Croatia have been recognised as one of the world’s rising powers in football after finishing as runners-up and third place in the past two editions of the World Cup. Heading into the World Cup 2026, the Vatreni were expected to make a deep run, per the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds, but they’re already eliminated in the Round of 32.
Zlatko Dalic’s men should’ve beaten Portugal after Ivan Perisic scored the first goal of the match, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos had other plans. With the 2-1 loss, Croatia are headed to the exit this early, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
It’s no secret that Croatia are in for a rebuild, as they entered the quadrennial tournament as one of the oldest teams. Dalic is expected to stay at the coaching helm to guide the Vatreni to the next phase of their project.
Without further ado, let’s recap Croatia’s journey in this year’s finals.
Croatia are fuming after loss to Portugal
Croatia qualified for the knockout stage by finishing second in Group L behind England. The Vatreni opened their campaign with these World Cup 2026 results – a 4-2 loss to the Three Lions before securing wins against Panama (1-0) and Ghana (2-1), compiling six points out of a possible nine.
Ante Budimir scored the match-winner for Croatia against Panama in the 54th minute. Petar Sucic and Nikola Vlasic scored one goal each against Ghana. Not to be left out, Martin Baturina and Petar Musa scored goals against England before conceding a late Marcus Rashford winner. With six players scoring one goal apiece, Croatia’s attack in this year’s finals has been by committee.
Ivan Perisic was the sixth goalscorer for the Vatreni when he drew first blood against Portugal in the 53rd minute. The 37-year-old wing-back controlled Josip Stanisic’s deflected cross to drill the ball past Diogo Costa’s legs into the bottom-right corner. Croatia nearly doubled their lead three minutes later when Igor Matanovic tapped the ball home, but Nikola Vlasic was offside.
After Cristiano Ronaldo scored his penalty and Goncalo Ramos headed Rafael Leao’s cross home, Croatia had one more chance to send the match to extra time, and they almost got it. Josko Gvardiol thought he scored the equaliser deep into stoppage time, only to be called offside.
The referee argued that the Snicko technology in the ball detected a microscopic touch off the head of Igor Matanovic as the ball came into the area. As a result, Mario Pasalic received the ball in an offside position. The Vatreni lost the game by the finest of margins, which is the most painful way to bow out.
Modric’s last dance with Croatia
Croatia wouldn’t be where they are if it weren’t for Luka Modric, their most accomplished player with 29 goals in 202 caps. The AC Milan midfielder is still going strong at 40, but sadly for the Vatreni fans, this might be the last time they’ll see him on the World Cup stage.
In this year’s finals, Modric played 229 minutes and created five chances, including one assist before the fateful Portugal match. Among the 103 midfielders with at least 225 minutes, he was 94th in ball recoveries (seven) and 98th in duels (14), which goes to show his superb fitness levels, even at his age.
Modric almost didn’t join Croatia before the World Cup, as he had a fractured cheekbone in the lead-up to the tournament. However, the one-time Ballon d’Or winner underwent surgery to fix it, and so he has played in his fifth World Cup.
Croatia youngsters provide hope for the future
For most players in the Croatian national team, this might be their last World Cup. As noted, they’re one of the oldest teams in the tournament, with seven of their players aged 30 and above.
Besides Modric, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, and Ante Budimir might eventually leave the program. Meanwhile, the Vatreni are still searching for a young understudy to back up goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Now is the time for Croatia to revamp their squad with younger players. Josko Gvardiol, Josip Stanisic, and Josip Sutalo will likely lead their backline in the years to come, and all of them have yet to hit their prime. Luka Vuskovic is another project, and he just turned 19. Petar Sucic, Martin Baturina, and Luka Sucic will take care of the middle of the park, as they’re all below 25. Igor Matanovic looks set to take over in the final third, and the SC Freiburg man just turned 23 last March.
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