Croatia is one part of Yugoslavia legacy in the world cup finals. They are currently the strongest side among the Balkan nations in the world cup history. Unlike Serbia which often claims themselves as the true successors of Yugoslavia but have not been able to reach further stages so far, Vatreni have managed to reach semi finals twice in only five appearances in total since their debut in France 1998.
Overall Campaign
Croatia marked their place in the World Cup in 1998 with an impressive result for a debutante. Since then, they have never been absent in the final round but on one occasion, in South Africa 2010. Vatreni’ best results in the global competition were in 1998 by finishing third after beating Netherlands 2-1 at the third place play-off and surely in 2018 when Mario Madzukic and Co stunned the world for the second time by advancing to the final before losing to Les Blues. In the remaining three appearances, in 2002, 2006 and 2014 edition, the Balkan side’s campaign all ended up at the group stage.
Iconic Moments
France 1998 have always been special among Vatreni fans. Their squad was full of Balkan stars and displayed the expected quality at the crucial time. Their first great memory in the world cup was at the quarter final. Davor Suker and Co trashed the aging Germany 3-0. Robert Jarni, Goran Vlaovic and Davor Suker netted their winning goals. It was a perfect revenge for their loss in EURO 1996 at the same stage.
Their next glorious moment was the 2018 semi final. Zlatko Dalic’s men crushed England’s dream to face off France for an ideal world cup final by thumping Harry Kane and Co 2-1. Despite the early concession through Kieran Trippier’s free kick, Croatia fought back and overturned the score sheet as Mario Madzukic and Ivan Perisic found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, their devastating moments somehow are related to France. Les Blues seem to bring nightmare in the international fixtures. They are the teams which stomped Vatreni twice at the crucial stage. In 1998, Lillian Thuram’s brace halted their cinderella dream at the semi final despite taking the lead through Davor Suker. In 2018, France led by the 1998 skipper turning successful manager, Didier Deschamps, dismantled the anticlimactic Croatia 4-2. Madzukic’s own goal opened the scoring followed by Antoine Griezmann’s penalty, Paul Pogba’s and Kylian Mbappe’s goal. Madzukic did score a lifeline for a redemption plus Ivan Perisic’s strike, but those were not enough.
Top Players & Managers
Croatia’s key men who have contributed well for their World Cup campaigns are the France 1998 Top Scorer Davor Suker, the Russia 2018 Best Player Luka Modric, Robert Prosinecki, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Jarni, Ivan Perisic, Dagomaj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Ivan Rakitic and Danijel Subasic. They were under the command of two notable managers, Miroslav Blazevic and Zlatko Dalic. Their roles in guiding the team to an unforgettable glory in 1998 and 2018 respectively, in spite of winning no title yet, deserves more recognition.
