Inside Croatia's World Cup 2026 roster: Luka Modric leads experienced squad that will face England in Group L

Inside Croatia's World Cup 2026 roster: Luka Modric leads experienced squad that will face England in Group L originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Croatia, one of the darlings of the last eight years in global football is back for another run at an improbable World Cup title.

Luka Modric and Croatia have finished on the podium in each of the past two FIFA tournaments and, helmed by Zlatko Dalic once again, they will aim to secure another memorable run deep into the competition.

With an extremely veteran squad behind them, Croatia have their sights set on a third-straight semifinal appearance, and possibly more, as their "golden generation" bows out with one final show on the grand stage.

The Sporting News has all the key details on Croatia's World Cup squad below.

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Croatia World Cup roster 2026

Dalic revealed his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday, May 18.

Teams had until Monday, May 11 to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which they are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

Below is the final list of players announced by Croatia. Caps and stats are correct as of May 18.

Pos

Name

Club

Age

Caps

Dominik Livakovic

Dinamo Zagreb (Football League, Croatia)

Dominik Kotarski

FC Copenhagen (Superliga, Denmark)

Ivor Pandur

Hull City (Championship, England)

DEF

Duje Caleta-Car

Real Sociedad (La Liga, Spain)

DEF

Martin Erlic

FC Midtjylland (Superliga, Denmark)

DEF

Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City (Premier League, England)

DEF

Marin Pongracic

Fiorentina (Serie A, Italy)

DEF

Josip Sutalo

Ajax (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

DEF

Josip Stanisic

Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany)

DEF

Luka Vuskovic

Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, England)
Currently on loan at Hamburg

MID

Martin Baturina

Como (Serie A, Italy)

MID

Toni Fruk

Rijeka (Football League, Croatia)

MID

Kristijan Jakic

Augsburg (Bundesliga, Germany)

MID

Mateo Kovacic

Manchester City (Premier League, England)

111

MID

Luka Modric

AC Milan (Serie A, Italy)

196

MID

Nikola Moro

Bologna (Serie A, Italy)

MID

Mario Pasalic

Atalanta (Serie A, Italy)

MID

Nikola Vlasic

Torino (Serie A, Italy)

FWD

Ante Budimir

Osasuna (La Liga, Spain)

FWD

Andrej Kramaric

Hoffenheim (Bundesliga, Germany)

114

FWD

Igor Matanovic

Freiburg (Bundesliga, Germany)

FWD

Petar Musa

FC Dallas (MLS, United States)

FWD

Marco Pasalic

Orlando City (MLS, United States)

FWD

Ivan Perisic

PSV (Eredivisie, Netherlands)

152

Croatia World Cup squad analysis

It's an extremely veteran Croatia squad that Dalic is bringing to the World Cup, which comes with both experience and age.

There are an astonishing four players on this roster with over 100 caps, topped by 40-year-old Luka Modric, who could reach the 200-appearance mark at this tournament. Ivan Perisic (152), Andrej Kramaric (114), and Mateo Kovacic (111) are the rest of the group, with eight players on the roster having appeared in both 2018 and 2022.

Conversely, there is only one player below 23 years old, with 19-year-old defender Luka Vuskovic, who has impressed on loan at Hamburg from Tottenham this season, getting a taste of his first World Cup.

Croatia injuries ahead of World Cup

Croatia will have received a scare ahead of the World Cup when legendary midfielder Modric suffered multiple facial fractures in a clash of heads in late April while playing for his club AC Milan, but the 40-year-old will recover in time to play his usual steadfast role at the World Cup.

The only player who has missed out on a potential spot on the World Cup roster is Hajduk Split goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic, who has six international caps but lost his starting spot at the club level thanks to a four-month absence for a groin injury through the heart of the campaign and was therefore not called up.

Otherwise, all key players are fit for action, including Man City teammates Josko Gvardiol and Kovacic who both missed most of the season due to injury but recovered to play a part in the final few matches and earn spots on the World Cup roster.

MORE:A full list of injured star players as the World Cup nears

Croatia players to watch at World Cup

Aside from the "core four" of veteran players who hold down the leadership roles, there are a few players to keep an eye on for Croatia at the World Cup.

As Como have risen to prominence in Serie A this year, baby-faced midfielder Martin Baturina will be one to watch, having scored six goals and assisted three more in Italian top-flight play this season. The Dinamo Zagreb youth product moved to Italy this past summer and excelled, along with many in the Como squad.

Another 23-year-old to keep an eye on is Freiburg striker Igor Matanovic who scored 15 goals across all competitions for the German club this season, with 12 of those coming in 2026. He also scored what proved to be the winner in a 2-1 friendly win over Colombia in March, proving he is a contributor on the international level amongst an otherwise aging attacking unit.

Who is Croatia coach at the World Cup?

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic is the second-longest tenured head coach in global international football, having been in charge of the Vatreni since his hire in 2017. His nine years in charge is only beaten by France boss Didier Deschamps, who is slated to step down after the World Cup following nearly 14 years in the role.

The decision to appoint Dalic has been a masterstroke, as he has elevated Croatia to heights rarely imagined in the former Soviet nation. He brought Croatia to the final at his first World Cup in 2018, and followed that up with a semifinal appearance in 2022.

The 59-year-old never played for the national team himself, despite enjoying a long, 17-year career as a midfielder that included three stints with Croatian giants Hajduk Split. Now, he has enjoyed a legendary run as the national-team boss, as an outspoken, no-nonsense coach.

Can Croatia replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According to the official tournament rules (page 32), "a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team's first match."

Croatia World Cup qualifying results

Croatia finished top of their World Cup qualifying group, doing so in unbeaten fashion with seven victories and one draw across their eight games.

Their only dropped points came in a road match at runners-up Czechia that finished scoreless. They ended qualifying with a remarkable +22 goal differential, scoring 26 and conceding just four times.

Croatia World Cup history

Croatia have only been competing as a UEFA member since the 1998 World Cup cycle after gaining independence from Yugoslavia, and they have quickly blossomed into a global power. Three times already in their short history as a sovereign nation, Croatia have finished on the World Cup podium, with two third-place finishes and once as runners-up.

They finished third at their first-ever World Cup in 1998, and while they would fall back to the pack for a while with three group-stage exits and one failure to qualify across the next four tournaments, they would return to prominence with the famous 2018 run to the final, followed by another third-place result in 2022.

Current FIFA World Ranking: 11 (March 2026)
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances (last): 6 (Qatar 2022)
How Croatia qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group L winners, 7-1-0
World Cup record:
- Games: 30 GP (13 W, 8 D, 9 L)
- Goal difference: +10 (43 GS, 33 GA)