Croatia national football team

croatian home association football team
This article is about the men ‘s team. For the women ‘s team, see Croatia women ‘s national football team
The Croatia national football team ( croatian : Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija ) represents Croatia in men ‘s international football matches and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation ( HNS ). The team was recognised by both FIFA and UEFA following dissolution of Yugoslavia. Sides were active during periods of political agitation, representing autonomous states such as the Banovina of Croatia from 1939 to 1941 or the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1944.

Reading: Croatia national football team

The contemporary team has played competitive matches since 1994 starting with the qualifying campaign for the 1996 european Championship. In 1998, they competed in their foremost FIFA World Cup, finishing third and providing the tournament ‘s top scorer, Davor Šuker. Twenty years late, Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup Final, providing the tournament ‘s best player, Luka Modrić. They are one of the youngest home teams ( since formation ) to reach the hard stage of a major tournament arsenic well as the youngest team to occupy the top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings. Among other nicknames, the team is colloquially referred to as the Vatreni ( Blazers ) or the Kockasti ( The Checkered Ones ). In the italian-speaking counties the team is known as Il furioso incendio ( The Blazing Fire ). Since becoming eligible to compete, Croatia has alone failed to qualify for two major tournaments : the UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their biggest get the better of came in the 2018–19 Nations League with a 6–0 loss to Spain, while their highest-scoring victory was a 10–0 friendly winnings over San Marino in 2016. The team have developed several rivalries such as the Derby Adriatico with Italy or the politically charged competition with Serbia, both of which have led to disruptive matches. The team represents the second-smallest country by population and land bulk to reach a World Cup concluding, behind Uruguay and Netherlands respectively. At major tournaments, Croatia holds joint-records for longest period between one finish and another of a player ( 2002–2014 ), most penalty shoot-outs bet ( 2 ), most extra clock time periods played ( 3 ) and most penalties saved in a match ( 3 ). They are besides one of three teams—along with Colombia and France —to be named FIFA ‘s Best Mover of the Year more than once, winning the prize in 1994 and 1998. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] Upon entrance fee to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world ; following the 1998 World Cup campaign, the side rose to third place in the rankings, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history .

history

Pre-independence

croatian footballers played for the home teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( 1919–39 ) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( 1945–92 ), though during periods of political agitation, ethnically croatian sides occasionally formed to play unofficial matches. [ 5 ] A more hurriedly arranged croatian side, managed by Hugo Kinert, played some matches in 1918–19. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] In 1940, Jozo Jakopić led an unofficial national team representing the Banovina of Croatia ( separate of Kingdom of Yugoslavia ) in four friendly matches against Switzerland and Hungary. [ 8 ] Following invasion by the Axis powers, the Croatian Football Federation became 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 extremity of FIFA. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Croatia ‘s beginning recorded result as a FIFA member was a 1–1 draw with Slovakia on 8 September in Bratislava. [ 8 ] The Independent State of Croatia continued playing matches until 1945 and the end of World War II when People ‘s Republic of Croatia was formed as constituent part of the Federal People ‘s Republic of Yugoslavia. [ 10 ] From 1945 to 1956, unofficial croatian teams were active agent once again. In September 1945, the express authorities organised the Yugoslav Football Tournament to commemorate the end of World War II. All republics had their national teams with Croatia finishing third behind the team representing the Yugoslav People ‘s Army and Serbia. [ 11 ] Croatia besides played games against Indonesia and a Yugoslav team play as Serbia. [ 7 ] The Yugoslavia squad at the 1956 Summer Olympics included croatian footballers [ 12 ] as did Yugoslavia at the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship tournaments up to 1990. [ 13 ] [ 14 ]

official formation

A Yugoslav team to field a croatian contingent played against Faroe Islands on 16 May 1991, days before the croatian independence referendum. [ 15 ] An unofficial croatian team was formed 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 coach Dražan Jerković. The peer against the american side besides marked the introduction of Croatia ‘s national new jersey, inspired by the checked design of the country ‘s coat of arms. [ 17 ] Although Croatia was still formally share of Yugoslavia until its independence contract 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 region of an international exhibition tour ; in April 1993, Vlatko Marković was appointed as coach. Croatia ultimately gained entrance fee into UEFA in June 1993 which was excessively deep for the national team to enter the 1994 FIFA World Cup reservation as these already commenced the year earlier. Marković only led the team in one match, a home acquire against Ukraine in June 1993, before being dismissed in February 1994 and replaced by Miroslav Blažević the following calendar 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 Euro 1996 qualifying campaign, beginning with the nation ‘s first post-independence competitive victory, a 2–0 succeed over Estonia on 4 September 1994. Their beginning competitive frustration came on 11 June 1995 in a 1–0 away loss to Ukraine during the same qualify campaign. [ 8 ] They finally finished beginning in their qualify 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 ]

