Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

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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.

Contents

Qualifying

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

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Iceland.svgFlag of Croatia.svgFlag of Ukraine.svgFlag of Turkey.svgFlag of Finland.svgFlag of Kosovo.svg
1Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 10712167+922Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 2–0
2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 10622154+1120Advance to second round 2–0 — 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0
3Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 10523139+417 1–1 0–2 — 2–0 1–0 3–0
4Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 104331413+115 0–3 1–0 2–2 — 2–0 2–0
5Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 10235913−49 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 — 1–1
6Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 10019324−211 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 (2016-9-5) Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg1–1Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Zagreb, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Rakitić Soccerball shade.svg44' (pen.) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		 Çalhanoğlu Soccerball shade.svg45+3'Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 0
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
6 October 2016 (2016-10-6) Kosovo  Flag of Kosovo.svg0–6Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Shkodër, Albania
20:45 (UTC+2) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		 Mandžukić Soccerball shade.svg6', 24', 35'
Mitrović Soccerball shade.svg68'
Perišić Soccerball shade.svg83'
Kalinić Soccerball shade.svg90+2'		Stadium: Loro Boriçi Stadium
Attendance: 14,612
Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (Spain)
9 October 2016 (2016-10-9) Finland  Flag of Finland.svg0–1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Tampere, Finland
19:00 (UTC+3) Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		 Mandžukić Soccerball shade.svg18'Stadium: Tampere Stadium
Attendance: 15,567
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)
12 November 2016 (2016-11-12) Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg2–0Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland Zagreb, Croatia
18:00 (UTC+1) Brozović Soccerball shade.svg15', 90+1' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 0
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
24 March 2017 (2017-03-24) Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg1–0Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Zagreb, Croatia
20:45 (UTC+1) Kalinić Soccerball shade.svg38' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		Stadium: Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Attendance: 27,351
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
11 June 2017 (2017-6-11) Iceland  Flag of Iceland.svg1–0Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Reykjavík, Iceland
20:45
(18:45 UTC±0)		 Magnússon Soccerball shade.svg90' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
3 September 2017 (2017-9-3) [2] Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg1–0Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo Zagreb, Croatia
14:30
(14:30 UTC+2)		 Vida Soccerball shade.svg74' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		Stadium: Stadion Maksimir
Attendance: 6,838
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)
5 September 2017 (2017-9-5) Turkey  Flag of Turkey.svg1–0Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Eskişehir, Turkey
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)
 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		Stadium: New Eskişehir Stadium
Attendance: 28,600
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
6 October 2017 (2017-10-6) Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg1–1Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Rijeka, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Mandžukić Soccerball shade.svg57' Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		 Soiri Soccerball shade.svg90'Stadium: Stadion Rujevica
Attendance: 7,578
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (Poland)
9 October 2017 (2017-10-9) Ukraine  Flag of Ukraine.svg0–2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Kyiv, Ukraine
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ‍]		 Kramarić Soccerball shade.svg62'Soccerball shade.svg70'Stadium: Olympic Stadium
Attendance: 60,200
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
The results of the second-round play-off
9 November 2017 (2017-11-9) Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg4–1Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Zagreb, Croatia
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)
 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) 		Papastathopoulos Soccerball shade.svg30'Stadium: Stadion Maksimir
Attendance: 30,013
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
12 November 2017 (2017-11-12) Greece  Flag of Greece.svg0–0
(1–4 agg.)		Flag of Croatia.svg  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

#NameGames playedGoals
1 Domagoj Vida 121
2 Mario Mandžukić 115
Marcelo Brozović 112
Andrej Kramarić 113
Ivan Perišić 111
6 Danijel Subašić 100
Šime Vrsaljko 100
Luka Modrić 100
9 Nikola Kalinić 92
Milan Badelj 90
Josip Pivarić 90
12 Ivan Rakitić 81
13 Mateo Kovačić 70
14 Matej Mitrović 61
Dejan Lovren 60
16 Marko Rog 50
17 Duje Čop 40
18 Ivan Strinić 30
Vedran Ćorluka [3] 30
Mario Pašalić 30
21 Lovre Kalinić 20
Tin Jedvaj 20
Ante Rebić 20
24 Marko Pjaca [4] 10
Ivan Santini 10
Nikola Vlašić 10

