Croatia national football team

Croatia

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	Vatreni ("The Blazers")
Association	Hrvatski nogometni savez
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Slaven Bilić
Captain	Niko Kovač
Most caps	Dario Šimić (98)
Top scorer	Davor Šuker (45)
FIFA code	CRO
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	15
Highest	3 (January 1999)
Lowest	125 (March 1994)
First international
Croatia 4–0 Switzerland (Zagreb, Yugoslavia; 2 April, 1940)
Biggest win
Croatia 7–0 Australia (Zagreb, Croatia; 6 June 1998) Croatia 7–0 Andorra (Zagreb, Croatia; 7 October 2006)
Biggest defeat
Germany 5–1 Croatia (Vienna, Nazi Germany; 15 June 1941) Germany 5–1 Croatia (Stuttgart, Nazi Germany; 1 November 1942)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 1998)
Best result	Third place, 1998
European Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 1996)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1996, 2008

The Croatian national football team represents Croatia in international matches and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation. The current team has been in existence since 1990 and was recognised by FIFA and UEFA in the summer of 1992, one year after Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia. Previous Croat national teams have played 19 freindly matches, between 1940 and 1944.

The team played their first competitive matches in the qualifying campaign for the Euro 1996 and qualified for the finals to make their first appearance in a major international tournament. They 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.

The team was FIFA's "Best Mover of the Year" in 1994 and 1998, are the only team to win the title more than once 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 (though this low rating was only because Croatia were not ranked prior to their independence, and it therefore took some time to build up points when they started playing independently). They are still undefeated in all competitive matches they played on home soil since 1994. They also qualified for both 2002 and 2006 World Cups without losing a qualifying match.

Prior Croatian teams

See also: Yugoslavia national football team and Croatia national football team games - 1940s

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Football was played in Croatia from the beginning of the 20th century, but until the 1990s the country was not independent in its current form.

Before full independence, players from Croatia had participated in the national teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1919–39) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–90).

In 1940, a non-FIFA recognised team played four freindly matches, two against Switzerland, and two against Hungary, as the team of the Banovina of Croatia. As such, the first international of Croatia could be considered a 4–0 victory over Switzerland played in Zagreb on 2 April, 1940.

Following invasion by the axis powers, between 1941 and 1944, a Croatian team played fifteen friendly matches as the Independent State of Croatia. The last fourteen were as a FIFA member.

Current team

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1990 - Was part of Yugoslavia
• 1994 - Could not enter, was not a full FIFA member until July 1992

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1998	Third place	3	7	5	0	2	11	5
2002	Round 1	23	3	1	0	2	2	3
2006	Round 1	22	3	0	2	1	2	3
Total	3/3	-	13	6	2	5	15	11

European Championship record

• 1960 to 1990 - Was part of Yugoslavia
• 1992 - Could not enter, was not a full FIFA member until July 1992

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1996	Quarter Finals	4	2	0	2	5	5
2000	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2004	Round 1	3	0	2	1	4	6
2008	Quarter Finals	2	2	0	0	3	1
2012		-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	3/4	9	4	2	3	12	12

Minor tournaments

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1996 King Hassan II Tournament	Winners	1	2	0	2	0	3	3
1997 Kirin Cup	Group stage	2	2	0	1	1	4	5
1999 Korea Cup	Winners	1	3	1	2	0	5	4
2006 Carlsberg Cup	Third place	3	2	1	0	1	4	2
Total	-	2 Titles	9	2	5	2	16	14

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Famous past players

LADIĆ ŠTIMAC BILIĆ ŠIMIĆ STANIĆ JARNI SOLDO (PROSINEČKI) ASANOVIĆ BOBAN (c) VLAOVIĆ ŠUKER

Croatia 3-5-2 lineup during the 1998 FIFA World Cup

• Aljoša Asanović
• Slaven Bilić
• Zvonimir Boban
• Alen Bokšić
• Robert Jarni
• Dražen Ladić
• Robert Prosinečki
• Dado Pršo
• Zvonimir Soldo
• Mario Stanić
• Igor Štimac
• Davor Šuker
• Goran Vlaović