Blažević period ( 1994–1999 )

The 1998 Third Place Certificate for Croatia. Goran Vlaović scored the team ‘s first goal at a major tournament, a deep winner against Turkey at the City Ground in Nottingham in their first group match at the Euro 1996. [ 24 ] After their possibility victory, Croatia beat reigning champions Denmark 3–0 [ 25 ] then went on to lose against Portugal by the lapp scoreline in their final group fastness. [ 26 ] Croatia advanced to the knockout degree and were beaten in the quarter-finals 1–2 by Germany. [ 27 ] Blažević continued to lead Croatia in the 1998 World Cup qualification campaign which ended after an aggregate victory against Ukraine in the two-legged play-off. In the group stage of the World Cup, Croatia all in Jamaica, Japan and lost to Argentina before defeating Romania to reach a quarter-final tie against Germany. [ 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 France in the semi-final. After a scoreless first-half, Croatia took the tip alone to concede two goals by opposing defender Lilian Thuram and lose 1–2. In the third-place peer, Croatia beat the Netherlands 2–1 with Davor Šuker winning the Golden Boot prize for scoring the most goals of the tournament with six goals in seven games. [ 29 ] Croatia ‘s debut operation in 1998 equals Portugal ‘s third base place debut finish at the 1966 World Cup and as a solution, Croatia rose to numeral three in the January 1999 FIFA World Rankings, their highest ranking to date. [ 21 ] [ 13 ] The team of the 1990s was dubbed the “ golden generation. ” [ 30 ] [ 31 ] A part of this team ( Jarni, Štimac, Boban, Prosinečki and Šuker ) previously won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Yugoslavia under-20 team. Croatia ‘s qualifying campaign for euro 2000 ended as they finished third in their qualify group behind FR Yugoslavia and the Republic of Ireland. [ 32 ] Both fixtures against archrivals FR Yugoslavia ( the rump state which was later renamed Serbia and Montenegro ) ended in draw which prevented Croatia from qualifying for the tournament. [ 33 ]

Jozić, Barić and Kranjčar periods ( 2000–2006 )

Blažević resigned in October 2000 following draw against Belgium and Scotland in the foremost two games of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers. His successor at the helm of the team was Mirko Jozić. Croatia went unbeaten during the pillow of the qualifiers. They opened their 2002 World Cup campaign with a pin down personnel casualty to Mexico before producing a 2–1 victory over Italy in the next fastness. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] They lost their final group repair to Ecuador and were eliminated. [ 36 ] Jozić then resigned and was replaced in July 2002 by Otto Barić, the team ‘s first director born outside of the Balkans. [ 37 ] [ 38 ]
The 2002 Croatia ‘s home jersey. During Barić ‘s tenure, most of the remaining players from the “ aureate generation ” police 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 play-off 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 France [ 40 ] merely to lose to England 2–4 and undergo another elimination in the group stage. [ 41 ] Barić ‘s biennial abridge 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 ] Local media outlets accused him of nepotism for selecting his son Niko Kranjčar for the team. [ 45 ] At the 2006 World Cup, Croatia lost their orifice game to Brazil and drew 0–0 with Japan after Darijo Srna missed a first-half penalty. [ 46 ] [ 47 ] A 2–2 pull with Australia in which three players were sent off confirm Croatia ‘s exit in the group stage. [ 48 ] The game included a error by reviewer Graham Poll who gave three yellow cards to croatian defender Josip Šimunić, failing to send him off after his second offense. He late stated that he mistook Šimunić for an australian player due to his australian dialect. [ a ] Poll was criticised for losing control of the couple and retired from refereeing afterwards. [ 49 ]

Bilić time period ( 2006–2012 )

