Croatia
National Team Information
General Info
UEFA
Vatreni (The Blazers), Kockasti (The Checkered Ones)
Croatia National Football Team History
Late Starters
Croatian players participated in international soccer for Yugoslavia for much of the 20th century. The Croatia national football team played their first modern game pre-independence in 1990, which was a 2-1 win over the USA. Croatia declared its independence in June 1991, and the national team was admitted as a FIFA member in 1992.
Failing to receive admission to UEFA until 1993, Croatia were ineligible to take part in 1994 World Cup qualifying. On their first try, Croatia qualified for the 1996 European Championship and the 1998 World Cup.
At Euro ‘96, Croatia made the quarterfinals but were eliminated by eventual champions Germany. The first Croatia FIFA World Cup appearance, two years later, was a huge success.
First-Ever World Cup Appearance
The Vatreni won their first-ever World Cup match by a 3-1 scoreline over Jamaica. Davor Suker scored for a second consecutive match, as Croatia defeated Japan 1-0. With the win, Croatia national football team sealed its knockout stage qualification with a game to go. Argentina defeated Croatia 1-0 in the group stage finale, which set up a Croatia against Romania in a round-of-16 matchup.
Suker once again scored the winning goal, on a penalty, and the Croatia national football team were on quarterfinals. There, Croatia scored a massive 3-0 win over European champions Germany to make their first semifinals appearance. The Vatreni took the lead through Suker against France, but Lilian Thuram’s double sent Les Bleus to the final.
Impressively, the Croatia national football team won the third-place playoff against the Netherlands and got a bronze medal in their first-ever World Cup appearance. Davor Suker finished as the tournament’s top scorer, with six goals.
The Vatreni missed out on the 2000 Euros but reached the World Cup once again in 2002. The Croatians got a huge win over Italy but lost to both Mexico and Ecuador for their first group-stage elimination.
Euro 2008 and Beyond to Qatar
Croatia made Euro 2004 after defeating England twice in qualifiers but failed to make it out of the group stage. They had the same problem at the World Cup in 2006, since it was the first time Croatia didn’t win a match in the tournament.
At Euro 2008, Croatia won all three of their group-stage matches at a major tournament for the first time but fell to Turkey in the quarterfinals. Croatia then missed out on the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the first time in their history they failed to qualify for it.
Croatia returned four years later but suffered another group stage exit. In the process, they did manage a dominant 4-0 win versus Cameroon. The Vatreni made the round of 16 at Euro 2016 and were labeled as Croatia’s second Golden Generation in the lead up to the 2018 World Cup.
With players like Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, and Ivan Rakitic, Croatia put on an excellent show at the 2018 World Cup. Croatia made their first-ever final, where they fell 4-2 to France. Modric was voted as the tournament’s Best Player.
The Croatia national football team won just two of their eight matches in 2020 but even so managed to make Qatar 2022.
- Davor Suker – Goals: 45
- Mario Mandzukic – Goals: 33
- Ivan Perisic – Goals: 32
- Eduardo da Silva – Goals: 29
- Darijo Srna – Goals: 22
Luka Modric is the only Croatian player to win the Ballon d’Or. In 2018, the legendary midfielder broke Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s 10-year stranglehold on the award. Modric is Croatia’s all time appearances leader and led Croatia to a second-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. He was voted Best Player at the tournament, and he has won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid.
Davor Suker is Croatia’s all time leading scorer, with 45 goals in just 69 appearances. Suker was the top scorer at the 1998 World Cup and won the Silver Ball as the tournament’s second best player. Suker won a Champions League title with Real Madrid in 1998.
Ivan Rakitic was the ultimate complimentary midfielder to Luka Modric, and he scored 15 goals in 106 appearances. Rakitic was instrumental in the 2018 World Cup run, scoring the winning penalty on two separate occasions. He also scored the first goal in Barcelona’s Champions League final triumph over Juventus in 2015.
