THE usual suspects remain the key men for Croatia… as they have been over a decade.
A clutch of players have either more or close to 100 caps for the Balkan side.
Those include defender Domagoj Vida, midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, former Leicester striker Andrej Kramaric and, of course, captain Luka Modric.
Another, Ivan Perisic, is doing his best to be fit after suffering a complex anterior cruciate ligament injury at his former club Tottenham in September.
Impressive boss Zlatko Dalic has been along for most of the ride too, having taken them to a World Cup final and third-placed finish since taking over in 2017.
A lack of young blood – barring Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol – could cost them though.
Considered a national treasure for his brilliant tournament performances, he spent much of his club career in Croatia, Albania and the Middle East.
Dalic finished second to England in the Euro 2020 group stage but lost to Spain in the last 16.
Performances on the biggest stage have kept Dalic in the job but a tricky group means he has his work cut out this time.
The 2018 Ballon D’Or winner may no longer be an automatic starter for Real Madrid, but he is for his country and is on 174 caps.
Just don’t tell the 38-year-old it’s coming home.
Croatia have an extremely settled line-up with plenty of tournament experience.
The midfield three bring bags of quality and creative spark.
A solid – if unspectacular back four – is not blessed with pace, meaning Josip Stanisic and Josip Juranovic will be tasked with not leaving the centre-backs exposed.
Kramaric will lead the line and look to get on the end of crosses from Perisic – if fit – and Mario Pasalic.
While Croatia have been fantastic in recent World Cups, they have been less impressive in the Euros.
They come into this tournament playing 4-3-3 and their midfield of Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic is one of the most experienced and technically gifted in the world.
In the attacking phase of the game, at least two of those players sit deep to help Croatia to progress the ball through pressure.
As they move the ball into the opposition half, the three central midfielders help Croatia attack with the two wide forwards making movements into the channels or even into the central areas.
This will then, in turn, create space wide that they can play into and exploit.
With a quick switch of play into the wide areas, they are then able to attack into space.
As the Croats attack to the last line and look for ways to break into the opposition penalty area, the midfield is again key.
Croatia will play with a target man looking to receive the ball and link play with the midfielders.
Although Croatia will play in a 4-3-3 this summer, the way that they press sees them move into more of a 4-4-2 with one of the midfielders or wide attackers typically released to work higher along with the striker.
They will then be positioned in two lines of four behind this initial press and will be difficult to play around or through.
Dalic’s side can be extremely aggressive against the ball but they tend to only react in this manner when the opposition are in possession when there has been a clear trigger.
If an opponent takes a poor touch or plays a poor pass then the Croatians, led again by the midfield, will counter press and be aggressive.
This fluid approach out of possession for Croatia will translate to a higher press if the opposition take a poor touch or make a mistake when they are building the attack.
The game intelligence and experience throughout the Croatian squad is key in these situations as they understand when to hold a deeper block and when to jump and press high.
Croatia find themselves in the group of death – with Spain, Italy and Albania.
If they can come out on top, they would face one of the best third-place teams in the last 16 and likely have to go through Germany in the quarter-finals.
Spain and the Netherlands are also in that half of the draw, while England could lie in wait in the final – a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semi.
If they finish second, Hungary and Switzerland are potential last-16 draws, with England, France and Belgium all littering a tough route to the final.
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There are a group of six teams being favoured by the bookies, including England, Spain and Belgium.
Croatia are just outside that core with odds of 40/1 at William Hill.
Football’s “sexiest fan” Ivana Knoll has dropped a major bombshell after revealing she will be single in Germany.
Knoll most recently appeared at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as Croatia reached the semi-finals but there has been uncertainty over whether she would appear this summer.
However, the former Miss Croatia has confirmed that she will be flying out to Germany to support her nation this month – without a man by her side.
The most high-profile of all the Croatian Wags Izabel Kovacic is the wife of Mateo.
A Shakira-lookalike because of her blonde curly locks, she used to be a supermodel.
However, now she is now a fashion designer – after launching a range of organic and eco-friendly baby products with company Lunilou in 2015.
Silvija Brozovic is the glam wife of Marcelo .
The pair finally tied the knot in 2016, after several years together.
Former Tottenham star Ivan Perisic is married to Josipa, who was a good luck charm during the run to the World Cup final in 2018.
The pair were childhood sweethearts and tied the knot in 2012.
Gorgeous brunette Helena Matic is in safe hands with No1 Dominik Livakovic – Croatia’s No1.
He clearly thought the textiles designer from Zagreb was a keeper and they were married in 2022.