In July 2006, the Croatian Football Federation replaced Kranjčar with Slaven Bilić. [ 50 ] Bilić who previously managed the under-21 team between 2004 and 2006 introduced a host of players into the team. His first game was a friendly away victory against Italy. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] After suspending Darijo Srna, Ivica Olić and Boško Balaban for missing a curfew after a cabaret excursion, Bilić led the team through the Euro 2008 qualifying. [ 53 ] Croatia topped their group, losing one game to Macedonia and beating England twice, who as a result failed to qualify for the inaugural prison term since 1984. [ 54 ] [ 55 ]
Before the european Championships, Eduardo –who was the team ‘s top goalscorer during qualifying–underwent a compound fracture while playing for Arsenal in the Premier League. Bilić was forced to alter his final euro 2008 squad and recruited Nikola Kalinić and Nikola Pokrivač, neither of whom had however played competitive games for the national team. [ 56 ] The team received some criticism after “ hapless assail ” performances in warm-up games against Scotland and Moldova. At the tournament, they beat Austria, Germany and Poland in the group stages to reach the quarter-finals with utmost group points for the first base time in their tournament history. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ] Niko Kovač remained team captain at what was expected to be his final external tournament, except in the final examination group fixture when Dario Šimić temporarily held the captain ‘s armband. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] Croatia ‘s campaign ended when they lost a punishment 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 ), [ b ] and earliest goal ( in the fourth minute of their opening game against Austria ; this was besides the all-time earlier successful penalty at the European Championship Finals ). [ 62 ] [ 63 ] [ 64 ] [ 65 ] Following the tournament, Bilić renewed his narrow, becoming the first director since Blažević to lead Croatia to successive tournaments. [ 66 ] Croatia were again drawn to play England in the qualify stages for the 2010 World Cup ; the tie was voted the most anticipate of the political campaign on FIFA.com. [ 67 ] After a home plate acquire against Kazakhstan, Croatia lost at family to England, ending a 14-year unbeaten home read. [ 68 ] [ 69 ] The team then had a number of players ‘ injuries and went on to lose 5–1 to England at the Wembley Stadium. Although Croatia defeated Kazakhstan in their final modification repair, they were ultimately eliminated as Ukraine who had previously defeated group leaders England beat Andorra to win second gear place in the group. Bilić vowed to renew his condense and stay in bang .
Despite falling outside the clear ten in the FIFA World Rankings, Croatia were placed in the circus tent tier of teams for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying draw ; Croatia was previously a campaigner to co-host the tournament with Hungary which would have allowed the team to qualify automatically but UEFA finally chose Poland and Ukraine as hosts alternatively. Being top-seeds in their modification 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 Euro 2012. In the proceed group stage draw for the tournament, Croatia were placed in the third tier of teams and were finally grouped with the Republic of Ireland, Italy and defending champions Spain. In the buildup towards the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, the team ‘s first major contest since their 2008 run at the same event, coach Slaven Bilić formally agreed a softwood to manage russian baseball club Lokomotiv Moscow, thereby announcing he would resign from the national team when the tournament ended. Croatia opened their political campaign with a 3–1 victory over the Republic of Ireland, with striker Mario Mandžukić scoring doubly. Mandžukić continued his run at the tournament with an counterweight in the 1–1 draw against Italy which was marred by sports fan reactions and referee decisions from English official Howard Webb. Croatia exit the tournament in the group degree once again after losing 0–1 to Spain. Upon Bilić ‘s formal departure, Jutarnji list casual labelled him as Croatia ‘s “ alone director to depart on such positive terms ” and credited him for his “ strong revival ” of the national side during his six-year tenure. [ 71 ]

Štimac, Kovač and Čačić periods ( 2012–2017 )

