Nickname	Vatreni (Fiery)
Association	Croatian Football Federation
Coach	Zlatko Kranjčar, 2004-
Most caps	Robert Jarni (81)
Top scorer	Davor Šuker (45)
First international Croatia 2 - 1 U.S.A. (Zagreb, Croatia; 17 October 1990) (but see text)
Largest win Croatia 7 - 0 Australia (Zagreb, Croatia; 6 June 1998)
Worst defeat Slovakia 4 - 1 Croatia (Bratislava, Slovakia; 20 April 1994) Portugal 3 - 0 Croatia (Nottingham, England; 19 June 1996) France 3 - 0 Croatia (Saint-Denis, France; 13 November 1999) (but see text)
World Cup
Appearances	3 (First in 1998)
Best result	Third place, 1998
European Championship
Appearances	2 (First in 1996)
Best result	Quarterfinals, 1996

The Croatian national football team has played since Croatia's independence in 1990-1992 and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation.

The team played in their first major tournament in 1996 and have been a strong force in international football ever since, finishing third in the 1998 World Cup, led by Golden Boot winner Davor Šuker.

Between 1990 and 2004, Croatia has played 115 international games and had 56 victories, 36 draws and 23 losses. The team has been FIFA's "Best Mover of the Year" in 1994 and 1998.

Earlier history

Football was played in Croatia from the beginning of the 20th century, but before the 1990s the country was not independent. Before that, the players from Croatia participated in the teams of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1919-1939), Banovina of Croatia (1939-1941), Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945) and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1990).

For the Yugoslav periods, see Yugoslavia national football team.

Due to political circumstances in Kingdom of Yugoslavia shortly before World War II, Croatian sports teams were allowed to compete under Croatian flag, so the first international of Croatia could be considered a 4 - 0 victory over Switzerland played in Zagreb on 2 April 1940.
During World War II, a Croatian Football Federation representing the puppet state Independent State of Croatia joined FIFA, and played with the teams of the Axis powers. In this period, the team recorded record losses: Germany 5 - 1 Croatia in Vienna, Austria (15 June 1941) and Germany 5 - 1 Croatia in Stuttgart, Germany (1 November 1942).

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1990 - Did not enter, was part of Yugoslavia
• 1994 - Did not enter
• 1998 - Third place
• 2002 - Round 1
• 2006 - Qualified

European Championship record

• 1960 to 1992 - Did not enter, was part of Yugoslavia
• 1996 - Quarterfinals
• 2000 - Did not qualify
• 2004 - First round

Famous past players

• Aljoša Asanović
• Slaven Bilić
• Zvonimir Boban
• Alen Bokšić
• Robert Jarni
• Dražen Ladić
• Robert Prosinečki
• Zvonimir Soldo
• Mario Stanić
• Igor Štimac
• Davor Šuker

Current squad

Goalkeepers:

• Tomislav Butina
• Joey Didulica
• Stipe Pletikosa
• Vladimir Vasilj

Defenders:

• Robert Kovač
• Igor Tudor
• Josip Šimunić
• Stjepan Tomas
• Mario Tokić
• Mato Neretljak
• Dario Šimić

Midfielders:

• Darijo Srna
• Jurica Vranješ
• Niko Kovač
• Marko Babić
• Niko Kranjčar
• Ivan Leko
• Jerko Leko
• Daniel Pranjić

Forwards:

• Dado Pršo
• Ivan Klasnić
• Ivica Mornar
• Boško Balaban
• Eduardo Da Silva
• Ivica Olić
• Ivan Bošnjak

Coaches

• Dražan Jerković, 1990-1991
• Stanko Poklepović, 1992
• Vlatko Marković, 1993
• Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević, 1994-2000
• Mirko Jozić, 2000-2002
• Otto Barić, 2002-2004
• Zlatko Kranjčar, 2004-present