# Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup Croatia participated in the event for the first time. The country went on to finish third.

## Qualifications

Croatia was drawn in Group A of UEFA's World Cup qualifications along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia. Croatia finished second, behind Denmark, and qualified for the World Cup. The team had the following results:
The final standings were the following:
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| Denmark | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 |
| Croatia | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 12 | 5 |
| Greece | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 7 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 14 | -5 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 20 | -15 |

### Players

Team captain Zvonimir Boban is the only player that appeared in all 10 qualifying matches. Davor Šuker was top scorer with 5 goals. Ardian Kozniku, Petar Krpan, Anthony Šerić and Vladimir Vasilj did not appear in any of the qualifying matches but made the final World Cup squad.
Complete list of players in the qualifying matches
| # | Name | Games Played | Goals |
| 1 | Zvonimir Boban | 10 | 3 |
| 2 | Davor Šuker | 9 | 5 |
| 2 | Alen Bokšić | 9 | 4 |
| 2 | Slaven Bilić | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | Aljoša Asanović | 9 | 0 |
| 6 | Goran Vlaović | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | Robert Jarni | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | Zvonimir Soldo | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Dario Šimić | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Goran Jurić | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | Dražen Ladić | 7 | 0 |
| 12 | Robert Prosinečki | 6 | 1 |
| 12 | Igor Cvitanović | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | Nikola Jerkan | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Krunoslav Jurčić | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | Silvio Marić | 3 | 1 |
| 16 | Niko Kovač | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | Marjan Mrmić | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | Igor Štimac | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Tomislav Erceg | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Tonči Gabrić | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Nenad Pralija | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Mario Stanić | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Nikola Jurčević | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Zoran Mamić | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Daniel Šarić | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Igor Tudor | 1 | 0 |
Source: Croatian Football Federation
* Player was not selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad

## World Cup Squad

Head coach: Miroslav Blažević
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Dražen Ladić | 1 January 1963 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 2 | 4FW | Petar Krpan | 1 July 1974 | NK Osijek |
| 3 | 3MF | Anthony Šerić | 15 January 1979 | Hajduk Split |
| 4 | 2DF | Igor Štimac | 6 September 1967 | Derby County |
| 5 | 2DF | Goran Jurić | 5 February 1963 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 6 | 2DF | Slaven Bilić | 11 September 1968 | Everton |
| 7 | 3MF | Aljoša Asanović | 14 December 1965 | Napoli |
| 8 | 3MF | Robert Prosinečki | 12 January 1969 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 9 | 4FW | Davor Šuker | 1 January 1968 | Real Madrid |
| 10 | 3MF | Zvonimir Boban | 8 October 1968 | AC Milan |
| 11 | 3MF | Silvio Marić | 20 March 1975 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 12 | 1GK | Marijan Mrmić | 6 May 1965 | Beşiktaş |
| 13 | 3MF | Mario Stanić | 10 April 1972 | Parma |
| 14 | 2DF | Zvonimir Soldo | 2 November 1967 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 15 | 2DF | Igor Tudor | 16 April 1978 | Hajduk Split |
| 16 | 4FW | Ardian Kozniku | 27 October 1967 | Bastia |
| 17 | 3MF | Robert Jarni | 26 October 1968 | Real Betis |
| 18 | 2DF | Zoran Mamić | 30 September 1971 | VfL Bochum |
| 19 | 4FW | Goran Vlaović | 7 August 1972 | Valencia |
| 20 | 2DF | Dario Šimić | 12 November 1975 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 21 | 3MF | Krunoslav Jurčić | 26 November 1969 | Croatia Zagreb |
| 22 | 1GK | Vladimir Vasilj | 6 July 1975 | NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac |

## Croatia at the World Cup

At the World Cup, Croatia was drawn into Group H along with Argentina, Jamaica, Japan. The team advanced to the round of sixteen, finishing in second place in the group. The team had the following results:
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| Argentina | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 |
| Croatia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| Jamaica | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 |
| Japan | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| Croatia | 3 - 1 | Jamaica |
| Croatia | 1 - 0 | Japan |
| Croatia | 0 - 1 | Argentina |
June 14, 1998
| Jamaica | Croatia | 21:00 - Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Ref: Vítor Pereira (Portugal) Attendance: 38,058 |
| Earle 45' | Stanić 27' | 21:00 - Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Ref: Vítor Pereira (Portugal) Attendance: 38,058 |
| | Prosinečki 53' | 21:00 - Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Ref: Vítor Pereira (Portugal) Attendance: 38,058 |
| | Šuker 69' |
June 20, 1998
| Japan | 0 - 1 (0-0) | Croatia | 14:30 - Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Ref: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago) Attendance: 35,500 |
| | | Šuker 77' | 14:30 - Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Ref: Ramesh Ramdhan (Trinidad and Tobago) Attendance: 35,500 |
June 26, 1998
| Argentina | 1 - 0 (1-0) | Croatia | 16:00 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Said Belqola (Morocco) Attendance: 31,800 |
| Pineda 36' | | | 16:00 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Said Belqola (Morocco) Attendance: 31,800 |
Croatia went on to face the Romanian squad in the round of sixteen.
June 30, 1998
| Romania | 0 - 1 (0-1) | Croatia | 16:30 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Javier Castrilli (Argentina) Attendance: 31,800 |
| | | Šuker (p) 45'+2' | 16:30 - Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Ref: Javier Castrilli (Argentina) Attendance: 31,800 |
Croatia then played the heavily favoured German squad in the quarter-finals after their victory over Romania.
July 4, 1998
| Croatia | 21:00 - Stade Gerland, Lyon Ref: Rune Pedersen (Norway) Attendance: 39,100 |
| Jarni 45'+3' | 21:00 - Stade Gerland, Lyon Ref: Rune Pedersen (Norway) Attendance: 39,100 |
| Vlaović 80' | 21:00 - Stade Gerland, Lyon Ref: Rune Pedersen (Norway) Attendance: 39,100 |
| Šuker 85' |
After this surprise victory, Croatia played the host French team.
July 8, 1998
| France | 2 - 1 (0-0) | Croatia | 21:00 - Stade de France, Saint-Denis Ref: José Garcia Aranda (Spain) Attendance: 76,000 |
| Thuram 47' | | Šuker 46' | 21:00 - Stade de France, Saint-Denis Ref: José Garcia Aranda (Spain) Attendance: 76,000 |
| Thuram 69' | | | 21:00 - Stade de France, Saint-Denis Ref: José Garcia Aranda (Spain) Attendance: 76,000 |
Croatia lost the match against France, ending their World Cup dreams. However, they entered the third place consolation match against the Netherlands.
July 11, 1998
| Netherlands | 1 - 2 (1-2) | Croatia | 21:00 - Parc des Princes, Paris Ref: Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay) Attendance: 45,500 |
| Zenden 21' | | Prosinečki 13' | 21:00 - Parc des Princes, Paris Ref: Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay) Attendance: 45,500 |
| | | Šuker 35' | 21:00 - Parc des Princes, Paris Ref: Epifanio Gonzalez Chavez (Paraguay) Attendance: 45,500 |
With this victory, Croatia finished in third, becoming the surprise of the tournament. Striker Davor Šuker also earned the tournament's Golden Boot for his six goals.