Croatia drew a challenging group, with the likes of Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland. On 16 June, Croatia won their opening match of the 2018 World Cup, beating Nigeria by a scoreline of 2–0. However, during the game, forward Nikola Kalinić had refused to come on as a late substitute, citing a back injury as his excuse, although he had used this excuse earlier during a friendly match against Brazil, as well as the previous training session. This prompted Dalić to send him home on just the fifth day of the tournament. Dalić stated that he needed "prepared players, while Kalinić did not show up at three occasions". Dalić received praise for his treatment of Kalinić, with some stating that he had cemented his position as a head coach with the decision. On 21 June, Croatia overwhelmed football heavyweights Argentina, winning by a scoreline of 3–0, with Ante Rebić, Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić scoring the goals. The victory led Croatia to a spot in the knockout stage for the first time since the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which they finished third place. On 26 June, Croatia topped their group with maximum points following a 2–1 win over Iceland, and drew Denmark in the round of sixteen, advancing after a penalty shootout. Croatia again won through a penalty shootout against hosts Russia in the quarter-finals, setting up a semi-final tie against England. On 11 July, Croatia beat England 2–1, advancing to the final, where they lost 4–2 to France on 15 July. For the achievement, he received the Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport Yearly Award.