Croatia U20

Nickname(s)	Mladi Vatreni (The Young Blazers)
Association	Croatian Football Federation (HNS)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Mladen Ivančić Sergej Milivojević
Most caps	Alen Maras (14)
Top scorer	Ahmad Sharbini (7)
FIFA code	CRO
First colours Second colours
First international
Slovenia 0–1 Croatia  (Brežice, Slovenia; 22 September 1994)
Biggest win
Hungary 0–6 Croatia  (Hungary; 5 September 1995)  Croatia 6-0 Italy  (Umag, Croatia; 15 March 2006)
Biggest defeat
Brazil 4–0 Croatia  (Calabar, Nigeria; 14 April 1999)  Slovenia 4–0 Croatia  (Brežice, Slovenia; 4 April 2006)  Croatia 0–4 Serbia  (Županja, Croatia; 22 May 2012)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1999)
Best result	Round of 16 (1999, 2013)
Website	hns-cff.hr

The Croatia national under-20 football team represents Croatia in international football matches for players 20 or under. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the Mladi vatreni ('Young Blazers'). So far, the Mladi vatreni qualified for three FIFA U-20 World Cups, namely in 1999, 2011 and 2013. The team's greatest accomplishment is passing the group stage at the 1999 and 2013 tournaments.

The U20 team is the de facto U19 of the previous year, and it acts mainly as a feeder team for the U21s and provides further international development for youth players. The team qualifies for the FIFA U-20 World Cup based on the success of the U19 at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.

History

The U20 national team was formed in 1994. The first match was played against the team of Austrian region Styria, and the first match against FIFA member was against Italy on 8 February 1995.

Croatia managed to qualify for 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup. That was the second appearance from the Croatian football team in the FIFA competition, after A team appeared on FIFA World Cup in France in 1998. They passed the group, then lost to Brazil by 4–0 in Round of 16.

On 24 July 2010, after trashing Portugal 5–0 in 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship group game, Croatia qualified for the semi-final. Also, it secured a spot in 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.

Another good performance by the U19 team at 2012 championship saw Croatia qualifying for the World Cup, this time held in Turkey in 2013.

Recent results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Croatia  v  China

1 June 2023 (2023-06-01) Friendly	Croatia	1–1	China	Velika Gorica, Croatia
	Ševelj 90+2'	Report	Zhu Qiwen 69'	Stadium: Stadion Radnik

Croatia  v  China

3 June 2023 (2023-06-03) Friendly	Croatia	4–1	China	Velika Gorica, Croatia
17:30	Šego 54' Barišić 68' Bušnja 82', 86'	Report	Zhu Yue 90+4'	Stadium: Stadion Radnik

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ognjen Vukojević
Assistant coaches	Mato Neretljak Mario Carević
Goalkeeping coach	Marjan Mrmić
Fitness coach	Ivan Krakan
Physiotherapists	Ivan Halambek
Doctors	Goran Madžarac
Chief instructor	Petar Krpan
Team manager	Denis Lukša

