They were named FIFA Best Mover of the Year in 1994 and 1998, thus becoming the first national team to win the award twice and also equalling joint records with France and Colombia.

[9][6] During the nation's pre-independence, Croat footballers played for Yugoslavia at the Summer Olympics,[11] the FIFA World Cup,[12] and the UEFA European Championship from 1956 to 1990.

[15][16] Caretaker manager Dražan Jerković, led the de facto national side before their formal re-admission into FIFA on 3 July 1992,[17] winning two more friendly games against Romania in December 1990 and Slovenia in June 1991.

[20] Croatia gained admission into UEFA in June 1993, three months after qualification for the 1994 World Cup started, missing their window to enter the competition.

[6] After finishing first in qualifying, the team halved their spot in the World Ranking, ascending to number 62, winning FIFA's 1994 Best Mover of the Year in December 1994.

[35] After a goalless first-half, Croatia led after Aljoša Asanović pushed past Zinedine Zidane to cross a ball downfield to Šuker who scored after a one-on-one with goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.

[39][40] Croatia started their qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup with draws against Belgium and Scotland prompting Blažević's resignation as head coach in October 2000.

[42][43] The team was eliminated by one point,[44] leading to the resignation of Jozić and succession of Otto Barić in July 2002, their first manager born outside of Southeastern Europe.

[46] Croatia qualified in a playoff victory against Slovenia, winning 2–1 on aggregate after Dado Pršo's decisive late goal in the second leg.

[52][53] In the group stage, Croatia lost their opening game to Brazil and drew 0–0 with Japan after Darijo Srna missed a first-half penalty.

[56] In July 2006, prior to Euro 2008, Kranjčar was replaced with Slaven Bilić, who introduced newer, younger players to the squad and finished qualifying undefeated.

[61][62] Eduardo da Silva, the team's top goalscorer during qualifying, sustained an injury while playing for his club, Arsenal, leading to a shake-up in the finals squad with less experienced players.

[80] The team had a number of players' injuries during qualifying and were ultimately eliminated, on points, as Ukraine defeated both England and Andorra to advance in the group.

[81] Croatia was a candidate to co-host Euro 2012 with Hungary which would have resulted in automatic qualification for both countries; UEFA ultimately selected Poland and Ukraine.

Succeeding Bilić, former player Igor Štimac was appointed manager while Davor Šuker assumed the presidency of the Croatian Football Federation in 2012 after the death of Vlatko Marković.

[91] Kovač led the team to a 2–0 aggregate victory over Iceland in the qualifying playoffs for the 2014 World Cup with both goals coming in the home leg in Zagreb.

[140][141] Mario Mandžukić and Perišić scored as Croatia won 2–1 making them the second-smallest country by population (after Uruguay) and land mass (after the Netherlands) to reach a World Cup final.

[185][186] Croatia similarly beat Brazil during the quarter-finals in an upset victory on penalties, having come from behind to draw 1–1 in the final minutes of extra time.

[200][201][202] The typical kit color-way features red-and-white checkered shirts, white shorts and blue socks to match the Croatian tricolor (Trobojnica).

[200] There have been variations made by the kit manufacturers since the original release; the jersey design has remained consistent throughout the years and has served as a blueprint for other Croatian national sports teams and entities.

Since then, Croatia has used darker colored away kits such as the dark navy-and-black checkered design that featured prominently in the 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign.

Political scientist Alex J. Bellamy observed in 2003 that the national team became a symbol of statehood in Croatia after their independence through the cultural export of football.

[211] A part of the team's support consists of fans of Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, the two largest clubs in Croatia's top domestic football league, the Hrvatska nogometna liga (HNL).

[213][214] Regional support for the team also comes from Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly from fans of domestic clubs Zrinjski Mostar and Široki Brijeg.

[218] In addition to chants, the team regularly have songs dedicated to them, such as Slaven Bilić's "Vatreno ludilo" (Fiery Madness) which topped Croatian music charts during Euro 2008.

[8][221] The football federation, government, and players have made material efforts to prevent unwanted incidents in order to avoid damage to the perception of the team and Croatian people.

[234] In November 2018, the players gathered in The Westin Hotel in Zagreb to answer fans' phonecalls, the proceeds of which were donated to the Vatreno Srce Foundation.

The Croatian Football Federation previously agreed on extensive plans with the government to renovate the stadium and increase its forty-thousand seating capacity, the proposal was eventually rejected by Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić in 2008 due to construction costs.

Win Draw Loss Fixture The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Croatia manager's results in the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship.

[259] Their debut World Cup campaign, during 1998, propelled Croatia to third place after the tournament, marking the fastest, most volatile ascension in FIFA ranking history.