The Croatia Euro 2024 squad remains an exciting one, but their fate isn't necessarily in their hands for the final group game.
After a poor display against Spain in their first match of Euro 2024 ended in a 3-0 defeat, Croatia went into their second game against Albania knowing only a victory would suffice.
All looked to be going rather well for Luka Modric and Co. as they fought back from 1-0 down to lead 2-1, with the three points in the bag as the game entered stoppage time. That is, until Albania's Klaus Gjasula bagged in the 95th minute to break Croatian hearts and leave them bottom of Group B.
It's not all doom and gloom, however. The task is simple: beat Italy and hope Albania fail to beat Spain. Easy, right? If things do pan out the way they'd hope, then Croatia will finish second and face Switzerland in the last 16 - if things don't they'll exit the tournament in the group stages despite reaching the World Cup semi-finals just 18 months ago.
Should Albania win, it's likely Croatia will finish third in the group, though four points will likely be enough to progress to the knockout stages. All is still to play for.
the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists endured a difficult start to the European Championship as they were beaten 3-0 by Spain in Berlin on Saturday.
Despite enjoying unprecedented success since 2017, Zlatko Dalic has never been universally liked. Some Croatia fans resent his links with right-wing politics; others feel he could have done considerably more to ease tensions in the overly tribol domestic club divide.
This is probably the 57-year-old's last major tournament as head coach.
Croatia's star player
Luka Modric
Luka Modric (Image credit: Getty Images)
It is, of course, Luka Modric, in case you had any doubts. The Real Madrid maestro has been a Croatia mainstay for almost two decades, and the way they play is still pretty much tailored to his talents, needs and increasing inability to do any running whatsoever.
The captain may be nearing 40, but he's never fallen short for the national team.
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Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
