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Croatia national football team

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Croatia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Vatreni ("Fiery ones")
AssociationHrvatski nogometni savez
Head coachCroatia Slaven Bilić
Most capsDario Šimić (83)
Top scorerDavor Šuker (45)
FIFA codeCRO
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current21
Highest3 (January 1999)
Lowest125 (March 1994)
First international
Croatia Croatia 2–1 U.S.A. United States
(Zagreb, Croatia; 17 October, 1990)
(but see text)
Biggest win
Croatia Croatia 7–0 Australia Australia
(Zagreb, Croatia; 6 June 1998)
Biggest defeat
Slovakia Slovakia 4–1 Croatia Croatia
(Bratislava, Slovakia; 20 April 1994)
Portugal Portugal 3–0 Croatia Croatia
(Nottingham, England; 19 June 1996)
France France 3–0 Croatia Croatia
(Saint-Denis, France; 13 November 1999)
(but see text)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1998)
Best resultThird place, 1998
European Championship
Appearances2 (first in 1996)
Best resultQuarterfinals, 1996

The Croatian national football team has played since Croatia's independence in 1990–92 and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation.

The team played in their first major tournament in 1996 and have been a strong force in international football ever since, finishing third in the 1998 World Cup, led by Golden Boot winner Davor Šuker. They have qualified for every World Cup that they have entered as an independent nation.

Between October 17, 1990 and June 22, 2006, Croatia has played 148 international games and had 72 victories, 45 draws and 31 losses. The team has been FIFA's "Best Mover of the Year" in 1994 and 1998, and have been more volatile in the FIFA World Rankings than any other nation, having been rated as high as third, and as low as 125th.

Earlier history

Football was played in Croatia from the beginning of the 20th century, but before the 1990s the country was not independent. Before that, the players from Croatia participated in the teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1919–39), Banovina of Croatia (1939–41), Independent State of Croatia (1941–45) and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–90).

For the Yugoslav periods, see Yugoslavia national football team.

Due to political circumstances in Kingdom of Yugoslavia shortly before World War II, Croatian sports teams were allowed to compete under Croatian flag, so the first international of Croatia could be considered a 4–0 victory over Switzerland played in Zagreb on 2 April, 1940.

World Cup record

  • 1930 to 1990 - Was part of Yugoslavia
  • 1994 - Did not enter, was not a full FIFA member until July 1992
  • 1998 - Third place
  • 2002 - First round (Third place in Group G)
  • 2006 - First round (Third place in Group F)

European Championship record

Famous past players

Current Squad (Euro '08 Qualifiers)

This is the 25-man squad chosen for Croatia's match against Russia. AZ Alkmaar's goalkeeper Joseph Anthony Didulica and Juventus defender Igor Tudor are injured while Dario Šimić and Josip Šimunić are both included eventhough they can't play because of suspension.

Goalkeepers

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Stipe Pletikosa January 8, 1979 54 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
12 1GK Vedran Runje February 10, 1976 0 0 Turkey Beşiktaş JK
23 1GK Mario Galinović November 15, 1976 0 0 Greece Panathinaikos

Defenders

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
2 2DF Dario Šimić November 12, 1975 83 3 Italy AC Milan
13 2DF Goran Sablić October 8, 1979 19 0 Ukraine Dynamo Kiev
20 2DF Anthony Šerić January 15, 1979 15 0 Greece Panathinaikos
4 2DF Robert Kovač April 16, 1974 58 0 Italy Juventus
3 2DF Josip Šimunić February 18, 1978 46 3 Germany Hertha Berlin
15 2DF Dario Knežević April 20, 1982 2 1 Italy A.S. Livorno Calcio
5 2DF Vedran Ćorluka February 5, 1986 2 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
6 2DF Hrvoje Vejić June 8, 1977 0 0 Russia FC Tom' Tomsk

Midfielders

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
10 3MF Niko Kovač October 15, 1971 62 9 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
16 3MF Jerko Leko April 9, 1980 39 2 France AS Monaco FC
8 3MF Marko Babić January 28, 1981 36 3 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
11 3MF Darijo Srna May 1, 1982 40 10 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
7 3MF Milan Rapaić August 16, 1973 46 5 Belgium Standard Liege
19 3MF Niko Kranjčar August 13, 1984 25 3 England Portsmouth FC
14 3MF Luka Modrić September 9, 1985 8 1 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
25 3MF Danijel Pranjić December 2, 1981 2 0 Netherlands SC Heerenveen
24 3MF Marijan Buljat September 12, 1981 1 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb

