The strength of the Croatian national team has been outstanding from the late 2010s to the 2020s. The Croatian national team finished as runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and finished third in the 2022 World Cup. If you just look at this, it looks like a traditional European powerhouse. But why is Croatia so strong?
What is Croatia? one of the countries in eastern europe
Croatia is a republic in southern Europe. The capital is Zagreb. The official language is Croatian, and the country became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. Croatia is a very small country with a population of only 4 million people, making it one of the smallest countries in Europe. Despite this, it can be said that it is quite amazing that it has produced so many soccer players. Of all the countries in the former Yugoslavia, it is arguably the most successful country in soccer.
The Croatian national soccer team is one of the strongest countries in Europe.
The Croatian national team is a national team formed by the Croatian Football Federation HNS. His nickname is Havatore, which means “Man of Fire.” Team colors will be white and red. This is reminiscent of the national flag. Croatia is a very small country, with only around 5 million people, but it has a good record of coming second in the World Cup, showing that it is not a small country at all. At the European Championships, the top eight will be the best results. Who is there? You may think so, but there are many of them at powerful clubs in Europe.
Yugoslavia
Croatia was originally a member of Yugoslavia. The country of Croatia achieved independence in 1991 by breaking away from Yugoslavia. He previously participated in the World Cup as a member of the Yugoslavia national team. Croatia’s first match was against the United States in 1990. The Yugoslav national soccer team’s best result was in the top four of the World Cup, but the Croatian national team, which has a smaller population, came in runner-up, which clearly shows how amazing Croatia is.
1998
The Croatian national team made an impact at the 1998 World Cup. They defeated Japan and Jamaica in this tournament, and also defeated Germany and Romania in the final tournament. They also defeated the Netherlands in the third-place match, shocking the world by achieving a top-four finish in their first appearance.
2018
This is not the only shock the Croatian team has made. They were runners-up in the 2018 World Cup. In this tournament, they defeated the Argentina national team 3-0, and also defeated England, Denmark, and Russia. If this is the case, a runner-up finish at the World Cup would be a given.
2022
The Croatian national team made an impact at the 2022 tournament as well. They also placed 3rd in the 2022 tournament. In this tournament as well, they passed the group stage in 2nd place. In the final tournament, they defeated Japan and Brazil, surprising the world once again. Although they lost to the Argentine national team, they won against Morocco in the third-place match, achieving another good result.
Why is the Croatian national team so strong? Reason for winning
Many people may wonder why the Croatian national team is so strong. Why can Croatia win the World Cup? I tried to explain why. There are players like Luka Modric who have won the Ballon d’Or, so they can’t be underestimated.
Strong in penalty shootouts
In fact, Croatia has won a large number of games in penalty shootouts in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. In the 2018 tournament, two games were won on penalties, and in the 2022 tournament, two games were won on penalties. The reason for this is probably that Croatia has many players who are good at penalty kicks and players who are good on their feet. In fact, Croatia has great players such as Modric, Kovacic, and Rakitic, so it may be natural that they can win in a penalty shootout.
flexible tactics
Croatia has the advantage of being able to play with flexible tactics. In modern soccer, tactics change like a chameleon. Croatia is similar, and they sometimes play soccer that connects with passes, and they can also throw in long balls. Since you can easily change your style to suit your opponent, it has the advantage of giving you a considerable advantage over any opponent. The style of play is not the same, but changes depending on the opponent. The players are highly talented and have the mentality necessary to win.
a lot of exercise
Croatia has a lot of great players, but they are not conceited and are willing to work hard. Because they have a lot of movement overall, they cannot attack their opponents easily. There are many players who are excellent at keeping the ball and can do high dribbling and passing, so they are able to advance the game with an advantage over their opponents both offensively and defensively. The way they aim for the goal until the very end is a threat in terms of winning or losing.
someday it will become weaker
As you can see from the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Croatia has undoubtedly become a world powerhouse. However, Croatia is a small country and given its population, it will definitely have a hard time maintaining its military strength. I don’t know when that will happen, but there is a good chance that our military strength will decline significantly in a few years. As a result, it is destined not to be like other powerful countries such as Argentina and France.
Watch the Croatia national team
The Croatian national team can be watched live on various video streaming services. We will introduce it in the article below, but if you are interested, please register.
| Channel | Plan | Soccer Contents | URL |
| DAZN | \3750 | national team major europe leagues J league | DAZN |
| Hulu | ¥1026 | french league dutch league | Hulu |
| WOWOW | \2530 | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League | WOWOW |
| ABEMA TV | ¥960 | national team World Cup Premier League scottish league | ABEMA |
| スカパー | ¥429 + ¥2480 | national team emperor’s cup soccer Bundesliga laliga | スカパー！ |
| J SPORTS | \1100 | fifa world youth | J SPORTS |
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