Croatia

Matches

16th June
Croatia 2-0 Nigeria

21st June
Argentina 0 - 2 Croatia

26th June
Iceland 1-2 Croatia

1st July
Croatia 1-1 Denmark Croatia win 3-2 on penalties

7th July
Russia 2-2 Croatia Croatia win 3-4 on penalties

11th July
Croatia 2-1 England

Flag: Unfussy tricolor of red, white and blue with an inset Croatian coat of arms featuring the red and white checks you’ll be hard pressed to avoid at the World Cup Finals.

Population: 4.17 million

Nickname: Vatreni, or "The Blazers".

Manager: Zlatko Dalic never played for Croatia but he was the assistant coach of the national Under-21 side under Drazen Ladic.

Captain: Former Spurs schemer and Real Madrid star Luka Modric.

Star Man: Modric again. He may be 32 but he’s still the beating heart of this Croatian side.

Rising star: Napoli’s Marko Rog is a familiar face in Serie A and will give coach Zlatko Dalic a useful option if Messrs Modric, Rakitic and Perisic aren’t delivering.