Croatia went from 125th in the world to third in five years
When Croatia entered FIFA's world rankings in March 1994, it sat in 125th place. By January 1999 it was third, after a debut World Cup that ended with bronze. No team has ever climbed the rankings faster, and it made Croatia the first side named FIFA's Best Mover twice.
Croatian teams existed long before independence. The federation counts a 4–0 friendly win over Switzerland in April 1940, played by the Banovina of Croatia inside Yugoslavia, as its first official match. After the Axis invasion of 1941, the German and Italian-controlled Independent State of Croatia fielded a side in wartime friendlies, and from 1956 to 1990 Croatian players represented Yugoslavia. The checkered shirt made its debut in a 2–1 win over the United States in October 1990, before formal readmission to FIFA in 1992.
The first generation arrived fast. At Euro 1996 Croatia beat the reigning champions Denmark 3–0 before losing a quarter-final to Germany. Two years later, under Miroslav Blažević and captain Zvonimir Boban, it took revenge by beating the Germans 3–0 at the 1998 World Cup, led France in the semi-final through Davor Šuker, then lost to two Lilian Thuram goals. A win over the Netherlands earned bronze, and Šuker's six goals won the Golden Shoe. That team became known as the golden generation.
Later sides had frustrations: exits by a single point, a 5–1 defeat at Wembley, a Euro 2008 quarter-final lost on penalties to Turkey after winning every group game. Yet Croatia has missed only Euro 2000 and the 2010 World Cup among major tournaments. With Luka Modrić at the centre, it reached the World Cup final in 2018, when he took the Golden Ball, and finished third again in 2022.
Only Uruguay is a smaller nation by population to have reached a World Cup final. Croatia also holds World Cup records for shoot-outs, having played four and won all four. Its fans call the team the Vatreni, the Blazers, or simply the Checkered Ones.
Source: Croatia national football team
