Croatia national football team
| Nickname(s) | Vatreni (The Blazers) |
|---|---|
| Association | Croatian Football Federation |
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) |
| Head coach | Ante Čačić |
| Captain | Luka Modrić |
| Most caps | Darijo Srna (134) |
| Top scorer | Davor Šuker (45) |
| FIFA code | CRO |
| FIFA ranking | |
| Current | 16  (9 February 2017)
|
| Highest | 3 (January 1999) |
| Lowest | 125 (March 1994) |
| Elo ranking | |
| Current | 15  (24 February 2017)
|
| Highest | 5 (July 1998) |
| Lowest | 26 (October 2002) |
| First international | |
 Croatia 4–0 Switzerland  (Zagreb, Croatia; 2 April, 1940) as Croatia  Croatia 2–1 United States  (Zagreb, Croatia; 17 October, 1990) |
|
| Biggest win | |
 Croatia 10–0 San Marino  (Rijeka, Croatia; 4 June, 2016) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
 England 5–1 Croatia (London, England; 9 September, 2009) |
|
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1998) |
| Best result | Third place, 1998 |
| European Championship | |
| Appearances | 5 (first in 1996) |
| Best result | Quarterfinals, 1996 and 2008 |
The Croatia national football team (Croatian: Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the nation's governing body of football. A FIFA-sanctioned national side previously represented the short-lived Banovina of Croatia and Independent State of Croatia in nineteen friendly matches between 1940 and 1944. This team was dissolved in 1945 as Croatia became a constituent federal republic of SFR Yugoslavia. In the period between 1945 and 1990, Croatia was ineligible to field a separate team for competitive matches; local players instead played for the Yugoslavia national football team.
The modern Croatian team was formed in 1990, shortly before Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, and by 1993 had gained membership in FIFA and UEFA. The team played their first competitive matches in the successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996, leading to their first appearance at a major tournament. In Croatia's FIFA World Cup debut in 1998 the team finished third and provided the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Since becoming eligible to compete in international tournaments, Croatia have failed to qualify for only one World Cup (in 2010) and one European Championship (in 2000).
Most home matches are played at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, with some fixtures also taking place at the Poljud Stadium in Split or at other, smaller venues, such as Kantrida Stadium in Rijeka or Gradski Vrt in Osijek. The team was undefeated in its first 36 home competitive matches at Maksimir, the run ending with a heavy defeat to England in September 2008. The team's traditional nickname is Vatreni ("The Blazers").
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