Following Bilić, former player and initiate Igor Štimac was appointed director of the national team. Croatia ‘s all-time circus tent goalscorer Davor Šuker besides took over as president of the Croatian Football Federation after the death of Vlatko Marković ended a 14-year tenure. [ 72 ] [ 73 ] After a year of his appointee, Štimac was replaced by early captain Niko Kovač who previously managed the under-21 young side. [ 74 ] Kovač led the team to a 2–0 aggregate victory over Iceland in the qualify playoffs for the 2014 World Cup with both goals coming in the home peg in Zagreb. [ 75 ] At the World Cup, Croatia were drawn with host-nation Brazil, Mexico and Cameroon. In the unfold match of the tournament, Croatia lost 3–1 to Brazil. The match garnered media attention and controversy as reviewer Yuichi Nishimura was scrutinized for a number of decisions. [ 76 ] In their second catch, Croatia won 4–0 against Cameroon [ 77 ] then did not advancement 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 scoreless away disembowel against Azerbaijan and an away kill to Norway, [ 81 ] in 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 passenger car of the Croatian team. [ 83 ] On 13 October 2015, Croatia qualified for the finals by finishing as runner-up in Group H. [ 84 ] Under Čačić, Croatia broke the record for most goals scored in one peer 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, Czech Republic and defending champions Spain. Croatia began their campaign with a 1–0 succeed over Turkey ; following a volley kick from Luka Modrić. [ 86 ] The future match was against 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 ; there was crowd disturb in the final minutes of the match with flares being thrown on the pitch and a steward being hurt by a firework during arrest time. [ 87 ] [ 88 ] Croatia ‘s final examination match was against Spain ; conceding a goal from Álvaro Morata before goals from Nikola Kalinić and a winning goal from Perišić securing Croatia a historic winnings as they topped the group, interim for Spain it was their first kill at a Euro finals pit for the first time since 2004. [ 89 ] [ 90 ] After the couple, Croatia were tipped as one of the tournament favourites [ 91 ] [ 92 ] and drew Portugal in the round of 16 who finished third base in the group advancing lone as the third-best third-placed team. [ 93 ] The pit was described by BBC Sport as “ abysmal ”, with Ricardo Quaresma ‘s winning finish in the 117th minute after Ivan Perišić hit the post with a header in the previous attack, knocking Croatia out of the tournament. [ 94 ] After the Euro 2016 campaign, 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. [ 95 ] [ 96 ]

Dalić ‘s menstruation ( since 2017 )

Croatia was undefeated for the beginning round of 2018 World Cup qualification matches. The follow consecutive defeats against Iceland and Turkey equally well as a draw against Finland caused a public exclaim against coach Čačić. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] He was replaced by Zlatko Dalić who led the team to a 2–0 succeed against Ukraine in Kyiv, [ 99 ] securing a blot in the play-off orotund 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 inaugural leg in Zagreb. [ 100 ] [ 101 ] In the buildup to the World Cup, The Guardian among other news program outlets labelled the 2017–18 squad as Croatia ‘s irregular “ aureate generation ”. [ 102 ] [ 103 ] Players drew comparisons to their 1998 counterparts. [ 104 ] [ 105 ] [ 106 ] Croatia started their World Cup campaign with a 2–0 victory over Nigeria. [ 107 ] [ 108 ] The following 3–0 victory over Argentina marked Vedran Ćorluka earning his hundredth cap for Croatia. [ 109 ] [ 110 ] [ 111 ] Croatia then defeated Iceland to top the group, marking their best ever performance in the group stages of the World Cup. [ 112 ] [ 113 ]
Playing Denmark in the polish of 16, Croatia prevailed in a penalty shoot-out after goalkeeper Danijel Subašić saved three penalties, equalling the record for most penalties saved in a meet. This was the team ‘s first ever successful penalty shoot-out. [ 114 ] [ 115 ] [ 116 ] In the quarter-finals, Croatia drew 2–2 with hosts Russia and advanced after another penalty shoot-out. This made them the first team since 1990 to win two back-to-back penalty shoot-outs at the World Cup. [ 117 ] [ 118 ] [ 119 ] Playing England in the semi-finals, Croatia equalized once more to force their third straight extra clock time, equalling another commemorate for most supernumerary fourth dimension matches at the tournament. [ 120 ] [ 121 ] Mario Mandžukić finally scored as Croatia won 2–1 making them the second-smallest country by population to reach a World Cup final ( after Uruguay in 1930 ). [ 122 ] [ 123 ] Croatia lost the final 4–2 to France where a free kick was awarded to France for a possible dive by Antoine Griezmann american samoa well as penalty late in the game awarded by the video recording adjunct referee ( VAR ) for a handball by Ivan Perišić. [ 124 ] After the equal, Luka Modrić became the foremost croatian to win the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. The croatian players were welcomed by an estimated half a million people at their homecoming in the capital of Zagreb. [ 125 ] On 23 January 2018, Croatia were drawn to play against England and Spain in the League A of inaugural version of the UEFA Nations League. [ 126 ] [ 127 ] On 11 September 2018, Croatia lost 6–0 aside to Spain in their first Nations League game, with the leave becoming Croatia ‘s record loss in the march. [ 128 ] Croatia drew 0–0 family with England. [ 129 ] The couple was played behind closed doors ascribable to UEFA punishment. [ 130 ] In the future match against Spain, Croatia won 3–2 home due to a goal in blockage time. [ 131 ] Due to a 2–1 away frustration to England, Croatia placed last in the group and were relegated to League B of the future edition of the tournament. [ 132 ] On 2 December 2018, the reap for the Euro 2020 qualifiers was held in Dublin, Ireland. Croatia was the seeded team of the Group E and was grouped with Wales, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. [ 133 ] Croatia started their modify crusade narrowly winning on 21 March against Azerbaijan and narrowly losing on 24 March to Hungary. [ 134 ] [ 135 ] [ 136 ] Although they dropped points by drawing with Azerbaijan and Wales away, Croatia managed to top their qualify group for the first meter since Euro 2008 qualifying. [ 137 ] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Euro 2020 was postponed for a year. [ 138 ] due to a rule change in the Nations League, Croatia avoided relegation and remained in League A where they were drawn in the same group with Portugal, France and Sweden. [ 139 ] [ 140 ] Croatia lost all games apart from Sweden at home, conceding more goals than any other team in the Nations League ( apart from Iceland ), [ 141 ] [ 142 ] [ 143 ] but once again avoid delegating to League B due to achieving better goal dispute than last-placed Sweden. [ 144 ] Winning only two out of eight games in 2020, Croatia achieved their worst annual solution in their history. [ 145 ] croatia lost their open World Cup modifier to Slovenia 1–0 and scraped past Cyprus and Malta 1–0 and 3–0, respectively. [ 146 ] [ 147 ] Dalić afterwards made a statement about the miss of team heart among the players and vowed to restore it ahead of the beginning of Euro 2020. [ 148 ] Croatia failed to win in any of their pre-tournament friendlies against Armenia and Belgium, drawing 1–1 and losing 1–0, respectively. [ 149 ] [ 150 ] At the Euro 2020, Croatia were drawn in Group D with England, Czech Republic and the play-off winner C ( which late turned out to be Scotland ). [ 151 ] Croatia finished second gear in their group, with a 1–0 loss to England, a 1–1 tie with the Czech Republic and a 3–1 win over Scotland. They advanced to the round off of 16, where they lost to Spain 5–3 after extra time. [ 152 ] Following hapless performances before and during the tournament, Dalić–alongside a number of players–was sternly criticized by the croatian populace and called upon to resign. [ 153 ] [ 154 ] [ 155 ] [ 156 ] During the remainder of the World Cup qualify, Dalić refreshed the team roll by introducing respective younger debutants. Croatia finished the passing unbeaten, dropping points only by drawing 0–0 with Russia away and 2–2 with Slovakia at base. The successful campaign made Dalić the first passenger car in the history of the national team to qualify them for three major tournaments. [ 157 ] [ 158 ] [ 159 ]

