Croatia squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

The Croatian national team fell in love with millions at the World Cup in Russia. However, the silver medalists of the 2018 World Cup, who have been coached by Zlatko Dalic for the fifth year, are not among the main contenders for victory in Qatar. It is unlikely that the Croats will be able to repeat the achievement of four years ago, but then what should we expect from them? Let's figure it out.

Place in the FIFA ranking: 12

Achievements in the 21st century: silver at the 2018 World Cup

Cost of the train: 369 million euros

How did you get to the 2022 World Cup
The Croatian national team qualified for the World Cup in Qatar from the first place of Group H, where it was competed by the national teams of Russia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia. From the latter, the Croats suffered the only defeat in the selection, winning seven matches and drawing twice with Slovakia and Russia. The difference between goals scored and conceded is 21:4.

Modric, Perisic and Pasalic became the top scorers of the national team, scoring three goals and making two assists. At the same time, the Croats scored at least once in eight of the last ten qualifying games.

The composition of the Croatian national team is quite old, the average age is 27.6 years, the main backbone is veterans. Zlatko Dalic is true to himself and calls up experienced players to the national team, only in places diluting them with youth. What are the prospects for this roster?

Croatia's squad for the 2022 World Cup
Approximate composition:

Scheme: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Levakovich

Defenders: Juranovic – Lovren – Guardiol – Stanisic

Midfielders: Kovacic – Brozovic – Modric

Forwards: Perisic – Kramaric – Vlasic

Zlatko Dedic's game of four defenders, at first glance, seems reliable. This is evidenced by the latest selection results. But when you play with teams of the level of Cyprus and Malta, you should not expect anything else. However, everything was not so bad in the League of Nations, with the exception of an unexpected home defeat by Austria with a score of 0:3. In defense, there are veterans who played at the 2018 World Cup, but there are also new faces, such as the promising Guardiol, Sutalo, Erlic, Sosa and Stanisic. It is clear that Dalic will combine the experience of old men and the talent of young football players until he comes to a common denominator by the start of the World Cup.

The midfield is headed by Luka Modric, the 37–year-old captain of the national team and the owner of the Golden Ball. He has no less famous players as assistants: Kovacic, who plays at Chelsea, Brozovic from Inter, Perisic from Tottenham, the promising Susic from Salzburg. Vlasic and Pasalic can also play an important role in midfield or take a place in the offensive line. The coach of the Croatian national team definitely has a good selection of attacking style players.

With such a midfield and at the tip of the attack, it is comfortable to play, here at the disposal of Dalic Orsic, Livaya, Budimir, Petkovic and, of course, Kramaric is the most productive player of the current national team in the forward position.

Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) - 42 million euros

Four-time winner of the Champions League with Real Madrid and Chelsea. In the national team, Matteo is rarely distinguished by effective actions, but he is good at both creation and destruction.

Marcelo Brozovic (Inter) - 40 million euros

Another leader of the Croatian national team, the main player of Inter, who knows how to realize moments at the right moment. However, at the 2018 World Cup, he was able to distinguish himself only with an effective transfer. Will it be more noticeable this time?

Josko Guardiol (RB Leipzig) - 35 million euros

The central defender, for whom Chelsea offered Leipzig as much as 90 million euros, but the German club was able to keep the guy and signed a contract with him until 2027. The hope and future of Croatian football, one of the most promising players at the disposal of Zlatko Dedic.

In Group F, Croatia will face Belgium, Canada and Morocco. Given the difference in class, "checkers" should go to the playoffs. Further , according to the regulations, the Croats will play with the first or second place of the quartet E. Germany, Spain, Japan and Costa Rica play in this group. Therefore, it is very likely that already in the 1/8 finals, Dalic's team will get to one of the favorites of the entire tournament. It will be extremely difficult to go further. The Croats have lost a number of players compared to the last World Cup. Many of the former heroes have completed their careers in the national team. A rather unambiguous situation is emerging. Exit from the group is likely, as is relegation in the first round of the playoffs.