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Arun - June 5, 2026
Croatia arrive at the 2026 World Cup carrying one of the great stories in tournament football. A nation of fewer than four million people has reached the semi-finals at three of their six World Cup appearances, finishing third in 1998 and 2022 and second in 2018.
The Vatreni have done it with a squad built around one player above all others. Luka Modric is 40 years old, plays for AC Milan and makes a record-equalling fifth World Cup appearance. This is his farewell to the biggest stage. Everyone at this tournament knows it.
The squad around Modric is not as deep as the ones that reached the 2018 final or the 2022 third-place play-off. But it has quality with the likes of Josko Gvardiol, arguably one of the best defenders in world football when fit. He returns from a fractured shin suffered in January and played his first game back on May 14.
Mateo Kovacic provides experience and quality in midfield from Manchester City. Ivan Perisic at PSV, Andrej Kramaric at Hoffenheim and a new generation of attacking midfielders give Zlatko Dalic options. The England opener on June 17 in Dallas is the game that defines everything.
Croatia are drawn in Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside England, Ghana and Panama. For all our World Cup 2026 predictions and analysis visit LeagueLane.
Croatia’s World Cup History
Appearances: 7 | Best finish: Runners-up (2018) | Third place in 1998 and 2022
Croatia made their World Cup debut in 1998 in France and produced one of the great debut performances in tournament history. Davor Suker scored six goals and won the Golden Boot. They beat Jamaica, Romania, drew with Argentina, then knocked out Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual champions France in the semi-finals. They beat the Netherlands in the third-place play-off. Third place at a first World Cup. For a nation that had only gained independence seven years earlier, it was a statement to the world.
Group stage exits followed in 2002, 2006 and 2014, each time frustrating exits that suggested Croatia could not replicate their debut heroics. Then came 2018 in Russia. Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Mandzukic and a team built on collective hunger and extraordinary tournament nerve reached the final. They beat Denmark, Russia, and hosts England on the way. They beat England in the semi-final in extra time, Modric inspiring a comeback from 1-0 down. They lost the final 4-2 to France. Modric won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. In 2022 in Qatar they reached the semi-finals again, beating Brazil on penalties in the quarter-finals before losing to Argentina and beating Morocco to finish third. Two consecutive semi-finals and three podium finishes in seven appearances. It is one of the most remarkable records in the tournament’s history.
The Manager
Zlatko Dalic
Croatian · Croatia manager since October 2017 · Former Al-Faisaly, Al-Ain, HNK Rijeka manager · Age 59
Dalic is the longest-serving Croatia manager of the post-independence era. He was appointed in October 2017, just weeks before a crucial World Cup playoff against Greece and has never looked back.
He guided Croatia to the 2018 final, the 2022 semi-final, the 2023 Nations League final and now this seventh World Cup appearance. His tactical approach is built around the quality of his midfield. He trusts Modric and Kovacic to control games and organises the rest of the team around that central principle.
Dalic is not a manager who overthinks the game. He picks his best players, sets the team up to be hard to beat and trusts the individual quality in his squad to create and take chances.
The criticism levelled at him in recent years is that the squad has aged and the younger players he has introduced have not yet reached the level of the generation that made Croatia so formidable.
Dalic knows this is Modric’s last World Cup and the entire squad is motivated to send him out in the way his career deserves.
Tactical Setup
Formation: 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1
Dalic uses a 4-3-3 as his base, shifting into a 4-2-3-1 against more physical opponents. Modric sits as the most advanced of three central midfielders, dictating play from deep pockets and picking passes that others cannot see. Kovacic provides the energy and the pressing intensity.
The third midfielder, whether Pasalic, Jakic or one of the younger options, provides the defensive balance. Gvardiol, when fit, anchors the defence. Perisic and Kramaric give Croatia experience and goal threat from wide and central positions.
Croatia under Dalic are a team built on tournament mentality. They do not blow teams away in the group stage. They manage games, control tempo and then find another gear when the knockout rounds demand it.
