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At the 1998 FIFA World Cup Croatia participated in the event for the first time. The country went on to finish third.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
At the 1998 FIFA World Cup Croatia participated in the event for the first time. The country went on to finish third.
Croatia was drawn in Group A of UEFA's World Cup qualifications along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia. Croatia finished second, behind Denmark, and qualified for the World Cup. The team had the following results:
| Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score |
| October 8, 1996 | Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4:1 |
| November 10, 1996 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb | Greece | 1:1 |
| March 29, 1997 | Poljud Stadium, Split | Denmark | 1:1 |
| April 2, 1997 | Poljud Stadium, Split | Slovenia | 3:3 |
| April 30, 1997 | Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki | Greece | 1:0 |
| September 6, 1997 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3:2 |
| September 10, 1997 | Parken Stadium, Copenhagen | Denmark | 1:3 |
| October 11, 1997 | Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana | Slovenia | 3:1 |
The final standings were the following:
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Denmark | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 |
 Croatia | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 5 |
 Greece | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 7 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -5 |
 Slovenia | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 20 | -15 |
Team captain Zvonimir Boban is the only players that appeared in all 10 qualifying matches. Davor Šuker was top scorer with 5 goals. Ardian Kozniku, Petar Krpan, Anthony Šerić and Vladimir Vasilj 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 | Zvonimir Boban | 10 | 3 |
| 2 | Davor Šuker | 9 | 5 |
| Alen Bokšić | 9 | 4 | |
| Slaven Bilić | 9 | 3 | |
| Aljoša Asanović | 9 | 0 | |
| 6 | Goran Vlaović | 8 | 2 |
| Robert Jarni | 8 | 0 | |
| 8 | Zvonimir Soldo | 7 | 1 |
| Dario Šimić | 7 | 1 | |
| Goran Jurić | 7 | 0 | |
| Dražen Ladić | 7 | 0 | |
| 12 | Robert Prosinečki | 6 | 1 |
| Igor Cvitanović | 6 | 0 | |
| 14 | Nikola Jerkan | 4 | 0 |
| Krunoslav Jurčić | 4 | 0 | |
| 16 | Silvio Marić | 3 | 1 |
| Niko Kovač | 3 | 0 | |
| Marjan Mrmić | 3 | 0 | |
| Igor Štimac | 3 | 0 | |
| 20 | Tomislav Erceg | 2 | 0 |
| Tonči Gabrić | 2 | 0 | |
| Nenad Pralija | 2 | 0 | |
| Mario Stanić | 2 | 0 | |
| 24 | Nikola Jurčević | 1 | 0 |
| Zoran Mamić | 1 | 0 | |
| Daniel Šarić | 1 | 0 | |
| Igor Tudor | 1 | 0 |
Source: Croatian Football Federation
| Player was not selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad |
Head coach: Miroslav Blažević
At the World Cup, Croatia was drawn into Group H along with Argentina, Jamaica, Japan. The team advanced to the round of sixteen, finishing in second place in the group. The team had the following results:
|
|
June 14, 1998
Jamaica  | 1 - 3 (1-1) | Croatia | 21:00 - Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Ref: Vítor Pereira (Portugal) Attendance: 38,058 |
| Earle 45' | Stanić 27' | ||
| Prosinečki 53' | |||
| Šuker 69' |
June 20, 1998
Japan  | 0 - 1 (0-0) | Croatia | 14:30 - Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Ref: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago) Attendance: 35,500 |
| Šuker 77' | |||
June 26, 1998
Argentina  | 1 - 0 (1-0) | Croatia | 16:00 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Said Belqola (Morocco) Attendance: 31,800 |
| Pineda 36' |
Croatia went on to face the Romanian squad in the round of sixteen.
June 30, 1998
Romania  | 0 - 1 (0-1) | Croatia | 16:30 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Javier Castrilli (Argentina) Attendance: 31,800 |
| Šuker (p) 45'+2' |
Croatia then played the heavily favoured German squad in the quarter-finals after their victory over Romania.
July 4, 1998
Germany  | 0 - 3 (0-1) | Croatia | 21:00 - Stade Gerland, Lyon Ref: Rune Pedersen (Norway) Attendance: 39,100 |
| Jarni 45'+3' | |||
| Vlaović 80' | |||
| Šuker 85' |
After this surprise victory, Croatia played the host French team.
July 8, 1998
France  | 2 - 1 (0-0) | Croatia | 21:00 - Stade de France, Saint-Denis Ref: José Garcia Aranda (Spain) Attendance: 76,000 |
| Thuram 47' | Šuker 46' | ||
| Thuram 69' |
Croatia lost the match against France, ending their World Cup dreams. However, they entered the third place consolation match against the Netherlands.
July 11, 1998
Netherlands  | 1 - 2 (1-2) | Croatia | 21:00 - Parc des Princes, Paris Ref: Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay) Attendance: 45,500 |
| Zenden 21' | Prosinečki 13' | ||
| Šuker 35' |
With this victory, Croatia finished in third, becoming the surprise of the tournament. Striker Davor Šuker also earned the tournament's Golden Boot for his six goals. [1]
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