Croatia

Croatia has built its reputation as one of international football’s most remarkable overachievers. A nation of fewer than four million people, Croatia finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France in their first tournament as an independent nation, then reached the final in Russia in 2018 and again in Qatar in 2022. That generation, led by captain Luka Modrić, defined an era of technical midfield control and relentless competitiveness. The red-and-white checkerboard shirts are instantly rec...