Zlatko Dalić arrives in North America as the longest-serving coach at the tournament, in post since 2017 and now preparing his third World Cup with a federation that has come to trust his pragmatism above all else. His record speaks for itself: a final in Russia, a semi-final in Qatar, achievements that have redefined what this generation, and by extension Croatian football, considers acceptable. A FIFA ranking of 11 understates the cycle's reality — qualification was navigated without alarm, but the squad is older and the margins thinner. Anything beyond the quarter-finals would, this time, count as overachievement rather than expectation.
Key players
At 40, Luka Modrić remains the organising intelligence of this side, and his AC Milan numbers — 54 tackles, 38 interceptions and 192 ball recoveries across 2,849 minutes — show a midfielder still doing the unglamorous work alongside the 55 key passes. Ahead of him, Andrej Kramarić arrives in form from Hoffenheim, where 15 goals and 8 assists from an xG of 10.4 mark him out as both a finisher and a connector between the lines; his 39 key passes hint at the false-nine tendencies Dalić can lean on. The pure penalty-box threat is Ante Budimir, whose 19 goals from 17.8 xG at Osasuna, generated off 106 shots and 119 aerial duels won, give Croatia something they have rarely had: a centre-forward who lives in the six-yard box. Martin Baturina, with 74 key passes and 10 big chances created at Como, is the creative understudy ready to inherit Modrić's playmaking burden.
Predicted XI
Form going into the tournament
Dalić has settled on a 3-5-2 that leans heavily on midfield control rather than territorial pressing. The back three — Gvardiol flanked by Sutalo and the younger Vuskovic — sits deep enough to give Modrić time to dictate from a withdrawn role, with Sučić as the screening anchor and Baturina pushing forward as the genuine creator between the lines. Stanisic and Perišić provide the width, which matters because the front two of Kramaric and Budimir are complementary rather than mobile: one drops, the other occupies centre-backs. Two questions linger. Vuskovic's inexperience alongside Gvardiol is the obvious vulnerability against quicker forwards, and the second striker berth remains genuinely contested. Transitions, never Croatia's strength under Dalić, depend on whether Modrić can still cover the ground a 3-5-2 demands.
Team form
The group opens with the hardest examination: England, ranked 4th, on 17 June, a fixture that will likely decide top spot and the shape of the knockout bracket. Panama (33rd) on 23 June and Ghana (74th) on 27 June are winnable on paper, but both demand the kind of tempo control Croatia have sometimes lacked when favoured. Our model projects a Round of 32 exit, with a probable tie against Colombia (13th) the first knockout obstacle — though the actual opponent depends on final group standings and the third-place permutations. Anything beyond a quarter-final would exceed expectations; failing to clear the Round of 32, given the experience in this squad, would register as a disappointment rather than a surprise.
Country-form leaders
Club-form leaders
Group stage
Group fixtures
