Croatia Is Ready To Keep The Good Times Rolling

The most successful side of the last two World Cups is France. That's a title that winning the tournament and coming oh-so-close to repeating earns you. But which is the second most successful side? If you picked Argentina, the other winner, I wouldn't push back too hard, especially since the Albiceleste lost to the eventual champions in 2018. Instead, though, I'd argue that it is Croatia, home to only 3.8 million people, that has punched so far above its weight that it should be considered the second-best-performing World Cup team over the past eight years. In 2018, Croatia came out of relative nowhere to make the final, and though the grueling journey (two penalty shootout wins and an extra-time victory over England on the way to the final) robbed them of the needed juice to keep up with France in the end, the ride was enough for Luka Modric to claim the Golden Ball at the tournament and, later, the Ballon d'Or. It was a magical run, to be sure, but I'd argue that the country's 2022 campaign was in some ways even better. Despite bringing an aging roster to Qatar, Croatia managed to navigate a tricky Group F, finishing ahead of pre-tournament dark-horse candidates Belgium and Canada. The checkered side then went back to the penalty shootout well, beating Japan in the round of 16 and, shockingly, dispatching Brazil in the quarters. The end of the run came one round earlier that time around, with a 3-0 loss to Argentina in the semis, but in total, Croatia played in all but one match across the two tournaments. That era will go down as Croatian soccer's best generation ever. Would you believe it if I told you that the momentum has not really slowed down since then? Despite another four years on the tires, Croatia enters the 2026 World Cup on the back of a near-perfect qualification campaign; the side only dropped points in a 0-0 draw away at Czechia and walked into this summer's tournament with only a 3-1 friendly loss to Brazil hanging over as a negative result.