four years after their World Cup final, how are Croatia renewing themselves?

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At the start of the League of Nations, Croatia needed to move to win. After a heavy defeat against Austria in Osijek (0-3) and a draw against France in Split (1-1), it was in Denmark that the Croatian team won on Friday (1-0) to occupy 3rd place in group 1. With two points ahead of the Blues, which Croatia finds on Monday June 13, at the Stade de France, for the return match.

Almost four years after losing in the World Cup final to the French team, Croatia have fallen from 4th place in the FIFA rankings to 16th place. However, the selection led by Zlatko Dalic continues to be ambitious, despite a population of only 4.5 million inhabitants. How do Croatia manage to continue to be among the best teams in the world? Answers with Stipe Pletikosa, former goalkeeper of the selection and technical director of the Croatian football federation.

Training, the permanent bet

Split, where the Blues faced Croatia last Monday, boasts of being the city with the most Olympic medalists in the world, in proportion to its population. Croatia is indeed a country of sports. Among them, “football is undoubtedly the most popular”, assures Stipe Pletikosa. The France team saw it in the Poljud stadium last Monday, whose support allowed Croatia to get the point of a draw at the end of the match (1-1).

In all disciplines, the country invests in the training of young talents. Football is no exception. “The federation does a lot of work to identify young players very early and develop them. And we have good coaches and good academies who know how to develop these talents”, supports the third most capped player (114 caps) in the history of Croatia.

“If you look at the 2018 World Cup squad, only Ivan Rakitic, who was born and raised in Switzerland, was not a player from the Croatian side. It remains to be seen whether promising players should harden up in Croatia, or help the selection by starting young in the major championships to gain experience there.

“It all depends on the players. But someone like Josko Gvardiol didn’t need to stay in the Croatian league any longer. At 19, he was more than ready to play in the Bundesliga“, assures Pletikosa. The young central defender of RB Leipzig is part, with other players, of the promising new generation which will have to carry Croatia in the years to come.

A promising new generation

Last Monday, a Croatian player made a very good start against the Blues: Luka Sucic. The 19-year-old midfielder, born and trained in Austria, has always evolved in the Croatian selections and represents one of the country’s greatest hopes. “He’s a very big talent, like Gabriel Vidovic, who plays at Bayern Munich or Roko Simic from RB Salzburg”, describes Pletikosa.

The last two are still with the Espoirs but their appearance in the first team will not be long in coming. Among the A, Croatia can therefore already count on Gvardiol, “one of the best young centrals in the world”, and Lovro Majer, the Stade Rennes player, “which still has a very large room for improvement”, according to the technical director. These young people can now cohabit with the bosses of the selection, who act as a model.

Inspirational patterns

“Luka Modric is the best player Croatia has produced. You will never find a new Modric”, assures Pletikosa, admiring the career of the midfielder who has just won his fifth Champions League with Real Madrid. Against France, the captain celebrated his 150th cap. At 36, the environment continues to inspire tens of thousands of young Croatian footballers.

“They can rely on more experienced players like Modric or Perisic to draw inspiration from their work and their involvement to believe in their chances of playing at a very high level”, explains Pletikosa. In Croatia, Mateo Kovacic also serves as an example, he who remained in the shadow of Modric for a long time before establishing himself, at 28, as one of the best midfielders in Europe.

When Modric retires from international football, he could take over to supervise the young players of the selection. The latter, like the young people in the training centres, can also count on illustrious veterans, converted within the federation. Like Stipe Pletikosa, Mario Mandzukic (89 selections) or even Ivica Olic (104 selections), the latter two being part of the staff of Zlatko Dalic, coach since 2017.

Zlatko Dalic, the guardian of the temple

He has been the face of the Croatian national team for five years. Zlatko Dalic hugged Didier Deschamps last Monday before the match against the Blues, the two men knowing and liking each other. After reaching the 2018 World Cup final nine months after coming on the bench, he gained legitimacy that allows him to stay in the job to this day.

Coach only two seasons in the Croatian first division at the end of the 2000s, Dalic is still under contract until 2024 and should therefore continue the adventure after the World Cup in Qatar. A stability that befits the selection, despite disappointing performances since the final of the Russian World Cup. “This result was so extraordinary that it was difficult to continue on this momentum. But we achieved all our objectives: to qualify for Euro 2020, for the World Cup as well”assures Pletikosa.

Croatia experienced an air pocket during the last League of Nations. But Dalic had managed to maintain the selection in the first division of the competition. Enough to allow him to stay in office. “It is normal that the Federation continues to support him, especially since the players appreciate him enormously, supports Pletikosa. The team had changed a lot after the World Cup. When you lose players like Mandzukic or Rakitic, it shows.” At the next World Cup, Croatia will face Belgium, Canada and Morocco in Group F. “We have brought in new blood and promising young talent, so we are on the right track to continue to be competitive against the big nations,” he concludes, training still in mind.


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