Croatia World Cup 2026 squad: Zlatko Dalic's final 26-man selection (original) (raw)

Croatia World Cup 2026 squad: Luka Modric of Croatia

Luka Modric of Croatia (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Croatia World Cup 2026 squad has been named.

Zlatko Dalic's side's World Cup 2026 campaign was fairly straightforward, with just one draw against Czech Republic – and though they won't have one of the strongest squads at the tournament on paper and won't be on the favourites list, that's never stopped them before.

In just seven World Cups since 1998, the Vatreni have reached the semi-finals three times, getting to the showpiece in 2018, where they were beaten by France – though that seems like a tough ask to repeat this time around.

It's a strong Croatian side, led by Luka Modric on 196 international caps: Manchester City pair Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have both recovered from injury for this one, and there is further experiecne with the likes of Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Dominik Livakovic.

Martin Baturina, Luka Sucic and Petar Sucic, meanwhile, represent the next generation: they'll be hoping for breakout tournaments in the Croatian midfield as they audition to replace Modric long-term.

The lack of a striker may hurt this team, though: in 2022, a Mandzukic-less side managed to grind out results en route to a final four – in 2018, they did something similar, with three knockout wins in extra-time – but it didn't work quite so well in Euro 2024, with a group stage exit.

With a tough group, which Croatia will turn up?

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Squad

Croatia World Cup 2026 squad: The final selection

Fixtures and results

Fixtures

Recent results

Group L standings

Croatia are in Group L at World Cup 2026.

Manager

Who is Croatia's manager?

Croatia Euro 2024 squad Zlatko Dalic, Head Coach of Croatia, poses for a portrait during the Croatia Portrait session ahead of the UEFA EURO 2024 Germany on June 10, 2024 in Neuruppin, Germany. (Photo by Vera Loitzsch - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Zlatko Dalic is a legend of Croatian football (Image credit: Getty Images)

Zlatko Dalic's Croatia career was almost over before it had begun. When he took charge in 2017, he was hired on the provision that if they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the football association would review his position.

As it was, they qualified, and then went on to reach the final of the World Cup, beating England in heartbreaking fashion in the semi-finals. He then carried them to the semi-finals in Qatar four years later, again being beaten only by the winners Argentina in the semi-finals.

His performances at the last two European Championships have left much to be desired, but maybe the Croatian FA are once again hoping for a bit of World Cup magic in North America.

Star player

Who is Croatia's star player?

Luka Modric holds his award for the 2018 World Cup's best player after Croatia's defeat to France in the final in Moscow.

Luka Modric holds his award for the 2018 World Cup's best player after Croatia's defeat to France in the final in Moscow. (Image credit: Getty Images)

This feels like it will be Luka Modric's last international tournament, yet we've been saying that for years and it never seems to come true.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner has been a fantastic servant to his country, taking them to back-to-back World Cup semi-finals, and leading them in their incredible run to the 2018 final.

He is ranked at no.29 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest players of all time and has enjoyed a stellar career, and when he retires will look back on his career with significant pride.

Best XI

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.