00:05Croatia entered the official FIFA rankings in 1994, when they were placed 125th in the world.
00:16Four years later, they were ranked fourth.
00:19Having taken the sport by storm at Euro 96, and especially France 98,
00:25they have rarely left the top 20 ever since, establishing themselves as a powerhouse of international football.
00:35Iterations of a Croatian national team existed as early as 1918,
00:40and between 1941 and 1945, the side representing the Nazi Germany puppet state of Croatia
00:47played a series of friendlies against near neighbours.
00:53But it wasn't until 1990 that the side we recognise today began to emerge.
00:59In that year, while still formerly part of Yugoslavia,
01:04Croatia took on the USA, who were touring Europe at the time,
01:08and debuted their now iconic checkerboard jerseys.
01:14Two further unofficial friendlies took place,
01:17building towards Croatia's recognition as an independent nation in January 1992.
01:27Euro 96 was the first tournament Croatia could qualify for,
01:32and they reached it in style,
01:34topping a qualification group containing recent World Cup finalists, Italy,
01:39as Bonomir Boban and Robert Prozinewski were influential.
01:43But the superstar was Davos Shuker,
01:46who found the back of the net a continent-leading 12 times.
01:52Shuker was no slouch at the finals either,
01:56scoring three times as his side reached the quarter-finals.
01:59His lob over Peter Schmeichel during the group phase to seal a 3-0 victory
02:04was the high point of Croatia's colourful entry to competitive football,
02:08and put the world on notice that this small, new nation had some serious talent.
02:19That message was reinforced at France 98,
02:22when Shuker's goals led Croatia to victories in their first two World Cup finals matches.
02:28Another saw off Romania in the round of 16.
02:31The Real Madrid star was at it again in the quarter-finals,
02:35sealing a statement 3-0 victory over Germany.
02:44Shuker opened the scoring in the semi-final against France,
02:47but the tournament hosts equalised almost immediately,
02:51and ran out 2-1 winners.
02:53But Croatia regrouped to secure a bronze medal,
02:57with victory over the Netherlands in the third-place play-off.
03:04It was an unprecedented arrival on the international stage.
03:11In hindsight, World Cup 98 marked the end of Croatia's first golden generation.
03:20The second golden generation began to emerge
03:23during a run to the quarter-finals of Euro 2008.
03:27The squad contained Vedran Chorluka,
03:31Ivan Rakitic,
03:32and Luka Modric,
03:34all aged 22 or under.
03:39Their progress was overseen by Slavin Bilic,
03:43but after he left in 2012,
03:45progress stalled.
03:46There was particular disappointment
03:49at a poor Euro 2016 campaign.
03:52There was a silver lining to an early exit.
03:55The appointment of Zlatko Dalic.
04:00Dalic was the coach who figured out
04:02how to maximise the enormous potential of Modric,
04:05now into his 30s,
04:07gifting him a free role in midfield
04:09alongside Rakitic
04:10and the hard-working Marcelo Brozovic.
04:13Together,
04:15that trio controlled matches,
04:17monopolising possession
04:19and feeding Maria Mandzukic
04:21and Ivan Parisic ahead of them.
04:25At Russia 2018,
04:27Croatia entered ranked 20th in the world,
04:30but a 3-0 group stage victory
04:33over Lionel Messi's Argentina
04:34put the tournament on notice.
04:40Daniel Subasic's penalty-saving prowess
04:42then came to the fore,
04:44saving his side in consecutive penalty shootouts,
04:48before an extra-time finish from Mandzukic
04:51made Croatia the 13th country
04:53to reach a World Cup final
04:55and the second smallest
04:57by both population and land area.
05:02The final against France
05:04did not go according to plan,
05:06but Croatia still returned to Zagreb
05:08to a hero's welcome.
05:14The COVID-interrupted Euros of 2020
05:16were a disappointment,
05:18but the Croatian squad
05:20remained one of abundant quality,
05:22enhanced by the emergence
05:24of Jozko Vkvaryol in defence.
05:26So a strong performance
05:28at Qatar 2022
05:29was still expected.
05:33Even so,
05:34it was still an accomplishment
05:35to advance out of the group phase
05:37at favourite Belgium's expense.
05:39Then, for the second World Cup in a row,
05:42survive back-to-back penalty shootouts
05:43to reach the semi-finals.
05:46Dominic Ljibakovic this time,
05:48writing his name into history.
05:53Ljibakovic was powerless
05:54to deny Lionel Messi's destiny
05:56in the semi-finals,
05:57but victory over Morocco
05:59gave Croatia
06:00a second World Cup bronze medal
06:02to go with silver
06:04from four years earlier.
06:08Seven possible World Cups
06:10as an independent country,
06:12six appearances at the finals
06:14and three visits to the podium.
06:17It is a remarkable record.
06:21The challenge now
06:22is maintaining that status
06:24as living legends depart the stage.
06:26Modric and Perisic
06:28continue to rage
06:29against the dying of the light,
06:31but there is only so long
06:32they can carry the team
06:34on their shoulders.
06:35The third golden generation
06:37does not appear to be forthcoming.
06:41But nobody would bet
06:43against one materialising.
06:45Croatia have proven repeatedly
06:47during their short existence
06:49that they are not
06:50to be underestimated
06:51as a leading football nation.
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