Darijo Srna scored a highly impressive 22 goals during his Croatia national team career. He was a consistent presence in the backline for 14 years, and he made 134 appearances for Croatia. Srna represented his country at six major tournaments and scored an incredible free kick against Australia at the 2006 World Cup.
Ivan Perisic is an incredibly versatile player who has made over 100 appearances for Croatia. Most comfortable on the left wing, Perisic has scored over 30 goals for Croatia, including some vital ones. He scored and assisted in the World Cup 2018 semifinals match against England that sent Croatia through to their first World Cup final. Earlier in the tournament, he also scored the winner versus Iceland to seal a perfect group stage performance.
The 2018 Croatian World Cup team were the ultimate underdogs and captivated global audiences with their excellent displays. They opened the tournament with a comfortable 2-0 win over Nigeria and made headlines in the next match against Argentina.
Croatia shut down Lionel Messi & Co. and demolished Argentina 3-0 to seal knockout stage qualification. With Ivan Perisic’s 90th-minute winner, Croatia defeated Iceland 2-1 in the next match. The win capped off their first perfect World Cup group stage.
It took penalties to send Denmark home in the round of 16 and Ivan Rakitic slotted home the winner. Hosts Russia and Croatia traded extra time goals in the quarterfinals to send yet another match into penalties. Once again, Rakitic was the hero for Croatia in penalties.
In their first semifinals appearance in 20 years, Croatia played a well-rounded England team. For a third straight game Croatia played extra time but this time penalties weren’t necessary. Mario Mandzukic scored the winner in the second half of extra time to send Croatia to their first-ever World Cup final.
France were too much for Croatia to handle and the match finished 4-2. Regardless, Croatia exceeded all expectations at Russia 2018.
Croatia were competitive in each match they played at the 2006 World Cup, but they failed to win a single game. With two draws and a loss, they did at least avoid finishing at the bottom of the group. The Vatreni also held a stacked Brazil team to just one goal, but 2006 remains the only year the team didn’t win a match at the World Cup.
Croatia Soccer Leagues & Clubs:
Super Sport HNL:
The Super Sport HNL, or just HNL, is the top-tier Croatian soccer league. Apart from the national team, it’s the most popular method of Croatia soccer betting. There are only ten clubs in the league, which was established in 1992.
The number of teams has by no means been constant over the course of the history of the league; at one point, there were 18 teams. Currently, each team plays every other team four times: twice at home and twice away. At the end of the season, the last-place team is relegated to the second division. Meanwhile, first place earns a spot in Champions League qualifiers.
SuperSport HNL Clubs 2022-23 Season
| Team |
|---|
| Dinamo Zagreb |
| Gorica |
| Hajduk Split |
| Istra 1961 |
| Lokomotiva |
| Osijek |
| Rijeka |
| Slaven Belupo |
| Šibenik |
| Varaždin |
Prva NL:
The Croatian second division is confusingly named the Croatian First Football League. It’s more commonly referred to as the Prva NL. Until 2022, the league had 16 clubs but is down to 12 ahead of the 2022-23 season. Each team plays one another three times over the course of the season. The top team at the end of the season is promoted to the HNL. Meanwhile, the last-place team is relegated to the Second Football League, and the second-to-last team contests a relegation playoff.
Prva NL Clubs 2022-2023 Season
| Team |
|---|
| BSK Bijelo Brdo |
| Cibalia Vinkovci |
| Croatia Zmijavci |
| Dubrava |
| Dugopolje |
| Hrvatski Dragovoljac |
| Jarun |
| Kustošija |
| Orijent 1919 |
| Rudeš |
| Solin |
| Vukovar 1991 |
Croatian Cups & Tournaments
A hodgepodge of Croatia’s soccer teams participates in the annual Croatian Football Cup. There are 48 entrants, 16 of which are the highest-ranked teams in the country according to their cup performances in the last five years. The next 21 teams are the winners of the cups in each of Croatia’s counties. A total of 11 finalists in those regional cups qualify based on the number of active football clubs registered in the county.
