Croatia

Nickname(s)	Vatreni (The Blazers)	The Croatia national football team (Croatian: Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS). The team was recognised by both FIFA and UEFA following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Sides were active during periods of political upheaval, representing sovereign entities such as the Banovina of Croatia from 1939 to 1941 or the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1944. The modern-day team has played competitive matches since 1994 starting with the qualifying campaign for the 1996 European Championship. In 1998, they competed in their first FIFA World Cup, finishing third and providing the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Twenty years later, Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup Final, providing the tournament's best player, Luka Modrić. They are one of the youngest national teams (since formation) to reach the knockout stage of a major tournament as well as the youngest team to occupy the top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings. Among other nicknames, the team is colloquially referred to as the Vatreni (Blazers) or the Kockasti (The Checkered Ones). In the Italian-speaking counties the team is known as Il furioso incendio (The Blazing Fire). Since becoming eligible to compete, Croatia has only failed to qualify for two major tournaments: the UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their biggest defeat came in the 2018–19 Nations League with a 0–6 loss to Spain, while their highest-scoring victory was a 10–0 friendly win over San Marino in 2016. The team have developed several rivalries such as the Derby Adriatico with Italy or the politically charged rivalry with Serbia, both of which have led to disruptive matches. The team represents the second-smallest country by population and land mass to reach a World Cup final, behind Uruguay and Netherlands respectively. At major tournaments, Croatia holds joint-records for longest period between one goal and another of a player (2002–2014), most penalty shoot-outs played (2), most extra time periods played (3) and most penalties saved in a match (3). They are also one of three teams—along with Colombia and France—to be named FIFA's Best Mover of the Year more than once, winning the award in 1994 and 1998. Upon admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world; following the 1998 World Cup campaign, the side rose to third place in the rankings, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history.
Nickname(s)	Kockasti (The Checkered Ones)
Association	Croatian Football Federation (HNS)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Zlatko Dalić
Captain	Luka Modrić
Most caps	Luka Modrić (152)
Top scorer	Davor Šuker (45)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	CRO