Source: Croatian Football Federation

Player was not selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad

World Cup preparation

23 March 2018 Friendly match Peru  Flag of Peru.svg2–0Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Miami, United States
01:00 (UTC+1) Carrillo Soccerball shade.svg12'
Flores Soccerball shade.svg48'
Yoshimar Yotun Yellow card.svg 57' Yellow-red card.svg 75'		 Report Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium
Attendance: 46,893
Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
27 March 2018 Friendly match Mexico  Flag of Mexico.svg0–1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Dallas, United States
04:00 (UTC+1) Report Rakitić Soccerball shade.svg62' (pen.)Stadium: AT&T Stadium
Attendance: 79,128
Referee: Mario Alberto Escobar (Guatemala)
3 June 2018 Friendly match Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg0–2Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil Liverpool, England
16:00 (UTC+1) Report Neymar Soccerball shade.svg69'
Firmino Soccerball shade.svg90+4'		Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 36,584
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
8 June 2018 Friendly match Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg2–1Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal Osijek, Croatia
18:00 (UTC+2) Perišić Soccerball shade.svg63'
Kramarić Soccerball shade.svg78'		 Report Sarr Soccerball shade.svg48'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.PlayerDate of birth (age)CapsGoalsClub
11 GK Dominik Livaković (1995-01-09)9 January 1995 (aged 23)10 Flag of Croatia.svg Dinamo Zagreb
22 DF Šime Vrsaljko (1992-01-10)10 January 1992 (aged 26)350 Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid
32 DF Ivan Strinić (1987-07-17)17 July 1987 (aged 30)430 Flag of Italy.svg Sampdoria
44 FW Ivan Perišić (1989-02-02)2 February 1989 (aged 29)6618 Flag of Italy.svg Inter Milan
52 DF Vedran Ćorluka (1986-02-05)5 February 1986 (aged 32)994 Flag of Russia.svg Lokomotiv Moscow
62 DF Dejan Lovren (1989-07-05)5 July 1989 (aged 28)392 Flag of England.svg Liverpool
73 MF Ivan Rakitić (1988-03-10)10 March 1988 (aged 30)9214 Flag of Spain.svg Barcelona
83 MF Mateo Kovačić (1994-05-06)6 May 1994 (aged 24)411 Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
94 FW Andrej Kramarić (1991-06-19)19 June 1991 (aged 26)319 Flag of Germany.svg 1899 Hoffenheim
103 MF Luka Modrić (captain) (1985-09-09)9 September 1985 (aged 32)10612 Flag of Spain.svg Real Madrid
113 MF Marcelo Brozović (1992-11-16)16 November 1992 (aged 25)356 Flag of Italy.svg Inter Milan
121 GK Lovre Kalinić (1990-04-03)3 April 1990 (aged 28)110 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Gent
132 DF Tin Jedvaj (1995-11-28)28 November 1995 (aged 22)120 Flag of Germany.svg Bayer Leverkusen
143 MF Filip Bradarić (1992-01-11)11 January 1992 (aged 26)40 Flag of Croatia.svg Rijeka
152 DF Duje Ćaleta-Car (1996-09-17)17 September 1996 (aged 21)10 Flag of Austria.svg Red Bull Salzburg
164 FW Nikola Kalinić (1988-01-05)5 January 1988 (aged 30)4215 Flag of Italy.svg Milan
174 FW Mario Mandžukić (1986-05-21)21 May 1986 (aged 32)8330 Flag of Italy.svg Juventus
184 FW Ante Rebić (1993-09-21)21 September 1993 (aged 24)161 Flag of Germany.svg Eintracht Frankfurt
193 MF Milan Badelj (1989-02-25)25 February 1989 (aged 29)381 Flag of Italy.svg Fiorentina
204 FW Marko Pjaca (1995-05-06)6 May 1995 (aged 23)161 Flag of Germany.svg Schalke 04
212 DF Domagoj Vida (1989-04-29)29 April 1989 (aged 29)592 Flag of Turkey.svg Beşiktaş
222 DF Josip Pivarić (1989-01-30)30 January 1989 (aged 29)190 Flag of Ukraine.svg Dynamo Kyiv
231 GK Danijel Subašić (1984-10-27)27 October 1984 (aged 33)380 Flag of France.svg Monaco

Matches

Group stage

Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svg 2–0 Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Report
Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Attendance: 31,136 [8]
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
Argentina  Flag of Argentina.svg 0–3 Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Report
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Attendance: 43,319 [9]
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
Iceland  Flag of Iceland.svg 1–2 Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
Report
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
Attendance: 43,472 [10]
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

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

Final

France  Flag of France (lighter variant).svg 4–2 Flag of Croatia.svg  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

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 330071+69Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 311135−24
3Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 310234−13
4Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 301225−31
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.
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