In 1991, Yugoslavia split up and the independent countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia-Montenegro were formed. Since that time, Croatia has been very successful at the World Cup, having qualified for the World Cup in 1998, 2003, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.

In 2018, this nation of just over 4 million people, had their best tournament result ever, making the final for the first time and going down gallantly 4-2 to France.

In 2022, again Croatia upset higher ranked teams. Coratia beat tournament favorites Brazil in the round of 16, making a date with Argentina in the quarter-final. They finished third in the competition.

Croatia have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The team is in Group L and will play against Ghana, Panama, and England.

1998

Croatia made it to the semi-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, but lost 1-2 to France. The team won the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-place match of the competition.

2002

Croatia didn't make it out of Group G at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

2006

Croatia didn't qualify from Group F at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

2014

Croatia didn't qualify from Group A at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

2018

Croatia reached the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but lost 2-4 to France. The team won Denmark in the Round of 16, Russia in the quarter-finals, and England in the semi-finals.

2022

Croatia reached the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but couldn't progress to the next stage after they lost 0-3 to Argentina.

2026

Croatia have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The team is in Group L and will play against top teams like England, Panama, and Ghana.

Trivia

  • The only player to have scored for two countries in the World Cup is Robert Prosinecki who represented Yugoslavia in 1990 scoring against the United Arab Emirates, and for Croatia in 1998 scoring against Jamaica.