Three consecutive extra-time knockout victories in the 2018 tournament exemplify what this team can do when the pressure is highest.
The England game on June 17 will show whether that mentality has survived the transition from the golden generation to the new one.
Key Players
Luka Modric
Midfielder · AC Milan · Age 40 | Croatia caps: 196 | Captain
Modric is one of the three or four best midfielders the game has ever produced. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, the year he led Croatia to the World Cup final. He left Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 after 13 years at the club and joined AC Milan.
At 40 he is not the player who ran the 2018 tournament. His pace has gone. His passing range, his vision, his ability to change the speed of play and find the decisive pass in tight situations are completely intact. He could reach 200 caps during this tournament.
This is his fifth and final World Cup and he knows it. Every player in the Croatia squad is motivated by that.
Josko Gvardiol
Defender · Manchester City · Age 24 | Croatia caps: 50+
Gvardiol is one of the best left-sided defenders in European football and the player who anchors Croatia’s defensive structure. He suffered a fractured shin in January and missed five months of football before returning on May 14 for Manchester City. His inclusion in the squad is a significant boost.
When Gvardiol is fit and commanding, Croatia’s defensive shape is significantly stronger. His pace, his physicality and his ability to play out from the back make him the ideal centre-back for Dalic’s system and one of the most technically complete defenders in Group L.
Mateo Kovacic
Midfielder · Manchester City · Age 31 | Croatia caps: 100+
Kovacic is the most underrated player in this Croatia squad and one of the best midfielders in the Premier League over recent seasons. He won the Champions League with Real Madrid and the Premier League with Manchester City.
His combination of pressing intensity, ball-winning ability and technical quality in possession makes him the ideal partner for Modric in Croatia’s midfield. He covers the ground Modric no longer can and gives the team a defensive midfield presence that allows Modric to operate with more freedom.
When both him and Modric are available and fit, Croatia’s midfield is still one of the best at this tournament.
Ivan Perisic
Winger · PSV Eindhoven · Age 35 | Croatia caps: 130+
Perisic is Croatia’s all-time assist leader at World Cups and one of the most decorated wide players his generation has produced. He plays for PSV Eindhoven and at 35 is still a reliable performer with the experience and quality to contribute in major tournament football.
His ability to deliver from the left, score important goals and track back defensively makes him the wide player Dalic trusts most when games are tight.
He scored in the 2018 World Cup final and his record of delivering in the biggest moments gives Croatia an experienced wide option no opponent can ignore.
Andrej Kramaric
Forward · TSG Hoffenheim · Age 34 | Croatia caps: 100+
Kramaric is Croatia’s most experienced striker and the player Dalic uses as the central attacking reference when he does not start Budimir.
He has over 100 caps and more than 30 international goals and brings the finishing quality and intelligent movement that makes Croatia dangerous inside the penalty area. At Hoffenheim he has been scoring consistently for a decade.
His World Cup experience, having been part of the 2018 and 2022 squads, makes him one of the most valuable squad members as the tournament progresses.
Croatia’s World Cup 2026 Fixtures
LeagueLane Verdict
Croatia could easily finish second in Group L though the England game is the hardest opening fixture they could have been given and it will test whether this aging squad can still perform at the level required against top opposition.
But Croatia have been here before. They knocked England out of the 2018 semi-final. They know how to play in big games and they have Modric to produce the moment that changes everything.
The Panama game in Toronto on June 23 is a must-win. If Dalic’s side win it, they arrive at the Ghana game on June 27 in Philadelphia with second place in their hands. Ghana are dangerous but Croatia’s tournament experience, Modric’s leadership and Kovacic’s quality in midfield gives them the tools to manage the game if needed.
For a betting angle, Modric to score or assist in this tournament is worth taking at whatever price is available. He has contributed in every World Cup he has appeared in and his motivation to go out on his own terms makes him a player who will demand the ball in big moments.
Back Croatia to qualify from Group L as second-placed finishers. They have done it before in harder groups with older players. They know exactly what this tournament requires.
