Croatia 2026 World Cup Team Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions & Best Bets
Quick quiz time: Which two teams have made the last two World Cup semifinals? France likely comes to mind instantly, as they won in 2018 and took Argentina to the brink in a memorable 2022 final. But the other name might not be as apparent – it’s Croatia, which got to the final in 2018 and then was bested by Argentina in the ‘22 semis before bouncing back to best Morocco in the third-place match.
Soccer fans around the world marvel that a nation so relatively tiny — with a population of less than 4 million people — and so relatively new, having gained independence in 1991 before fighting a four-year war to secure it, can be such a competitive force in soccer.
Though they might not return to the semis for the third straight tournament, and they’re in a challenging group, they’ll still be a force come June – and their trademark checkerboard jerseys give them one of the most distinctive looks in world soccer, even though they’re slightly modified this time around.
Croatia 2026 World Cup Betting Odds
- To Win World Cup:
- To Reach Final:
- To Reach Semifinal:
- To Reach Quarterfinal:
- To Win Group L:
- To Advance From Group:
- Group: Group L
- FIFA Rank: 11
Players like Marcelo Brozović, Dejan Lovren, and Domagoj Vida who were instrumental in prior World Cups have cycled off the national team, but names you recognize — most notably, Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić — are still here, though they’re at the center of an aging core that might be in their final World Cup.
They do have a skewing-younger attacking corps of promising players, including Petar Musa, who has firmly planted himself in this year’s MLS Golden Boot race with FC Dallas. They’re not necessarily at the same golden generation level of international match dependability as Mario Mandžukić was in his heyday, but Modrić will have his choice of forwards to feed.
Still, though, a return to the semis or even the quarterfinals will be more challenging in 2026, given where the 10 teams above them are talent-wise, as a 3-1 loss to Brazil in March illustrated. Their initial group match could be one of the biggest and best clashes, though, coming against England to bring back flashbacks of the 2018 semis.
Croatia 2026 World Cup Best Bet
Croatia should be able to advance out of its group regardless of the England result, even with Ghana and Panamá in the mix, but it gets challenging from there. Expect a team with more talented players in their prime to have a tough but decisive win to dispatch the team with some living legends on it.
Best Bet: Stage of Elimination, Round of 16 (+275)
Croatia 2026 World Cup Players to Watch
Luka Modrić: If you want to feel old, Luka Modrić is now 40, and will be playing in his fifth World Cup. He’s eight years removed from winning the Ballon d’Or deep in the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo era – the only player to win it beside those two between 2008 and 2021 – but is still productive for both club (AC Milan) and country. Look for Croatia’s offense to run through him.
Ivan Perišić: Now at age 37, the PSV Eindhoven winger will be appearing in his fourth World Cup atop the Croatian goalscoring lists. Like Modrić, he’s a consistent performer integral to what Croatia, but he’s also likely playing in his final World Cup.
Andrej Kramarić: The Hoffenheim attacker can play up top or as an attacking midfielder, and has more than 100 caps for the national team. He’s scored goals in the previous two World Cups, and he’s likeliest to score the most goals for Croatia this time around.
Croatia World Cup History
Once part of Yugoslavia, and mired in war during the last World Cup hosted in the U.S., Croatia finally got itself to the party as an independent nation in 1998, with an impressive third-place showing its first time out. Since then, Croatia has only missed one World Cup — the 2010 edition — and has been most successful, other than its debut, the last two times out. All other three times, Croatia’s only made it to the group stages.
Photo Credit: AP/Darko Bandic
