The Croatian Football Federation is in charge of the Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija, the nation’s football team that competes on the international stage for Croatia (HNS). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, both FIFA and UEFA recognized the team. During a time of political unrest, sides were active, defending sovereign states like the Independent State of Croatia (1941\u20131944) or the Banovina of Croatia (1939\u20131941).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with Colombia and France, they are one of only three teams to have received the FIFA Best Mover of the Year award twice, taking home the honor in 1994 and 1998. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the 1998 World Cup, Croatia’s team surged to third position in the rankings, making it the most unstable team in FIFA Ranking history. When Croatia first joined FIFA, the nation was ranked 125th in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Croatia boards a flight to Qatar for their third straight World Cup appearance, they will be hoping to advance one step further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team’s esteemed midfielder Luka Modric continues to serve as captain, and after falling short of winning the coveted trophy the previous time, the Real Madrid star will be trying to return home with it this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in Group F, Croatia’s first opponents will be the African representatives on November 23, followed by Belgium, Morocco, and Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Croatian team is particularly strong for a variety of reasons. They currently rank among the top European teams. They have lofty ambitions thanks to a group of great players like Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Inter Milan combo of Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic, the Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic, the seasoned vice-captain Domagoj Vida of Besiktas, and the AC Milan forward Ante Rebic were other key players in that campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dejan Lovren, a former Liverpool defender who is currently with Zenit, is still going strong at 32, while West Ham’s Nikola Vlasic is certain to play despite a challenging Premier League debut season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Croatia National Football Team Roster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Goal Keepers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dominik Livakovic of Dinamo Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lovre Kalinic of Hajduk Split<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivica Ivusic of Osijek<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nediljko Labrovic of Rijeka<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivo Grbic of Atletico Madrid<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simon Sluga of Ludogorets Razgrad<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defenders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Josip Stanisic of Bayern Munich<\/p>\n\n\n\n Borna Barisic of Rangers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josip Sutalo of Dinamo Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dejan Lovren of Zenit St Petersburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n Borna Sosa of Stuttgart<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig<\/p>\n\n\n\n Domagoj Vida of AEK Athens<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josip Juranovic of Celtic<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martin Erlic of Sassuolo<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marin Pongracic of Lecce<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duje Caleta-Car of Southampton<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mile Skoric of Osijek<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filip Uremovic of Hertha BSC<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mid Fielders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lovro Majer of Rennes<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mateo Kovacic of Chelsea<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luka Modric of Real Madrid<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcelo Brozovic of Inter<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mario Pasalic of Atalanta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nikola Vlasic of Torino<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luka Sucic of RB Salzburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kristijan Jakic of Eintracht Frankfurt<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luka Ivanu\u0161ec of Dinamo Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nikola Moro of Bologna<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attackers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ivan Perisic of Tottenham<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andrej Kramaric of Hoffenheim<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marko Livaja of Hajduk Split<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bruno Petkovic of Dinamo Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ante Budimir of Osasuna<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mislav Or\u0161i\u0107 of Dinamo Zagreb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Josip Brekalo of Wolfsburg<\/p>\n\n\n\n Petar Musa of Benfica<\/p>\n\n\n\n Antonio Colak of Rangers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Player to Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcelo Brozovic is one of the best footballers from Croatia. The Zagreb-born midfielder for Inter Milan, 29, broke Juventus’ dominance by winning the Serie A championship in 2021. Juventus had previously won nine straight Scudettos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brozovic assisted Antonio Conte’s team in winning the championship along with Nicolo Barella in midfield, Lautaro Martnez up front, and Romelu Lukaku in attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After moving to the Nerazzurri from Dinamo Zagreb in 2015, “Brozo” has matured as a player. Due to his defensive contributions, assists to teammates, and own goals, the midfielder rose from being a quiet performer to becoming one of the most well-known.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Croatian Football Federation is in charge of the Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija, the nation’s football team that competes on the international stage for Croatia (HNS). Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, both FIFA and UEFA recognized the team. During a time of political unrest, sides were active, defending sovereign states like the Independent State of Croatia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171,170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-group-f-ur","category-team-ur"],"yoast_head":"\n