The
UEFA European Championship is one of the major competitive international football tournaments, first played in
1960 , whose finals stage has been held every four years.
The
Croatia national football team has contested this tournament since
1996 , having been part of
Yugoslavia up until the
qualifying stages for the
1992 edition . Croatia has
qualified for every Euro competition except for the
2000 edition , played in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team's best performances have been reaching the quarter-finals twice — in 1996 and
2008 , losing to
Germany and
Turkey , respectively.
Overall record
UEFA European Championship record
Qualification record
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
Squad
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1960 to
1992
Part of
Yugoslavia
Part of
Yugoslavia
1996
Quarter-finals
7th
4
2
0
2
5
5
Squad
1st
10
7
2
1
22
5
2000
Did not qualify
3rd
8
4
3
1
13
9
2004
Group stage
13th
3
0
2
1
4
6
Squad
2nd
10
6
2
2
14
5
2008
Quarter-finals
5th
4
3
1
0
5
2
Squad
1st
12
9
2
1
28
8
2012
Group stage
10th
3
1
1
1
4
3
Squad
2nd
12
8
2
2
21
7
2016
Round of 16
9th
4
2
1
1
5
4
Squad
2nd
10
6
3
1
20
5
2020
14th
4
1
1
2
7
8
Squad
1st
8
5
2
1
17
7
2024
Qualified
2nd
8
5
1
2
13
4
2028
To be determined
To be determined
2032
Total
Quarter-finals
7/8
22
9
6
7
30
28
–
–
78
50
17
11
148
50
*Draws include knockout matches decided via
penalty shoot-out .
UEFA Euro 1996
Qualifying
^
a
b Head-to-head points: Croatia 4, Italy 1.
Group stage
Croatia's 3-5-2 lineup in the Euro 1996
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals
UEFA Euro 2004
Qualifying
^
a
b Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Croatia +3, Belgium −3.
Play-offs
Croatia won 2–1 on aggregate and qualified for
UEFA Euro 2004 .
Group stage
Croatia's 4-4-2 lineup in the Euro 2004
UEFA Euro 2008
Qualifying
In the qualifiers, Croatia was drawn into
Group E of
Euro 2008's qualifications , along with
Andorra ,
England ,
Estonia ,
Macedonia ,
Israel and
Russia .
Over the course of qualifying, Croatia racked up nine wins, two draws, and one loss. Croatia's loss was a 2–0 defeat at
Skopje ,
Macedonia . Croatia and Romania became the final teams to record their first loss, both on the 17 November 2007 matchday, in a qualification cycle where every team suffered at least one defeat. Croatia gathered numerous headlines after knocking England out on the final matchday, with a 3–2 victory at
Wembley Stadium .
[4]
Croatian striker
Eduardo was the second-highest goalscorer in qualifications with ten goals, trailing
Northern Ireland 's
David Healy .
^
a
b Head-to-head points: England 4, Israel 1.
Group stage
Croatia's 4-4-2 lineup in the Euro 2008
^
a
b Tied on head-to-head result (Austria 1–1 Poland). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
Knockout phase
Quarter-finals
UEFA Euro 2012
Qualifying
Play-offs
Croatia won 3–0 on aggregate and qualified for
UEFA Euro 2012 .
Group stage
Croatia's 4-4-2 lineup in the Euro 2012
UEFA Euro 2016
Qualifying
Group stage
Croatia's 4-2-3-1 lineup in the Euro 2016
Knockout phase
Round of 16
UEFA Euro 2020
Qualifying
Group stage
Croatia's 4-2-3-1 lineup in the Euro 2020
^
a
b Tied on head-to-head result (Croatia 1–1 Czech Republic) and overall goal difference (+1). Overall goals for was used as the tiebreaker.
Knockout phase
Round of 16
UEFA Euro 2024
Qualifying
Group stage
List of matches
Year
Round
Opponent
Score
Result
Venue
Croatia scorers
1996
Group stage
Turkey
1–0
W
Nottingham
Vlaović
Denmark
3–0
W
Sheffield
Šuker (2),
Boban
Portugal
0–3
L
Nottingham
—
Quarter-finals
Germany
1–2
L
Manchester
Šuker
2004
Group stage
Switzerland
0–0
D
Leiria
—
France
2–2
D
Leiria
Rapaić ,
Pršo
England
2–4
L
Lisbon
N. Kovač ,
Tudor
2008
Group stage
Austria
1–0
W
Vienna
Modrić
Germany
2–1
W
Klagenfurt
Srna ,
Olić
Poland
1–0
W
Klagenfurt
Klasnić
Quarter-finals
Turkey
1–1 (
a.e.t. ) (1–3
p )
D
Vienna
Klasnić
2012
Group stage
Republic of Ireland
3–1
W
Poznań
Mandžukić (2),
Jelavić
Italy
1–1
D
Poznań
Mandžukić
Spain
0–1
L
Gdańsk
—
2016
Group stage
Turkey
1–0
W
Paris
Modrić
Czech Republic
2–2
D
Saint-Étienne
Perišić ,
Rakitić
Spain
2–1
W
Bordeaux
Kalinić ,
Perišić
Round of 16
Portugal
0–1 (
a.e.t. )
L
Lens
—
2020
Group stage
England
0–1
L
London
—
Czech Republic
1–1
D
Glasgow
Perišić
Scotland
3–1
W
Glasgow
Vlašić ,
Modrić ,
Perišić
Round of 16
Spain
3–5 (
a.e.t. )
L
Copenhagen
Pedri (
o.g. ),
Oršić ,
Pašalić
2024
Group stage
Spain
–
TBD
Berlin
Albania
–
TBD
Hamburg
Italy
–
TBD
Leipzig
Players with most appearances
Rank
Player
Matches
Years
1
Luka Modrić
13
2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
2
Darijo Srna
12
2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
3
Vedran Ćorluka
11
2008, 2012, 2016
4
Ivan Perišić
10
2012, 2016, 2020
Ivan Rakitić
2008, 2012, 2016
Goalscorers
Awards
See also
Notes
References
External links
General Statistics Results Players World Cup Finals UEFA Euro Finals UEFA Nations League Finals Rivalries Matches Goal scorers Other teams
1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s).