Croatia qualified for and competed in three consecutive World Cup tournaments between 1998 and 2006, but failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after finishing 3rd in Group 6 behind England and Ukraine. Although they had joined both FIFA and UEFA by 1992, they were unable to enter the 1994 World Cup as qualification had started before the side was officially recognised as a state. In the following three World Cup groups they were eliminated after finishing third in all of them, before finally advancing further than the group stage at the 2018 World Cup. On 11 July 2018, Croatia won their semi-final match against England, advancing the national team to their first FIFA World Cup final wherein they secured second place as runners-up against winners France. Supplanting their third place positioning in 1998, this is the nation's best performance to date.