Notes

^ The rules of Association football state of matter that on receiving a second base yellow batting order in a single catch a musician must be given a red tease and be removed for the rest of the match per the Laws of the Game
^ Under the rules of Association football and the official european Championship tournament regulations, a loss inflicted via a penalty gunfight does not count as a frustration but rather a tie which needed a final serve to determine the team which advances per the Laws of the Game

Kits

Croatia ‘s contemporary new jersey was designed in 1990 by Miroslav Šutej who besides designed the nation ‘s ease up, coat of arms and banknotes. The crimson and white theme is based on the croatian checkerboard ( šahovnica ) which has been used to represent Croats since the Middle Ages. [ 160 ] [ 161 ] [ 162 ] Although there have been variations made by the kit manufacturers since the original passing, the jersey design has remained consistent throughout the years and has served as a blueprint for some other croatian national sports teams and entities. [ 17 ] The distinctive combination has featured red-and-white chequred shirts, white shorts and bluing socks, mirroring the tricolor of the area ‘s flag. away kits used by the team have for a period been all-blue, incorporating the red-and-white chequers as a trim. Croatia has moved to using darker away kits such as the iniquity navy-and-black check design that featured prominently in the 2018 World Cup campaign. The Vatreni have much been required to use their aside kits even when playing at home or when being listed as the designated “ home ” team at achromatic venues as teams besides using a red-and-white color scheme often use a red base kit and white away kit out or frailty versa. Since both kits clash with the chequers of Croatia, frequent consumption of the away kit has been necessitated .

