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| Nickname | Vatreni (Fiery) |
| Association | Croatian Football Federation |
| Coach | Zlatko Kranjčar, 2004- |
| Most caps | Robert Jarni (81) |
| Top scorer | Davor Šuker (45) |
| First international Croatia 2 - 1 U.S.A. (Zagreb, Croatia; 17 October 1990) |
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| Largest win Croatia 7 - 0 Australia (Zagreb, Croatia; 6 June 1998) |
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| Worst defeat Slovakia 4 - 1 Croatia (Bratislava, Slovakia; 20 April 1994) Portugal 3 - 0 Croatia (Nottingham, England; 19 June 1996) France 3 - 0 Croatia (Saint-Denis, France; 13 November 1999) |
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| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1998) |
| Best result | Third place, 1998 |
| European Championship | |
| Appearances | 2 (First in 1996) |
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 1996 |
The Croatian national football team has played since Croatia's independence in 1990-1992 and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation.
The team played in their first major tournament in 1996 and 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.
Between 1990 and 2004, Croatia has played 115 international games and had 56 victories, 36 draws and 23 losses. The team has been FIFA's "Best Mover of the Year" in 1994 and 1998.
Football was played in Croatia from the beginning of the 20th century, but before the 1990s the country was not independent. Before that, the players from Croatia participated in the teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1919-1939), Banovina of Croatia (1939-1941), Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945) and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1990).
Due to political circumstances in Kingdom of Yugoslavia shortly before
World War II, Croatian sports teams were allowed to compete under Croatian
flag, so the first international of Croatia could be considered a 4 - 0
victory over Switzerland played in Zagreb on 2 April 1940.
During
World War II, a Croatian Football Federation representing the puppet state
Independent State of Croatia joined FIFA, and played with the teams of the
Axis powers. In this period, the team recorded record losses:
Germany 5 - 1 Croatia in
Vienna,
Austria (15 June 1941)
and
Germany 5 - 1 Croatia in
Stuttgart,
Germany (1 November 1942).
1930 to 1990 - Did not enter, was part of Yugoslavia
1994 - Did not enter
1998 - Third place
2002 - Round 1
2006 - Qualified
1960 to 1992 - Did not enter, was part of Yugoslavia
1996 - Quarterfinals
2000 - Did not qualify
2004 - First round
Aljoša Asanović
Slaven Bilić
Zvonimir Boban
Alen Bokšić
Robert Jarni
Dražen Ladić
Robert Prosinečki
Zvonimir Soldo
Mario Stanić
Igor Štimac
Davor Šuker
Milan Rapaic
Goalkeepers:
Tomislav Butina 1
Joey Didulica
Stipe Pletikosa 12
Ivan Turina
Defenders:
Robert Kovač 4
Igor Tudor5
Josip Šimunić 3
Stjepan Tomas
Mario Tokić
Mato Neretljak
Dario Šimić 14
Midfielders:
Darijo Srna 2
Jurica Vranješ
Niko Kovač 10
Marko Babić 8
Niko Kranjčar 19
Ivan Leko
Luka Modrić
Jerko Leko
Daniel Pranjić
Forwards:
Dado Pršo 9
Ivan Klasnić 17
Boško Balaban
Eduardo Da Silva
Ivica Olić 18
Ivan Bošnjak 15
Dražen Jerković, 1990-1991
Stanko Poklepović, 1992
Vlatko Marković, 1993
Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević, 1994-2000
Mirko Jozić, 2000-2002
Otto Barić, 2002-2004
Zlatko Kranjčar, 2004-present
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This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.