Managers

Name	Tenure	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Points per game	Tournaments
Dražan Jerković	1990–1991	3	3	0	0	100.00	3.00
Stanko Poklepović	1992	4	1	1	2	25.00	1.00
Vlatko Marković	1993	1	1	0	0	100.00	3.00
Miroslav Blažević	1994–2000	73	36	22	15	49.31	1.78	1996 Euro, 1998 World Cup
Mirko Jozić	2000–2002	18	9	6	3	50.00	1.83	2002 World Cup
Otto Barić	2002–2004	24	11	8	5	45.83	1.70	2004 Euro
Zlatko Kranjčar	2004–2006	25	11	8	6	44.00	1.64	2006 World Cup
Slaven Bilić	2006–present	22	16	4	2	76.19	2.47	2008 Euro
Totals		170	88	49	33	51.76	1.84

Last updated: Croatia 2–1 Germany, 12 June 2008. Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Top appearances

#	Name	Clubs*	Croatia career	Caps	Goals
1	Dario Šimić	Dinamo Zagreb, Internazionale, AC Milan	1996–present	98	3
2	Robert Jarni	Hajduk Split, Bari, Torino, Juventus, Real Betis, Real Madrid, Las Palmas, Panathinaikos	1990–2002	81	1
3	Niko Kovač	Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, Bayern Munich, Hertha Berlin, Red Bull Salzburg	1996–present	79	14
4	Robert Kovač	Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund	1999–present	76	0
5	Stipe Pletikosa	Hajduk Split, Shakhtar Donetsk, Spartak Moscow	1999–present	71	0
6	Davor Šuker	Dinamo Zagreb, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Arsenal, West Ham United, 1860 Munich	1990–2002	69	45
7	Josip Šimunić	Hertha Berlin	2001–present	64	3
8	Aljoša Asanović	Metz, Cannes, Montpellier, Hajduk Split, Real Valladolid, Derby County, Napoli, Panathinaikos	1990–2000	62	4
9	Zvonimir Soldo	Dinamo Zagreb, VfB Stuttgart	1994–2002	61	3
10	Dražen Ladić	Dinamo Zagreb	1990–2000	59	0

*Only clubs played for while receiving caps are listed. Players in bold typeface are still active in football. Last updated: Croatia 2–1 Germany, 12 June 2008.

Top goalscorers

#	Name	Croatia career	Caps	Goals	Average
1	Davor Šuker	1990–2002	69	45	0.65
2	Goran Vlaović	1992–2002	52	16	0.30
3	Darijo Srna	2002–present	57	16	0.28
4	Niko Kovač	1996–present	79	14	0.17
5	Eduardo da Silva	2004–present	22	13	0.59
6	Zvonimir Boban	1991–1999	51	12	0.23
7	Robert Prosinečki	1993–2002	49	11	0.22
=8	Alen Bokšić	1993–2002	40	10	0.25
=8	Boško Balaban	2000–present	35	10	0.28
=8	Ivica Olić	2002–present	56	10	0.17
=11	Dado Pršo	2003–2006	32	9	0.28
=11	Mladen Petrić	2001–present	25	9	0.36

Last updated: Croatia 2–1 Germany, 12 June 2008.

