CROATIA WORLD CUP FOOTBALL TEAM

LAST 5
RESULTS

Opponent Score Date
Russia
L 14/11/2021
Malta
L 11/11/2021
Slovakia
L 11/10/2021
Cyprus
L 08/10/2021
Slovenia
L 07/09/2021

WORLD CUP
QUALIFIERS TABLE

Club MP W D L GD Pts GF GA
BelgiumBelgium 1 1 0 0 1 3 1 0
CroatiaCroatia 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
MoroccoMorocco 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
CanadaCanada 1 0 0 1 -1 0 0 1

Croatia World Cup MATCH SCHEDULE

Group B

21/11/2022

Stadium

United States of America
Wales

STARTS AT

20:00 GMT+0100

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al-Rayyan Stadium)

Group C

22/11/2022

Stadium

Argentina
Saudi Arabia

STARTS AT

11:00 GMT+0100

Lusail Stadium

Group C

22/11/2022

Stadium

Mexico
Poland

STARTS AT

17:00 GMT+0100

Stadium 974

Group D

22/11/2022

Stadium

France
Australia

STARTS AT

20:00 GMT+0100

Al Janoub Stadium

Group E

23/11/2022

Stadium

Spain
Costa Rica

STARTS AT

17:00 GMT+0100

Al Thumama Stadium

Croatia WORLD CUP team Squad

Runners-up in the previous World Cup, Croatia will once again look to exceed expectations as they travel to Qatar. Being a relatively young nation, and having one of the smallest populations in Europe, their performance at Russia 2018 was exceptional and showed the effectiveness of a great team spirit mixed with one or two world-class players.

Only losing once in a pretty tricky qualification group shows the side isn’t suffering a long-term hangover from their exploits at the last Finals. This is perhaps because many of their most experienced players – such as Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren and Marcelo Brozovic – have all returned for this campaign.

Disappointingly for their fans, it’s evident this will be the last major tournament for the bulk of the 2022 Croatia squad. However, they have been drawn into a relatively kind group (with Morocco, Canada and Belgium) which gives them hope of progressing to the latter stages.

Attacker

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18
Ante Rebic
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7
Josip Brekalo
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9
Andrej Kramaric
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4
Ivan Perisic
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14
Ante Budimir
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18
Mislav Orsic
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7
Bruno Petkovic
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14
Marko Livaja
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19
Antonio Colak
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17
Kristijan Lovric

Midfielder

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8
Mateo Kovacic
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10
Luka Modric
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19
Milan Badelj
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15
Mario Pasalic
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11
Marcelo Brozovic
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17
Luka Ivanusec
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13
Nikola Vlasic
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17
Marko Rog
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11
Toma Basic
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13
Nikola Moro
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19
Lovro Majer
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8
Luka Sucic
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16
Kristijan Jakic

Defender

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6
Dejan Lovren
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5
Duje Caleta-Car
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2
Sime Vrsaljko
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3
Domagoj Bradaric
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3
Borna Barisic
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21
Domagoj Vida
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16
Mile Skoric
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22
Josip Juranovic
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20
Josko Gvardiol
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3
Borna Sosa
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16
Tin Jedvaj
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6
Marin Pongracic
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2
Filip Uremovic
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22
Dario Melnjak
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2
Josip Stanisic

Goalkeeper

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12
Lovre Kalinic
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1
Dominik Livakovic
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23
Simon Sluga
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12
Ivo Grbic
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12
Ivica Ivusic

Croatia World Cup team coach

Zlatko Dalić has been the manager of Croatia since 2017. With little experience of coaching in his homeland, he was a somewhat surprising choice for the role having spent his previous years in the Middle East – first in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal and then more successfully with Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

He won the UAE Pro-League title in his first full season and guided them to the final of the 2016 AFC Champions League final also. This success set him up for the coveted national team job, where the team’s fantastic 2018 performance saw Dalić lauded by Croatian fans and media alike for his role.

However, a disappointing European Championships in 2020 along with frustrating performances in the Nations League means that Dalić is likely to need another impressive tournament to maintain the faith of the nation – and also his job.

Croatia’s football team captain

Not surprisingly, the best player Croatia have produced in their history – Luka Modric – is the captain of the side. Bestowed the honour following Darijo Srna’s retirement in 2016, his influence over Croatia’s run to the 2018 World Cup final saw him pick up the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.

Modric has been the heartbeat of the Croatia midfield for many years, amassing a record number of caps and also winning Croatian Footballer of the Year a record ten times. Even as he approaches 37 years old, he is also of paramount importance to Real Madrid where he has won an incredible five Champions League medals in his time there.

WHO ARE Croatia’s top scorers?

Among Croatia’s national team, their top scorers are:

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10
Luka Modric
WITH A TOTAL OF 3 GOALS
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4
Ivan Perisic
WITH A TOTAL OF 3 GOALS
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15
Mario Pasalic
WITH A TOTAL OF 3 GOALS

Which of Croatia’s players have the most assists?

Among Croatia’s national team, players with the most assists are:

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10
Luka Modric
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9
Andrej Kramaric
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4
Ivan Perisic

all with 5 assists each.

What year was Croatia’s first major football tournament?

Croatia only became an independent nation in 1991, previously being part of Yugoslavia. Not able to take part in USA 1994, they incredibly reached the quarter finals at Euro ’96 and finished third in their first World Cup in 1998.

Has Luka Modric retired from Croatia?

Luka Modric is set to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, although sadly for Croatian supporters (as well as many neutral fans), this will be his last involvement with the national side.

Where is Slaven Bilić now?

Slaven Bilić was Croatia manager from 2006 to 2010. He then managed in England with West Ham from 2015-2017, and less successfully for West Brom for just over a year until 2019. His next stint at Beijing Guoan also didn’t go as planned, and he now is without a club.

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