Croatia participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This was their fifth appearance. Croatia managed to reach the final where they lost to France and finished second in the tournament.

Qualifying

See also: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I

Croatia was in Group I of UEFA's World Cup qualifications. They played alongside Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland and Kosovo. Croatia finished as runner-up in the group and entered the second-round play-offs where the team beat Greece and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Croatia national team was led by manager Ante Čačić until 7 October 2017 when he was, due to a series of bad results, replaced by Zlatko Dalić.[1]

Standings

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iceland 10 7 1 2 16 7 +9 22 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 2–0
2  Croatia 10 6 2 2 15 4 +11 20 Advance to second round 2–0 — 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0
3  Ukraine 10 5 2 3 13 9 +4 17 1–1 0–2 — 2–0 1–0 3–0
4  Turkey 10 4 3 3 14 13 +1 15 0–3 1–0 2–2 — 2–0 2–0
5  Finland 10 2 3 5 9 13 −4 9 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 — 1–1
6  Kosovo 10 0 1 9 3 24 −21 1 1–2 0–6 0–2 1–4 0–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

The results of the group stage

5 September 2016 (2016-09-05) Croatia  1–1  Turkey Zagreb, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Rakitić 44' (pen.) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Çalhanoğlu 45+3' Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 0
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
6 October 2016 (2016-10-06) Kosovo  0–6  Croatia Shkodër, Albania
20:45 (UTC+2) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Mandžukić 6', 24', 35'
Mitrović 68'
Perišić 83'
Kalinić 90+2'		 Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium
Attendance: 14,612
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (Spain)
9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) Finland  0–1  Croatia Tampere, Finland
19:00 (UTC+3) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Mandžukić 18' Stadium: Tampere Stadium
Attendance: 15,567
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)
12 November 2016 (2016-11-12) Croatia  2–0  Iceland Zagreb, Croatia
18:00 (UTC+1) Brozović 15', 90+1' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 0
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
24 March 2017 (2017-03-24) Croatia  1–0  Ukraine Zagreb, Croatia
20:45 (UTC+1) Kalinić 38' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 27,351
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
11 June 2017 (2017-06-11) Iceland  1–0  Croatia Reykjavík, Iceland
20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)		 Magnússon 90' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
3 September 2017 (2017-09-03)[2] Croatia  1–0  Kosovo Zagreb, Croatia
14:30
(14:30 UTC+2)		 Vida 74' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Stadion Maksimir
Attendance: 6,838
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)
5 September 2017 (2017-09-05) Turkey  1–0  Croatia Eskişehir, Turkey
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: New Eskişehir Stadium
Attendance: 28,600
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
6 October 2017 (2017-10-06) Croatia  1–1  Finland Rijeka, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Mandžukić 57' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Soiri 90' Stadium: Stadion Rujevica
Attendance: 7,578
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (Poland)
9 October 2017 (2017-10-09) Ukraine  0–2  Croatia Kyiv, Ukraine
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Kramarić 62' 70' Stadium: Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 60,200
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
The results of the second-round play-off
9 November 2017 (2017-11-09) Croatia  4–1  Greece Zagreb, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Papastathopoulos 30' Stadium: Stadion Maksimir
Attendance: 30,013
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
12 November 2017 (2017-11-12) Greece  0–0
(1–4 agg.)		  Croatia Piraeus, Greece
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Karaiskakis Stadium
Attendance: 18,667
Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

Players

Altogether 26 players appeared in the qualifying matches. Domagoj Vida is the only player that appeared in all 12 matches playing the full 90 minutes of all games. Mario Mandžukić was the top scorer with 5 achieved goals. Filip Bradarić, Duje Ćaleta-Car and Dominik Livaković did not appear in any of the qualifying matches but made the final World Cup squad.

Complete list of players in the qualifying matches

# Name Games played Goals
1 Domagoj Vida 12 1
2 Mario Mandžukić 11 5
Marcelo Brozović 11 2
Andrej Kramarić 11 3
Ivan Perišić 11 1
6 Danijel Subašić 10 0
Šime Vrsaljko 10 0
Luka Modrić 10 0
9 Nikola Kalinić 9 2
Milan Badelj 9 0
Josip Pivarić 9 0
12 Ivan Rakitić 8 1
13 Mateo Kovačić 7 0
14 Matej Mitrović 6 1
Dejan Lovren 6 0
16 Marko Rog 5 0
17 Duje Čop 4 0
18 Ivan Strinić 3 0
Vedran Ćorluka[3] 3 0
Mario Pašalić 3 0
21 Lovre Kalinić 2 0
Tin Jedvaj 2 0
Ante Rebić 2 0
24 Marko Pjaca[4] 1 0
Ivan Santini 1 0
Nikola Vlašić 1 0

Source: Croatian Football Federation

Player was not selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad

World Cup preparation

23 March 2018 Friendly match Peru  2–0  Croatia Miami, United States
01:00 (UTC+1) Carrillo 12'
Flores 48'
Yoshimar Yotun Yellow card 57' Yellow-red card 75'		 Report Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium
Attendance: 46,893
Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
27 March 2018 Friendly match Mexico  0–1  Croatia Dallas, United States
04:00 (UTC+1) Report Rakitić 62' (pen.) Stadium: AT&T Stadium
Attendance: 79,128
Referee: Mario Alberto Escobar (Guatemala)
3 June 2018 Friendly match Croatia  0–2  Brazil Liverpool, England
16:00 (UTC+1) Report Neymar 69'
Firmino 90+4'		 Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 36,584
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
8 June 2018 Friendly match Croatia  2–1  Senegal Osijek, Croatia
18:00 (UTC+2) Perišić 63'
Kramarić 78'		 Report Sarr 48' Stadium: Stadion Gradski vrt
Attendance: 15,998
Referee: Ádám Farkas (Hungary)

Draw

Croatia was drawn into Group D. Croatia's opponents in the first stage were Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland.

