UEFA Euros 2024 Previews: Croatia

UEFA Euros 2024 Previews: Croatia

UEFA Euro 2024 is just weeks away from kicking off in Germany. Over the next 17 days, we will be previewing each team that will be taking part in Europe’s biggest football tournament. Check out all of the team previews that have been done so far. Up next is Croatia!

Placing third in the 2022 World Cup and being the runners-up in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League, it seems Croatia is poised to do big things in the Euros. Being led by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric and appearing to be his last major international competition before retirement, “The Checkered” could send Modric off with a bang. Winning their last two friendlies against Tunisia and Egypt, the 2022 World Cup third-placed team will face off against North Macedonia and Portugal to prepare for the competition. Croatia is currently ranked 10th in the latest FIFA rankings.

Euro Appearances

This is now the sixth straight Euros the Croatian National Team, having qualified for seven out of the eight Euros since becoming their own country. The only failure for Croatia to appear in the Euros was in 2000. Croatia finished second in their Euro 2024 qualifiers group behind Turkey.

Best Finish at the Euros

Though being in the Euros consistently, the best finishes for Croatia were in 1996 and 2008 Euros. Both of these finishes were exits in the quarterfinal of the competition. The 2008 quarterfinal exit ended in a fifth-place position spot for the Croatians, while the 1996 finish was in seventh place.

Key players

The man of the hour: Luka Modric. All eyes will be on him for the national team. The most notable player on the team and going strong at 38 years of age for his respective nation. This will be his last attempt to win an international trophy for his country and every other player on the national team should be playing for him.

Croatia will have Premier League winner Josko Gvardiol and Bundesliga winner Josip Stanisic to hold the backline; adding the champion mentality to the national team. This Croatian team is bringing back players from the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Nations League, bringing the experience to the competition and giving them an advantage. Including starting goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, midfielder Mateo Kovacic, center-back Josip Šutalo and many more.

Manager

“The Checkered” will continue to have Zlatko Dalić as manager of the team. Dalić has been the manager of the Croatian National Team since 2017 and under the helm, Croatia has finished third in the 2022 World Cup and runners-up in last year’s UEFA Nations League. Dalić was also the manager when Croatia made it to the 2018 World Cup final, but ultimately lost to France. Last time in the Euros, Croatia exited the tournament in the round of 16. The talent and coaching are there for Croatia, all they need is results.

Biggest Group Game – vs Spain on June 15

Croatia will open up the group stage against Spain, the team that beat them last year to win the UEFA Nations League. There will be a bit of bad blood and “The Checkered” will probably have that in their mind in the opening match. The Croatian National Team will face Albania in the second match of the group stage and it will most likely be a win (sorry Albanians), automatically qualifying them for the knockout rounds. But if they lose against Spain, they would then have to face off against Italy in the last group stage match, fighting for a chance for the knockout.

Prediction

While wanting the absolute best for Luka Modric, it’s hard to see them finishing in the top two of the group. I see them finishing the group in third place. Luckily in the Euros, third place gets in the knockout rounds, but in the round of 16, they will face Belgium. I see the end of Croatia’s disappointing Euro attempt against them.

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop

CLICK HERE for more Soccer content!