Supporters

The team has developed an extensive fan base since its formation in 1991. [ 163 ] Following their rivulet at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, there was a arise in domestic and global attention for the side. Balkan Insight commented that the national team became a symbol of croatian independence from Yugoslavia. [ 164 ] After the end of erstwhile President Franjo Tuđman, local political ties with the national team have loosened. All matches are followed and televised throughout the area, peculiarly during tournaments. [ 165 ] A contribution 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. [ 166 ] Both sets of fans Bad Blue Boys of Zagreb and Torcida from Split —have been associated with vandalism ascribable to their extremist -style support, [ 167 ] [ 168 ] though ferocity 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. support for the team besides comes from Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly from fans of Zrinjski Mostar and Široki Brijeg. [ 169 ] There are besides croatian communities in Australia, North America and South America that follow the team. [ 170 ] [ 171 ] Among supporters, it is customary to include an inscription of their city of origin onto the croatian masthead to indicate where they are from. They are besides celebrated for their vocal support and orchestrate chants during matches. One department may shout “ U boj, u boj ” ( To Battle, to Battle ) with another responding “ Za narod svoj ” ( For Our People ) which is a croatian patriotic song. When the team wins, supporters might chant “ Bježite ljudi, bježite iz grada ” ( Run Away People, Run Away From the City ) which is a sung praising the presence of euphoric croatian fans. [ 172 ] The croatian Football Federation endorses an official fan clubhouse for the team, known as Uvijek Vjerni ( Always Faithful ). [ 173 ] The team receives support from versatile local musicians, who release tracks dedicated to them. Former coach Slaven Bilić and his rock band released a unmarried, “ Vatreno ludilo ” ( Fiery Madness ), which reached the peak position on the croatian music charts during Euro 2008. [ 174 ] [ 175 ] other croatian artists such as Baruni, Connect, Dino Dvornik, Gibonni, Prljavo Kazalište, Colonia, Stoka, Nered and Thompson have besides recorded songs mentioning the team. Some of those having been 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 ‘ sodium ima ” ( We Are Few, But We Exist ). Most democratic among the fans and played at every family match is “ Lijepa fifty-one ti ” ( 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 some songs for each tournament like “ Samo je jedno ” ( Only One Thing ), “ U pobjedi one porazu ” ( In Victory and Defeat ) “ Neopisivo ” ( Undescribable ), “ Igraj moja Hrvatska ” ( Play, My Croatia ), with the latter being an unofficial hymn for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The players and fans adopt other patriotic songs to celebrate victories as well .
croatian supporters have used flares to celebrate the team ‘s victories, though the manipulation of pyrotechnics has become increasingly controversial due to sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA. Fans ‘ behavior at international games has led to assorted sanctions against the national english, despite due efforts by the HNS, croatian politics and players to prevent undesirable incidents. The team has been penalized for multiple acts of racist demeanor by its fans including racial misuse towards English hitter Emile Heskey in 2010, racial chants at a home game against Norway in 2015 and the sculpture of a swastika into the slope at a Euro 2016 modifier against Italy that same class ( to which no fans were allowed, as penalty for the misdemeanor against Norway ). [ 176 ] The 12 October 2018 UEFA Nations League game against England was played in Croatia, besides without fans. [ 177 ] ( This penalty is referred to as a “ ghostwriter game ” which is played by the teams but which has no hearing. ) [ 178 ] [ 179 ] There have besides been reports of clashes involving croatian fans at respective tournaments, leading to promote sanctions imposed by FIFA and UEFA. [ 180 ] [ 181 ] There are fears of particular ferocity during matches against Serbia, such as the politically fuel football riot following the 1990 parliamentary election. [ 182 ] This has led to excess security measures being imposed for these matches and general restrictions on traveling fans. There have besides been multiple acts of protest against the national team, in response to allegations of corruption within the croatian Football Federation, and other fan disturbances. [ 183 ] Croatia ‘s Euro 2016 qualifying fastness against Italy in Milan was interrupted due to flares being thrown onto the field by a section of attendants, which besides occurred at a european Championship match against Czech Republic. [ 184 ] [ 185 ]