Squad

Coach: Zlatko Dalić

A 32-man preliminary squad was announced on 14 May 2018.[5] The squad was reduced to 24 players on 21 May.[6] The final squad was announced on 4 June.[7]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Dominik Livaković (1995-01-09)9 January 1995 (aged 23) 1 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
2 2DF Šime Vrsaljko (1992-01-10)10 January 1992 (aged 26) 35 0 Spain Atlético Madrid
3 2DF Ivan Strinić (1987-07-17)17 July 1987 (aged 30) 43 0 Italy Sampdoria
4 4FW Ivan Perišić (1989-02-02)2 February 1989 (aged 29) 66 18 Italy Inter Milan
5 2DF Vedran Ćorluka (1986-02-05)5 February 1986 (aged 32) 99 4 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow
6 2DF Dejan Lovren (1989-07-05)5 July 1989 (aged 28) 39 2 England Liverpool
7 3MF Ivan Rakitić (1988-03-10)10 March 1988 (aged 30) 92 14 Spain Barcelona
8 3MF Mateo Kovačić (1994-05-06)6 May 1994 (aged 24) 41 1 Spain Real Madrid
9 4FW Andrej Kramarić (1991-06-19)19 June 1991 (aged 26) 31 9 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim
10 3MF Luka Modrić (captain) (1985-09-09)9 September 1985 (aged 32) 106 12 Spain Real Madrid
11 3MF Marcelo Brozović (1992-11-16)16 November 1992 (aged 25) 35 6 Italy Inter Milan
12 1GK Lovre Kalinić (1990-04-03)3 April 1990 (aged 28) 11 0 Belgium Gent
13 2DF Tin Jedvaj (1995-11-28)28 November 1995 (aged 22) 12 0 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
14 3MF Filip Bradarić (1992-01-11)11 January 1992 (aged 26) 4 0 Croatia Rijeka
15 2DF Duje Ćaleta-Car (1996-09-17)17 September 1996 (aged 21) 1 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
16 4FW Nikola Kalinić (1988-01-05)5 January 1988 (aged 30) 42 15 Italy Milan
17 4FW Mario Mandžukić (1986-05-21)21 May 1986 (aged 32) 83 30 Italy Juventus
18 4FW Ante Rebić (1993-09-21)21 September 1993 (aged 24) 16 1 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
19 3MF Milan Badelj (1989-02-25)25 February 1989 (aged 29) 38 1 Italy Fiorentina
20 4FW Marko Pjaca (1995-05-06)6 May 1995 (aged 23) 16 1 Germany Schalke 04
21 2DF Domagoj Vida (1989-04-29)29 April 1989 (aged 29) 59 2 Turkey Beşiktaş
22 2DF Josip Pivarić (1989-01-30)30 January 1989 (aged 29) 19 0 Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv
23 1GK Danijel Subašić (1984-10-27)27 October 1984 (aged 33) 38 0 France Monaco

Matches

Group stage

See also: 2018 FIFA World Cup Group D
Croatia 2–0 Nigeria
 Report
Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Attendance: 31,136[8]
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Argentina 0–3 Croatia
Report
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 43,319[9]
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Iceland 1–2 Croatia
 Report
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
Attendance: 43,472[10]
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Round of 16

Croatia 1–1 (a.e.t.) Denmark
 Report
Penalties
 3–2
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 40,851[11]
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Quarter-finals

Russia 2–2 (a.e.t.) Croatia
 Report
Penalties
 3–4
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Attendance: 44,287[12]
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)

Semi-finals

Croatia 2–1 (a.e.t.) England
 Report
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 78,011[13]
Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Final

See also: 2018 FIFA World Cup final
France 4–2 Croatia
 Report
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 78,011
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

Standings

Legend
Group winners and runners-up advanced to the round of 16

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Croatia 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Argentina 3 1 1 1 3 5 −2 4
3  Nigeria 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1 3
4  Iceland 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

References

  1. ^ "Čačić smijenjen, Zlatko Dalić novi je izbornik!" (in Croatian). vecernji.hr. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ The game was originally scheduled for 2 September, but due to heavy rains in Zagreb was postponed for the next day.
  3. ^ Ćorluka missed most of the qualifying matches due to injury.
  4. ^ Pjaca missed most of the qualifying matches due to injury.
  5. ^ hns-cff.hr (14 May 2018). "Izbornik hrvatske reprezentacije Zlatko Dalić objavio je danas širi popis od 32 igrača koji kandidiraju za nastup na FIFA Svjetskom prvenstvu u Rusiji ovoga ljeta". hns-cff.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Head coach Dalić presents 24-man Croatia squad". hns-cff.hr. Croatian Football Federation. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  7. ^ Radičević, Vlado (4 June 2018). "Zlatko Dalić donio najtežu odluku; višak postao igrač koji to sigurno nije očekivao" [Zlatko Dalić made the toughest decision; the surplus became a player who did not expect it]. Tportal.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Match report – Group D – Croatia v Nigeria" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Match report – Group D – Argentina v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Match report – Group D – Iceland v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Match report – Round of 16 – Croatia v Denmark" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Match report – Quarter-final – Russia v Croatia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 July 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Match report – Semi-final – Croatia v England" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

External links

Croatia at the FIFA World Cup
Countries at the FIFA World Cup by year
Categories