The tournament used to employ two-legged fixtures but is now single elimination. The 16 top-ranked teams enter the tournament in the first round, while the other 32 start off in the preliminary round. With 16 titles, Dinamo Zagreb are the most successful team in the history of the competition.
There are even more opportunities for Croatian soccer betting.
The Croatian Football Super Cup is a match held between the winners of the HNL and the Croatia Football Cup.
The match is held at the beginning of each season with an important caveat: it is only held if a club doesn’t complete a domestic double of the HNL and Croatian Cup. The match is hosted by the club that won the previous season’s league title. Dinamo Zagreb are the most successful club in the Super Cup, with seven wins.
Croatia Soccer Betting Information
Betting on the HNL
The HNL has been dominated by just a few clubs throughout its history. Dinamo Zagreb have won 23 of a possible 31 championships so far. Thus, Dinamo Zagreb are quite a popular pick for HNL Croatia soccer betting. Hajduk Split have won six championships, while Rijeka and NK Zagreb have one title each. Heading into the 2022-23 season, Dinamo Zagreb are five time defending champions.
Despite Dinamo’s dominance, the level of play in the Croatian top flight is not all bad. In UEFA’s country coefficients, Croatian clubs are ranked 19th, behind Denmark and ahead of Turkey. Due to only one team getting relegated each season, though, there remains a consistent large gap in quality between the top three or four teams and the bottom three or four. In the 2021-22 season, fourth place and eighth place were separated by 29 points.
During that season, 54 percent of matches ended with both teams scoring. Outside of the top three sides, clean sheets were very uncommon. Matches ended in draws 24 percent of the time. There is certainly a big disparity in the home and away win percentages as well.
The home team won 43 percent of the time in 2021-22, while the away team won 33 percent of the time.
Croatia National Team Betting Tips & Odds
Croatia have been a massive success story since gaining their independence. What they’ve achieved as a small country is exemplary. Of course, they finished as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and will be participating in Qatar 2022. Most betting tips suggest that they’ll advance to the knockout stage once again. They’re priced at -170 odds to qualify from a Group F with Belgium, Canada, and Morocco also in it.
Check the rest of the Groups of the World Cup
Despite losing Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic to international retirement, a lot of Croatia’s stars will be back for the 2022 World Cup. Coach Zlatko Dalic is still around as well. Midfielder and former Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric is aging like fine wine. There are also some interesting young talents to watch out for, like Josko Gvardiol and Luka Sucic.
Heading into the tournament, Croatia show the 11th best odds to win the tournament, at +5000. They’re also listed at +1600 to make the final once again.
Croatia’s form heading into the World Cup has been good, which is certainly a positive sign. They won their last four matches in the UEFA Nations League to win Group A and advance to the semifinals. That includes a win over France, two wins over Denmark, and another over Austria. All of those are World Cup caliber teams.
Croatia’s most recent appearance at a major tournament was at last year’s Euros. They won just one of their four matches but did manage to reach the round of 16.
The midfield is the strongest area of the team, with players like Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic. Since Mandzukic retired, Croatia have lacked a prolific striker. Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric will likely be counted on to provide goals.
Conclusion
There have been some excellent Croatian soccer players over the years and the national team has punched well above its weight. Croatia have been one of the best teams in the world for the last few years. The expectation is not for Vatreni to return to the World Cup final. However, anything less than a knockout stage appearance would be a huge disappointment for them. Betting on Croatia is likely to be popular, especially in group stage matches against Morocco and Canada.
The Croatian HNL isn’t exactly one of the most followed leagues in Europe. That could mean well-informed bettors could do well betting on it. In European competition, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split have also made their fair share of appearances over the years.
As Croatia continues to produce exciting talents, the profile of the domestic league could rise. After all, both the country and the league are just 30 years old.