Strikers

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
17 4FW Ivan Klasnić January 29, 1980 24 7 Germany Werder Bremen
21 4FW Mladen Petrić January 1, 1981 9 1 Switzerland FC Basel
18 4FW Ivica Olić September 14, 1979 40 6 Russia PFC CSKA Moscow
9 4FW Boško Balaban October 15, 1978 27 9 Belgium Club Brugge
22 4FW Eduardo Da Silva February 25, 1983 6 2 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb

2006 World Cup squad

Head coach: Zlatko Kranjčar

Caps correct as of June 22, 2006

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Stipe Pletikosa 8 January 1979 53 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
2 3MF Darijo Srna 1 May 1982 39 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
3 2DF Josip Šimunić 18 February 1978 45 Germany Hertha Berlin
4 2DF Robert Kovač 6 April 1974 58 Italy Juventus
5 2DF Igor Tudor 16 April 1978 55 Italy Juventus
6 3MF Jurica Vranješ 31 January 1980 24 Germany Werder Bremen
7 2DF Dario Šimić 12 November 1975 83 Italy A.C. Milan
8 3MF Marko Babić 28 January 1981 36 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
9 4FW Dado Pršo 5 November 1974 32 Scotland Rangers F.C.
10 3MF Niko Kovač 15 October 1971 61 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
11 2DF Mario Tokić 23 July 1975 28 Austria FK Austria Wien
12 1GK Joey Didulica 14 October 1977 4 Netherlands AZ Alkmaar
13 2DF Stjepan Tomas 6 March 1976 49 Turkey Galatasaray
14 3MF Luka Modrić 9 September 1985 7 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
15 3MF Ivan Leko 7 February 1978 13 Belgium Club Brugge
16 3MF Jerko Leko 9 April 1980 38 France AS Monaco
17 4FW Ivan Klasnić 29 January 1980 23 Germany Werder Bremen
18 4FW Ivica Olić 14 September 1979 39 Russia CSKA Moscow
19 3MF Niko Kranjčar 13 August 1984 24 Croatia Hajduk Split
20 3MF Anthony Šerić 15 January 1979 14 Greece Panathinaikos
21 4FW Boško Balaban 15 October 1978 27 Belgium Club Brugge
22 4FW Ivan Bošnjak 6 February 1979 14 Belgium KRC Genk
23 1GK Tomislav Butina 30 March 1974 28 Greece Olympiacos

Team captain: Niko Kovač

2006 World Cup Information

For more in-depth information, see Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Croatia finished third in their group, amassing only 2 points, while second place Australia had 4. They did not advance.

Other current players

The following players weren't among the 24 called up to the 2006 World Cup, but are slated to play for the national team by the current coach.

Coaches

Past squads and campaigns

Famous matches

Maksimir Stadium (30,000 spectators) - Zagreb, 17 October 1990 - friendly match


Estadio Mestalla (40,000) - Valencia, 23 March 1994 - friendly match


Stadio Renzo Barbera (39,000) - Palermo, 16 November 1994 - Euro '96 qualifying match


City Ground (20,000) - Nottingham, 11 June 1996 - Euro '96 first round match


Hillsborough Stadium (30,000) - Sheffield, 16 June 1996 - Euro '96 first round match


Old Trafford (36,000) - Manchester, 23 June 1996 - Euro '96 quarterfinal match


Toumba Stadium (35,000) - Thessaloniki, 30 April 1997 - World Cup '98 qualifying match


Olimpiysky stadion (77,500) - Kiev, 15 November 1997 - World Cup '98 play-off match


Stade Félix Bollaert (40,000) - Lens, 14 June 1998 - World Cup '98 first round match


Stade de la Beaujoire (39,500) - Nantes, 20 June 1998 - World Cup '98 first round match


Stade Gerland (50,000) - Lyon, 4 July 1998 - World Cup '98 quarterfinal match


Stade de France (80,000) - Paris, 8 July 1998 - World Cup '98 semifinal match


Parc des Princes (50,000) - Paris, 11 July 1998 - World Cup '98 third place match


Stadion Crvena Zvezda (47,000) - Belgrade, 18 August 1999 - Euro 2000 qualifying match


Maksimir Stadium (35,000) - Zagreb, 6 October 2001 - World Cup '02 qualifying match


Kashima Stadium (36,500) - Ibaraki, 8 June 2002 - World Cup '02 first round match


Maksimir Stadium (25,000) - Zagreb, 12 October 2002 - Euro '04 qualifying match


Stadion Bežigrad (10,000) - Ljubljana, 19 November 2003 - Euro '04 play-off match


Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa (29,000) - Leiria, 17 June 2004 - Euro '04 first round match


Poljud Stadium (30,000) - Split, 17 August 2005 - friendly match


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