Stadiums

The majority of Croatia ‘s home matches take locate at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, which is besides the home-ground of local football club Dinamo. The venue, built in 1912 and refurbished in 1997, is named after the surrounding vicinity of Maksimir. It was one of two venues for UEFA Euro 1976, hosted by Yugoslavia, aboard Red Star Stadium in Belgrade. It has been hosting national team games since Croatia ‘s competitive home introduction against Lithuania. [ 186 ] The croatian Football Federation ( HNS ) previously agreed on extensive plans with the government to renovate the stadium and increase its forty-thousand seat capacity, however the proposal was finally rejected by Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić in 2008 ascribable to construction costs. [ 186 ] [ 187 ] [ 188 ] Some home matches are occasionally played at other, smaller venues around the country. The Stadion Poljud in Split has hosted some passing fixtures since 1995, the first being a 1–1 draw with Italy. In the period between 1995 and 2011, Croatia never won a competitive equal at Poljud, which the local media dubbed “ Poljudsko prokletsvo “ ( “ the Poljud curse ” ). The hunt was finally ended after the team came from behind to beat Georgia on 3 June 2011. [ 189 ] Qualifying fixtures have besides been played at the Stadion Kantrida in Rijeka along with Stadion Gradski vrt in Osijek and the Stadion Varteks in Varaždin. These venues are less use due to their more outside locations and smaller seat capacity, despite objections from local residents and some players. [ 190 ] The pursuit table provides a summary Croatia results at assorted venues used for home games. Since Croatia ‘s first equal in October 1990, they played home games at eleven stadiums around the country. The following board provides a drumhead of Croatia ‘s results at home venues .
last update : Croatia vs. Russia, 14 November 2021
Statistics include entirely official matches recognized by HNS [ 191 ]

Rivalries

Results and fixtures

The follow matches have been played within the by 12 months. Times are CET / CEST, in accordance with croatian local time ( local anesthetic times if different, are in parentheses ) .

2021

2022

Croatia vanadium TBD 21–24 November 2022 FIFA World Cup vQatarCroatia five TBD 25–28 November 2022 FIFA World Cup vQatarCroatia v TBD

29 November – 2 December 2022 FIFA World Cup vQatar

Coaching staff

Players

current police squad

The follow is the team for World Cup reservation fixtures against Malta on 11 November and Russia on 14 November. [ 210 ] [ 211 ]
Caps and goals as of 14 November 2021 after equal against Russia ; only matches as FIFA penis are included .

late call-ups

The following players have besides been called up to the police squad in the last 12 months and are still eligible for choice .

individual statistics

As of 14 November 2021[212]

Players in bold are still active with Croatia.

Most cap players

Dario Šimić was Croatia ‘s first base actor to reach 100 appearances, doing so before his retirement in 2008. This allowed him to surpass Robert Jarni ‘s former record of 81 appearances. [ 213 ] [ 214 ] [ 215 ] On 6 February 2013, captain Darijo Srna, Josip Šimunić and Stipe Pletikosa each besides played their hundredth capital for Croatia in a 4–0 friendly victory over South Korea in London. The trio went on to set a new joint-record of 101 appearances for the national team in March 2013 in a World Cup qualifying victory against Serbia in Zagreb. Srna finally surpassed his teammates and accrued a record sum of 134 external caps for Croatia before retiring in 2016. He was surpassed by Luka Modrić in 2021. Alen Halilović is the youngest player to represent the team, making his senior debut in June 2013 aged 16 years, 11 months and 22 days. [ 216 ] The team ‘s oldest musician is Dražen Ladić who played his last match in May 2000 aged 37 years, 4 months and 27 days. [ 217 ]

top goalscorers

The team ‘s youngest goalscorer is Luka Ivanušec who scored his debut goal on 14 January 2017 aged 18 years, one month and 19 days. [ 218 ] With 45 goals scored, Davor Šuker is the team ‘s highest-scoring actor. [ 33 ]

Most fairly sheets

Managers

The follow mesa provides a compendious of the dispatch record of each Croatia coach including their results regarding World Cups and european Championships .
stopping point update : Croatia vs. Russia, 14 November 2021. source : croatian Football Federation

competitive phonograph record

FIFA World Cup

Draws include hard matches decided on punishment kicks ; correct as of 14 November 2021 after the match against Russia .
World Cup record

First Match

JamaicaCroatia
(Lens, France; 14 June 1998)

Biggest Win

CameroonCroatia
(Manaus, Brazil; 18 June 2014)

Biggest Defeat

BrazilCroatia
(São Paulo, Brazil; 12 June 2014)

CroatiaMexico
(Recife, Brazil; 23 June 2014)

France4–2 Croatia
(Moscow, Russia; 15 July 2018)

