Silver medalists of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. What is known about the Croatian national team

Croatia's national football team, led by Zlatko Dalic, will kick off the World Cup (2026 World Cup) on June 17 with a match against England in Arlington (USA). Veteran and team captain Luka Modric will play at his fifth World Cup at the age of 40. The Croats, silver medalists of the 2018 World Cup and bronze medal winners in 2022, are once again considered one of the most inconvenient teams for the favorites. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Group and match schedule

During the draw for the tournament, the Croatian national team advanced to Group L, where the teams of England, Panama, and Ghana competed. The Croats will play their first match at the World Cup this Wednesday, June 17, against England, with the match scheduled to start at 23:00 Moscow time. Dalic's wards will meet with the Panamanian team on June 24 at 02:00 Moscow time, and the Checkers will play with Ghana on June 28 at 00:00 Moscow time. In the group stage, the first and second place teams enter the World Cup playoffs, and the eight best teams that took third place in their groups are also possible to qualify.

How Croatia qualified for the tournament

Croatia confidently qualified, taking first place in its qualifying group with an impressive result: seven wins and one draw in eight matches, with a goal difference of 26.:4. The team did not suffer a single defeat in the qualifying round. Hoffenheim striker Andrei Kramaric became the Croats' top scorer in qualifying, scoring six goals. The Croats received a ticket to the World Cup on November 14, 2025.

The composition of the Croatian national team

Croatia's final list for the 2026 World Cup includes 26 players competing in both the local championship and major European tournaments. The main stars of the Croats are Milan midfielder Modric, Manchester City defender Josko Guardiola and Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanisic. Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Mario Pashalic (Atalanta) and Nikola Vlasic (Torino), who previously played for CSKA Moscow, will play in the middle line. Ivan Perisic (PSV), Andrei Kramaric (Hoffenheim) and Ante Budimir (Osasuna) are still veterans of the national team.

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The coach of the team and the history of performances

Dalic has been in charge of the national team since 2017 and is leading the team to its third consecutive World Cup. Under his leadership, Croatia has achieved the best results in history: the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 World Cup bronze. Croatia has been participating in the World Championships since 1998 and has only missed one tournament, in 2010. Best achievements: silver in 2018, bronze in 1998 and 2022. The best scorers in the history of the national team at the World Cup are Ivan Perisic and Davor Shuker (six goals each). In addition, in 2023, the Croats reached the final of the UEFA Nations League, where they lost to the Spanish national team.

The team's prospects for the tournament

Despite the fact that there are many age-old players in the Croatian national team (the average age of the team is 27.7 years), the Checkers have repeatedly shown their abilities on the international stage. The team's veterans continue to show a high level of play in their clubs, and their experience can be a crucial factor in the team's results at the 2026 World Cup. At the same time, Dalic's players have a number of young players who reach a high level of play. The team also had a balance of experienced and young players at previous world Cups, which showed a high result.

Despite the fact that the Croatian national team plays more pragmatic football, it is always interesting to watch this team, since the "checkers" are able to give out the "match of life" and achieve high results. Therefore, Croats should never be written off in the fight for medals, and at the 2026 World Cup they will compete for the highest places.