Croatia. The pre-tournament read.

Croatia arrive at the 2026 World Cup with the same head coach who took them to the 2018 final and the Qatar 2022 third-place play-off, and the same captain who has dictated the midfield through both. Modrić at 40 is the centre of every Croatia conversation; Gvardiol is the new defensive anchor; Kovačić is the second midfield voice. Group L pairs Croatia with England — the 2018 semi-final rematch — and two pot-3/4 teams. The route to the round of 16 is real. Anything past it is a victory lap for Modrić's last tournament; for the federation, the post-Dalić rebuild begins the day the country exits.

AGENT-AUTHOREDAgent-authored tournament read. Treat the framing and group outlook as editorial judgement; sourced facts are separated below.

Top three starsGROUNDED

AC Milan · Central midfield
Luka Modrić
Captain since 2016. 40 years old at the tournament start; the 2026 World Cup is almost certainly his last. 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, the spine of every meaningful Croatia performance for a decade and a half.
Manchester City · Centre-back
Joško Gvardiol
Premier League regular since 2023, Champions League winner. The defensive anchor and the player Croatia's back-line has been organised around since Qatar 2022.
Manchester City · Central midfield
Mateo Kovačić
Modrić's midfield partner. Six Premier League seasons of starting-eleven football across Chelsea and Manchester City; the post-Modrić generation's most-decorated central midfielder.

Qualifying scorer sketchAGENT-AUTHORED

Agent-authored figures · needs verification before match-use.

01 Andrej Kramarić · TSG Hoffenheim4 g · 9 of 10
02 Bruno Petković · Dinamo Zagreb4 g · 8 of 10
03 Luka Modrić · AC Milan3 g · 10 of 10

Road to 2026GROUNDED

7 OCT 2017
Zlatko Dalić appointed head coach
Inherited a Croatia team in qualification crisis. Won the playoff against Greece in his first qualifying campaign and led the team to the 2018 World Cup final.
15 JUL 2018
Lost 4-2 to France in the 2018 World Cup final
Moscow. Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappé. Croatia's deepest tournament finish ever.
17 DEC 2022
Beat Morocco 2-1 for third place at Qatar 2022
Mislav Oršić's 42nd-minute winner. Croatia's third top-three World Cup finish in modern history.
24 JUN 2024
Eliminated in the Euro 2024 group stage
0 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses. The cycle's low point and the result that fixed Dalić's selection priorities for the 2026 cycle.
5 DEC 2025
Drawn into Group L with England, Ghana, Panama
England are the seeded test — Tuchel's first World Cup, the 2018 semi-final rematch storyline. Ghana are the African pot-3 piece. Panama are the pot-4 entrants.

Did you knowGROUNDED

Croatia have reached two World Cup finals (2018, semifinal 1998) — runners-up at 2018, third place at 1998 and 2022. The country has finished in the top three at three of its six World Cup appearances (1998, 2018, 2022).
Luka Modrić has been Croatia captain since 2016. He is the most-capped Croatian player ever and the only Croatian to win the Ballon d'Or (2018).
Zlatko Dalić has managed Croatia at three consecutive World Cups (2018, 2022, 2026) — one of only four head coaches in the 2026 field to have done so.
Croatia's deepest non-World Cup tournament run was Euro 2008 (quarter-final loss on penalties to Turkey). The country has never reached a European Championship semi-final.

Manager + squad

In charge since 1 OCT 2017

Zlatko Dalić

Eight years and counting — the longest UEFA head coach tenure at the 2026 World Cup other than Didier Deschamps. Pragmatic midfield-first 4-3-3 organised around Modrić as the deep dictator; the system that produced the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 third-place result.

Squad status

Provisional squad announced — final cuts pending

The rest of Group L

England
Ghana
Panama

← All 12 groups