Best Result

Runners-up in 2018

Worst Result

Group stage in 2002, 2006 and 2014

UEFA european backing

Finals

Qualifying

Year

Round

Position

Pld

Squad

Pos

Pld

1960
Part of SFR Yugoslavia
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996

Quarter-final

7th

Squad
1st

2000
Did not qualify
3rd

2004

Group stage

13th

Squad
2nd

2008

Quarter-final

5th

Squad
1st

2012

Group stage

10th

Squad
2nd

2016

Round of 16

9th

Squad
2nd

2020

Round of 16

14th

Squad
1st

2024
To be determined
To be determined
2028

Total

Quarter-final (2)

5th

—

6/7

135

Draws include hard matches decided on penalty kicks ; correct as of 28 June 2021 after the meet against Spain .
European Championship record

First Match

TurkeyCroatia
(Nottingham, England; 11 June 1996)

Biggest Win

CroatiaDenmark
(Sheffield, England; 16 June 1996)

Biggest Defeat

CroatiaPortugal
(Nottingham, England; 19 June 1996)

Best Result

Quarter-final in 1996 and 2008

Worst Result

Group stage in 2004 and 2012

UEFA Nations League

Season

Division

Group

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
To be determined
Total

9th

Draws include smasher matches decided on penalty kicks ; correct as of 17 November 2020 after the meet against Portugal .
Nations League record

First Match

SpainCroatia
(Elche, Spain; 11 September 2018)

Biggest Win

CroatiaSpain
(Zagreb, Croatia; 15 November 2018)

CroatiaSweden
(Zagreb, Croatia; 11 October 2020)

Biggest Defeat

SpainCroatia
(Elche, Spain; 11 September 2018)

Best Result

9th place in 2018–19

Worst Result

12th place in 2020–21

minor tournaments

Draws include smasher matches decided on penalty kicks ; correct as of 14 January 2017 after the equal against China PR .

neck and neck record

Key

Positive symmetry ( more wins than losses )

Neutral balance ( as many wins as losses )

negative poise ( more losses than wins )
Correct as of 14 November 2021, after the match against Russia .

FIFA ranking history

The trace is a chart of annually averages of Croatia ‘s FIFA ranking. [ 219 ] Upon admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the worldly concern. The 1998 World Cup propelled Croatia to third place after the tournament, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history. It held that rank until February 1999. [ 220 ] [ 221 ]

Titles

Major tournaments
Minor tournaments
Other awards

Best Mover of the Year
- 1994
- 1998

charity

In 2010, director Slaven Bilić established a foundation garment Vatreno Srce ( Fiery Heart ), starting a string of charity work by the national team. [ 222 ] The primary cause of the initiation is helping children in respective forms. [ 223 ] As of 2012, the basis made fifty donations of 1,200,000 HRK to assorted children ‘s organizations. [ 224 ] On 16 December 2012, the foundation made 500,000 HRK on an auction of Niko Kranjčar ‘s shirt and Lionel Messi ‘s shirt that was signed by all FC Barcelona players. The auction was organized in Esplanade Zagreb Hotel and even attended by President of Croatia Ivo Josipović. [ 224 ] On 13 November 2018, the players gathered in hotel The Westin Zagreb to answer the fans ‘ phonecalls, the proceeds of which were donated to the Vatreno Srce foundation garment. In 2018, the foundation garment chose to finance Children ‘s Hospital Zagreb and Korak u Život ( A Step Into Life ), a jacob’s ladder that helps youngsters raised in orphanages to make the transition into the higher education system. [ 222 ] [ 225 ] On 11 November 2019, more than 500,000 HRK were collected in another call event that were then directed to Children ‘s Hospital Kantrida. [ 226 ] On 24 March 2020, the national team players donated 4,200,000 HRK for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and for repair of damage caused by 2020 Zagreb earthquake. [ 227 ]

See besides

References

Books

Ramet. P, Sabrina (2005). Thinking about Yugoslavia. Cambridge University. ISBN 0-521-85151-3.
Klemenčić, Mladen (2004). Nogometni leksikon. Miroslav Krleža lexicographic institute. ISBN 953-6036-84-3.
Foster, Jane (2004). Footprint Croatia. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 1-903471-79-6.
Bellamy. J, Alex (2003). The Formation of Croatian National Identity. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-6502-X.
Giulianotti, Richard (1997). Entering the Field: New Perspectives on World Football. Berg Publishers. ISBN 1-85973-198-8.

reference : https://www.jorihulkkonen.com
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