2020 European Championship – TBD
Totals		322	171	86	65	53.11%	11 out of 13