The memories of Croatia's historical 1998 World Cup debut
Croatia head into the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, making only their fourth appearance in history. FIFA's 20th ranked national side had featured in eight World Cup tournaments under Yugoslavia before gaining membership into FIFA as an independent state in 1993. Although they missed the 1994 tournament in USA due to the qualifiers starting prior to their FIFA inauguration, Croatia made their first appearance in football's grand competition in 1998, finishing the France World Cup in third spot. The national team earned a world number-three ranking the year later, their highest ever, as they went on to feature in two consecutive World Cups, missing out on the 2010 South Africa edition, however.
The road to Brazil
Croatia's World Cup qualification was not as smooth as planned, with Niko Kovac's men finishing second place in Group A, losing first spot to Belgium who claimed the automatic qualification. Croatia, nonetheless, did book a play-offs match as they grabbed the last spot in the top eight best runners-up in the European qualifiers, earning a game against Iceland, which they won 2-0 on aggregate to claim their place in Brazil
WATCH OUT: Fear Vatreni's midfield magicians
Although Croatia boast many high-profile names who ply their trade in some of Europe's biggest leagues, "Vatreni" will be looking to the UEFA Champions and Europa League winning midfield duo of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic for magic on the pitch. The two, who play for La Liga sides Real Madrid and Sevilla, respectively, enjoyed an impressive season, and with the Bundesliga-winning striker of Bayern Munich, Mario Mandzukic, leading their attack, Croatia will be aiming at a successful campaign in Brazil.
WATCH OUT: Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will look to cause havoc for their opponents
Can Kovac prove his credentials on the grand stage?
The resignation of former national team coach Igor Stimac, after Croatia scrapped into the play-offs round due to a shock 2-0 final qualifiers game loss to Scotland, lead to the appointing of former Vatreni skipper Niko Kovac, who captained his country during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Kovac, who also coached the under-21 side, saw the national team through the play-offs win against Iceland, and has been in charge for only four games so far, having a 50% winning rate.
Can Kovac bring glory to the Croatian national side?
On June 1, Croatia announced their final 23-man squad that will take on their Group A opponents come June 12, with Southampton's Dejan Lovren, Wolfsburg's Ivan Perisic, Inter Milan's Kovacic, Hull City's Nikica Jelavic, and former Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva all making the cut.
For all Croatia's World Cup games, check out their match page for information on live stream, channel listings and broadcasting.
