Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup: Team Profile

The Coach: Zlatko Dalic

Dalic takes charge of Croatia at a World Cup for the third time, having already guided the nation to its two greatest tournament achievements. He stepped in as coach in 2017 — initially without even a formal contract — and has since turned Croatia into one of international football's most consistent overachievers.

While he continues to lean on experienced heads like Luka Modric, Ivan Perišić and Andrej Kramarić, Dalic has been deliberately blooding younger talent during qualifying — including 18-year-old centre-back Luka Vušković and a clutch of players in their early twenties — to ensure the squad arriving in North America has both quality and freshness. "There are still seven months until the World Cup," he said. "It's up to the boys to fight. There will still be a lot of fighting for those 26 places."

Group Stage Fixtures

• June 17 — England vs Croatia, Dallas Stadium
• June 23 — Panama vs Croatia, Toronto Stadium
• June 27 — Croatia vs Ghana, Philadelphia Stadium

How They Qualified

Croatia were the dominant force in UEFA Group L, topping the table with seven wins and a draw from eight games — wrapping up qualification with a game to spare. Their 26 goals included a 7-0 demolition of Gibraltar and a 5-1 thrashing of Czechia. Kramarić led the scoring with six goals, while Perišić added four.

World Cup Record

Confederation

UEFA

Best finish

Runners-up (2018)

Last appearance

Qatar 2022 (third place)

First appearance

France 1998 (third place)

Total appearances

7 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026)

Overall record

P30 W13 D8 L9 F43 A33

World Cup History

1998 — A Dream Debut

Few nations have announced themselves on the world stage quite like Croatia did in France. A newly independent country barely out of the Balkan wars, they marched all the way to the semi-finals in their very first World Cup, beating Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals along the way. Davor Šuker was the tournament's standout striker, winning the Golden Boot with six goals. They were eventually edged out by the hosts France — thanks to two extraordinary goals from defender Lilian Thuram, the only international strikes of his 142-cap career — before beating the Netherlands to claim third place.

2018 — The Fairytale Final

Russia 2018 remains Croatia's greatest achievement. They stormed through the group stage, beating Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland, before surviving three consecutive extra-time or penalty shootout thrillers to reach the final. Mario Mandžukić's extra-time winner against England in the semis is one of the tournament's most celebrated moments. In the final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, France proved too strong, winning 4-2 in the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966 — but Croatia returned home to a hero's welcome, with over 500,000 people flooding the streets of Zagreb. "I still feel like we are all living our dreams," said Dalic.

2022 — Bronze Again

Croatia showed their resilience once more in Qatar, knocking out Japan and Brazil — both on penalties — before a brilliant Argentina side ended their run in the semis. They responded by beating Morocco 2-1 to claim third place for the second time. "This is bronze with a golden glow," said Dalic.

Top Scorers at the World Cup

Šuker and Perišić share the all-time scoring record for Croatia with six goals each. With Perišić still active at 36, he has a real chance to claim the record outright in North America.

Most Appearances

Modric leads all Croatian players with 19 World Cup appearances across four tournaments — a remarkable figure that puts him behind only Messi and Ronaldo among active players in the all-time list. Perišić sits just behind on 17.