Brief FIFA World Cup History 3-CROATIA. For the 60 years preceding and including the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Croatia competed as part of Yugoslavia. They were unable to compete in the 1994 tournament because they were not officially recognised by FIFA until after the qualifying campaign had started. Their first tournament was France 98 where they finished a very respectable third, beating the Netherlands in the third place match 2-1 thanks to goals from Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker. In 2002 and 2006 the Croats failed to get out of their group, and in 2010 they didnt qualify for the finals. Manager: Niko Kovac The 42-year-old has been in the Croatia hot seat since October 2013, meaning that hes only been in charge for two games. Kovac won 83 caps for Croatia as a player and was a long standing captain before retiring in 2009. His managerial CV is pretty bare, he was academy manager for two years at Red Bull Salzburg before becoming assistant at the same club in 2011. He was Croatia U21 coach for five games in 2013 before taking charge of the senior squad. Captain: Darijo Srna The Croatian skipper is a stalwart in the Shakhtar Donetsk team, playing over 250 times for the club in an 11-year stint with the Ukraine outfit. The right sided player has scored 21 times for his country in 111 games, including in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification Play-off game against Iceland in November. Player to Watch: Luka Modric In August 2012, Real Madrid announced they had agreed a £33 million fee with Tottenham for the centre midfielder. After a brilliant season with Spurs, Modric struggled to find his feet in his first few months with Los Blancos. However, this season, with new boss Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, Modric has been one of the first names on the team sheets and has repaid his coaches faith with good performances. Modric will be key if the Croats are going to tick in Brazil. His playmaking ability has come on in the last 12 months and the likes of Mandzukic will be hoping that the 28-year-old can put some on a plate for him this summer. Croatia in the media: Croatia defender Josip Simunic will definitely miss the World Cup finals after losing his appeal against a 10-match ban imposed by FIFA after he made a fascist salute in November. Former Croatia captain Niko Kovac came to his countrys rescue last October, his lack of managerial experience offset by skills on the pitch to see Croatia through to the World Cup finals. Expected Progress: Will have to fight with Mexico to be able to be in the round of 16. #Uncle_Zazu
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 07:01:17 +0000
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