page_title: Croatia–France relations
section_title: Sports rivalry
hierarchical_section_title: Croatia–France relations / Sports rivalry
caption_attribution_description: Español: Final de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol Rusia entre las selecciones de Francia y Croacia English: Final of the Soccer World Cup Russia between the national teams of France and Croatia Français&#160;: Finale de la Coupe du Monde de Football Russie entre les équipes nationales de France et de Croatie Hrvatski: Finale nogometnog prvenstva Rusija između reprezentacija Francuske i Hrvatske Русский: Финал Кубка мира по футболу Россия между сборными Франции и Хорватии
context_page_description: The foreign, diplomatic, economic, and political relations between Croatia and France are bound together by shared history, intellectual development, an overlap in religion, commonalities in language and kinship ties that reach back thousands of years, including kindred, ancestral lines.
  The relations unofficially began during the Carolingian Renaissance in the years 800–900 with religious activity between French Benedictine monks, and the construction of Croatian monasteries. The speaking of French in Croatia can be traced to the 14th century with the religious diffusion of the crusades, and the usage of Croatian texts in French religious studies during the 15th century. Many of the Croatian elite studied at the French Sorbonne during the later 15th century and influenced the political landscape of France for decades to come. In the following two centuries, Croatian elite were active in court and in French cultural and scientific life. During the 1789 French revolution, the principles of the enlightenment spread rapidly throughout Croatia.
context_section_description: France and Croatia began competing against each other in a series of friendly exhibition games, however since 1998, their encounters have become increasingly competitive. As both countries have the red-white-blue tricolor, matches between the two are nicknamed Le derby tricolore ("Tricolor Derby") or Trobojnica  ("Tricolor" game). During the 1998 World Cup, both France and Croatia reached their then-pinnacle of international prowess after the former won the tournament after defeating the latter who took third place. Twenty years later, the two teams battled the 2018 World Cup final where France overcame Croatia 4–2 to secure the trophy. Similarly to 1998, the match with France elevated Croatia to its highest-ever ranking with runners-up positioning. The two teams have competed against each other six times with France winning four matches, and drawing two. 
  Croatia and France also played against each other in the 2018 Davis Cup final with Croatia winning its second title.
caption: Croatia contests the Le derby tricolore with France. The 2018 World Cup Final is seen as the pinnacle of their rivalry.
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