Current Squad

Staff

Head Coach Slaven Bilić

Assistant Coaches Aljoša Asanović Nikola Jurčević Robert Prosinečki

Goalkeeper Coach Marijan Mrmić

Team (caps correct as of June 12, 2008)

EURO 2008 squad
Date announced	05 May2008

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Stipe Pletikosa	(1979-01-08) 8 January 1979	71	0	Spartak Moscow
12	1GK	Mario Galinović	(1976-11-15) 15 November 1976	2	0	Panathinaikos
23	1GK	Vedran Runje	(1976-02-10) 10 February 1976	4	0	RC Lens
2	2DF	Dario Šimić (vice-captain)	(1975-11-12) 12 November 1975	98	3	AC Milan
3	2DF	Josip Šimunić	(1978-02-18) 18 February 1978	64	3	Hertha Berlin
4	2DF	Robert Kovač (vice-captain)	(1974-04-06) 6 April 1974	76	0	Borussia Dortmund
5	2DF	Vedran Ćorluka	(1986-02-06) 6 February 1986	22	0	Manchester City
6	2DF	Hrvoje Vejić	(1977-06-08) 8 June 1977	2	0	Tom Tomsk
15	2DF	Dario Knežević	(1982-04-20) 20 April 1982	9	1	Livorno
7	3MF	Ivan Rakitić	(1988-03-10) 10 March 1988	9	1	Schalke 04
8	3MF	Ognjen Vukojević	(1983-12-20) 20 December 1983	6	1	Dynamo Kyiv
10	3MF	Niko Kovač (captain)	(1971-10-15) 15 October 1971	79	14	Red Bull Salzburg
11	3MF	Darijo Srna	(1982-05-01) 1 May 1982	57	16	Shakhtar Donetsk
13	3MF	Nikola Pokrivač	(1985-11-26) 26 November 1985	1	0	AS Monaco
14	3MF	Luka Modrić	(1985-09-09) 9 September 1985	28	4	Tottenham Hotspur
16	3MF	Jerko Leko	(1980-04-09) 9 April 1980	53	2	AS Monaco
19	3MF	Niko Kranjčar	(1984-08-13) 13 August 1984	43	6	Portsmouth
22	3MF	Danijel Pranjić	(1981-12-02) 2 December 1981	13	0	Heerenveen
9	4FW	Nikola Kalinić	(1988-01-05) 5 January 1988	1	0	Hajduk Split
17	4FW	Ivan Klasnić	(1980-01-28) 28 January 1980	29	8	Werder Bremen
18	4FW	Ivica Olić	(1979-09-14) 14 September 1979	56	10	Hamburger SV
20	4FW	Igor Budan	(1980-04-22) 22 April 1980	6	0	Parma
21	4FW	Mladen Petrić	(1981-01-01) 1 January 1981	26	9	Borussia Dortmund

Recent Call Ups

The following players have been called up to the Croatia squad in 2008.

Goalkeepers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Marin Skender	August 12 1976	Osijek	0 (0)	v. Scotland, 26 March, 2008

Defenders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Manuel Pamić	August 20 1986	Red Bull Salzburg	0 (0)	Euro 2008 provisional squad

Midfielders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Marko Babić	January 28, 1981	Real Betis	49 (3)	v. Netherlands, 6 February, 2008
Jurica Vranješ	January 30, 1980	Werder Bremen	26 (0)	v. Netherlands, 6 February, 2008
Anas Sharbini	February 21, 1986	Rijeka	0 (0)	Euro 2008 provisional squad

Strikers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Eduardo da Silva	February 25, 1983	Arsenal	22 (13)	v. Netherlands, 6 February, 2008

Previous squads

• 2006 World Cup - Croatia squad
• 2004 Euro - Croatia squad
• 2002 World Cup - Croatia squad
• 1998 World Cup - Croatia squad
• 1996 Euro - Croatia squad

Last and next games

• Last game: Germany 1-2 Croatia - Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria - 12 June, 2008. (UEFA Euro 2008)

• Next game: Poland - Croatia - Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria - 16 June, 2008. (UEFA Euro 2008)

External links

• Official Croatian Football Federation(HNS) page
• Croatia National Football Team Template:Hr icon
• Croatia - International Matches, at RSSSF
• Croatia - Record International Players, at RSSSF
• JadranSport.org - South-Eastern European football news coverage (English language)
• NogoNet.com - Croatian soccer news portal
• Nogometni.net - Croatian football portal