Current squad

The following is the squad named for friendly matches against China played on 1 and 3 June 2023.^[1]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Franko Kolić	(2003-02-07) 7 February 2003 (age 20)	4	0	Posušje
	1GK	Mislav Zadro	(2003-04-22) 22 April 2003 (age 20)	2	0	Aris Limassol
	1GK	Filip Kovačević	(2002-03-22) 22 March 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Cibalia
	2DF	Mateo Lisica	(2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 20)	2	0	Istra 1961
	2DF	Moris Valinčić	(2002-11-17) 17 November 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Istra 1961
	2DF	Vicko Ševelj	(2000-09-19) 19 September 2000 (age 23)	5	1	Radomlje
	2DF	Roko Jureškin	(2000-09-29) 29 September 2000 (age 23)	5	0	Pisa
	2DF	Krešimir Krizmanić	(2000-07-03) 3 July 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Gorica
	2DF	Maro Katinić	(2004-04-13) 13 April 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Bravo
	2DF	Ivan Smolčić	(2000-08-17) 17 August 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Rijeka
	2DF	Niko Galešić	(2001-03-26) 26 March 2001 (age 22)	6	0	Rijeka
	2DF	Luka Jelenić	(2000-05-24) 24 May 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Varaždin
	2DF	Nikola Soldo	(2001-01-25) 25 January 2001 (age 23)	2	0	1. FC Kaiserslautern
	3MF	Ante Palaversa	(2000-04-06) 6 April 2000 (age 23)	4	0	Troyes
	3MF	Ivan Ćubelić	(2003-06-02) 2 June 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Hajduk Split
	3MF	Luka Stojković	(2003-10-28) 28 October 2003 (age 20)	4	1	Dinamo Zagreb
	3MF	Adrian Liber	(2001-01-09) 9 January 2001 (age 23)	4	0	Rijeka
	3MF	Leon Belcar	(2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Varaždin
	3MF	Niko Janković	(2001-08-25) 25 August 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Rijeka
	4FW	Silvio Goričan	(2000-02-27) 27 February 2000 (age 23)	3	0	Lokomotiva Zagreb
	4FW	Ante Crnac	(2003-12-17) 17 December 2003 (age 20)	3	0	Raków Częstochowa
	4FW	Karlo Špeljak	(2003-03-14) 14 March 2003 (age 20)	5	0	Celje
	4FW	Bartol Barišić	(2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 21)	5	0	DAC Dunajská Streda
	4FW	Michele Šego	(2000-08-05) 5 August 2000 (age 23)	8	1	Varaždin
	4FW	Denis Bušnja	(2000-04-14) 14 April 2000 (age 23)	4	2	Rijeka

Competitive record

  Champions  
  Runners-up  
  Third place  
  Fourth place  
  Tournament played fully or partially on home soil  

Croatian under-20 team played most of its matches competing in a regional cup called Mirop Cup, also known as Cup Alpe-Adria, with groups of Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and teams of some Austrian and Hungarian regions. Croatia won that cup three times in a row, in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and ever after.

FIFA U-20 World Cup record

FIFA U-20 World Cup record											Qualifications record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1977	Part of  Yugoslavia
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993	Not a FIFA member
1995	Did not qualify										UEFA European Under-19 Championship						1994
1997																	1996
1999	Round of 16	14/24	4	1	2	1	6	6	1999								1998
2001	Did not qualify																2000
2003																	2002
2005																	2004
2007																	2006
2009																	2008
2011	Group stage	23/24	3	0	0	3	2	8	2011								2010
2013	Round of 16	11/24	4	2	1	1	4	4	2013								2012
2015	Did not qualify'																2014
2017																	2016
2019																	2018
2023																	2022
2025	To be determined																2024
Total	Round of 16	3/24	11	3	3	5	12	18

Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out; correct as of 3 July 2013 after the match against  Chile.

Matches
First match	Ghana 1–1 Croatia  (Kaduna, Nigeria; 4 April 1999)
Biggest win	Croatia 5–1 Kazakhstan  (Kaduna, Nigeria; 7 April 1999)
Biggest defeat	Brazil 4–0 Croatia  (Calabar, Nigeria; 14 April 1999)

Record per opponent

Correct as of 3 June 2023, after the match against  China.

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Albania	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Argentina	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Austria	1	1	0	0	5	2	+3	100.00
Belarus	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5	100.00
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	000.00
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
China	2	1	1	0	5	2	+3	050.00
Czech Republic	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	000.00
France	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Ghana	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Guatemala	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Hungary	14	10	2	2	35	17	+18	071.43
Italy	18	5	3	10	27	34	−7	027.78
Japan	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Kazakhstan	1	1	0	0	5	1	+4	100.00
Montenegro	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
New Zealand	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Nigeria	1	0	0	1	2	5	−3	000.00
Paraguay	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Qatar	3	1	1	1	4	4	+0	033.33
Russia	2	2	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Saudi Arabia	2	0	1	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Serbia	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	000.00
Slovakia	4	3	1	0	8	3	+5	075.00
Slovenia	24	16	5	3	52	23	+29	066.67
Switzerland	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	000.00
Turkey	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	033.33
United States	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	1	1	+0	100.00
Uzbekistan	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Vietnam	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Total: 31 teams played	98	49	19	30	169	130	+39	050.00