The represents
Croatia in international matches and is controlled by the
Croatian Football Federation . The team has been in existence since
1990 and was recognised by
FIFA and
UEFA in the summer of
1992 , one year after Croatia's independence from
Yugoslavia .
The team played their first competitive matches in the qualifying campaign for the
Euro 1996 and qualified for the finals to make their first appearance in a major international tournament. They 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.
The team was
FIFA 's "Best Mover of the Year" in
1994 and
1998 , and have been more volatile in the
FIFA World Rankings than any other nation, having been rated as high as third, and as low as 125th. They are still undefeated in all competitive matches they played on home soil since 1994. They also qualified for both
2002 and
2006 World Cup s without losing a qualifying match.
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 –
39 ),
Banovina Of Croatia (
1939 –
41 ),
Independent State Of Croatia (
1941 –
45 ) and
Socialist Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia (
1945 –
90 ).
For the Yugoslav periods, see
Yugoslavia National Football Team .
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 .
- 1930 to 1990 - Was part of Yugoslavia ''
- 1994 - ''Did not enter, was not a full FIFA member until July 1992''
- 1998 - Third place
- 2002 - First round (Third place in Group G)
- 2006 - First round (Third place in Group F)
Caps correct as of
September 8 ,
2007 .
Maksimir Stadium (30,000 spectators) -
Zagreb , 17 October 1990 - friendly match
Estadio Mestalla (40,000) -
Valencia , 23 March 1994 - friendly match
Stadio Renzo Barbera (39,000) -
Palermo , 16 November 1994 - Euro '96 qualifying match
City Ground (20,000) -
Nottingham , 11 June 1996 - Euro '96 first round match
Hillsborough Stadium (30,000) -
Sheffield , 16 June 1996 - Euro '96 first round match
Old Trafford (36,000) -
Manchester , 23 June 1996 - Euro '96 quarterfinal match
Kaftanzoglio Stadium (35,000) -
Thessaloniki , 30 April 1997 - World Cup '98 qualifying match
Olimpiysky Stadion (77,500) -
Kiev , 15 November 1997 - World Cup '98 play-off match
Stade Félix Bollaert (40,000) -
Lens , 14 June 1998 - World Cup '98 first round match
Stade De La Beaujoire (39,500) -
Nantes , 20 June 1998 - World Cup '98 first round match
Stade Gerland (50,000) -
Lyon , 4 July 1998 - World Cup '98 quarterfinal match
Stade De France (80,000) -
Paris , 8 July 1998 - World Cup '98 semifinal match
Parc Des Princes (50,000) -
Paris , 11 July 1998 - World Cup '98 third place match
Stadion Crvena Zvezda (47,000) -
Belgrade , 18 August 1999 - Euro 2000 qualifying match
Maksimir Stadium (35,000) -
Zagreb , 6 October 2001 - World Cup '02 qualifying match
Kashima Stadium (36,500) -
Ibaraki , 8 June 2002 - World Cup '02 first round match
Maksimir Stadium (19,000) -
Zagreb , 12 October 2002 - Euro '04 qualifying match
Stadion Bežigrad (10,000) -
Ljubljana , 19 November 2003 - Euro '04 play-off match
Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa (29,000) -
Leiria , 17 June 2004 - Euro '04 first round match
Poljud Stadium (30,000) -
Split , 17 August 2005 - friendly match
St._Jakob-Park (15,000) -
Basel , 1 March 2006 - friendly match
Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion (52,000) -
Stuttgart , 22 June 2006 - World Cup '06 first round match
Maksimir Stadium (38,000) -
Zagreb , 11 October 2006 - Euro '08 qualifying match
