FIFA World Cup 2022 - Can Croatia Go One Step Further?

After becoming the football story of 2018, Croatia will now be looking to go one step further by lifting the WorldCup trophy in Qatar in 2022.

Croatia, a country of only 3 million people, came into the 2018 World Cup with little expectation to make a dent in the competition. 

Having been eliminated at the group stage of their last three World Cups, their crop of players wasn't expected to do anything special in Russia. 

They were placed in a group with Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland. With the Argentines being clear favourites to advance, Croatia needed to be ready and firing to deal with the unpredictable Nigeria and solid Iceland. 

They then went on to make the final, losing out to France in a hard-fought 4-2 result.

World Cup 2022 Predictions for Croatia

RELATED: World Cup 2022 Predictions

Croatia's 2018 World Cup Run

Their first match went off without a hitch, dispatching Nigeria with relative ease. However, it was their second game against Messi’s Argentina where the world took notice of this Croatian outfit. Talisman Luka Modric led his side to a 3-0 demolition job of the Argentines and followed that up with a 2-1 win over Iceland. Croatia had unexpectedly topped their group and this paved the way to a much easier draw than first expected. 

They first came up against Denmark and in a thrilling encounter, they got through on penalties. That meant they had set up a clash with host nation, Russia. and after 120 minutes of engrossing football, it went all the way again.

Just like the round before, it was Ivan Rakitic who scored the decisive penalty kick, this time to end the Russian carnival. Somehow Croatia had found their way into the Semi-Final against another side roaring throughout the tournament, England. 

Despite falling behind within the first 10 minutes, the Croatians and got back level. And when Mario Mandzukic tip-toed behind the England defence to score the winner, they sealed a date with France in the World Cup final. 

While some VAR controversy and slightly poor goalkeeping didn’t allow Croatia to reach ultimate glory, they definitely announced themselves and earned the football world’s respect. 

RELATED: World Cup Group Stage Game Predictions

Russia's 2022 World Cup Prospects

They now come into Qatar with the majority of that 2018 squad still intact. The tandem of Modric and Marcelo Brozovic is still bossing every midfield they’re coming up against and with the addition of Matteo Kovacic and Mario Pasalic, there's a new dynamic to this already star-studded midfield. 

The 2018 squad got to the final of the World Cup with a relatively easy draw, avoiding  the ‘big nations’ in the knockout stage until the semi-finals, and even then, England wasn’t the level in 2018 that it is now. 

This time, however, it is almost guaranteed to be a harder lead-in. Croatia will almost certainly play either Spain or Germany in the round of 16. Then in the quarters, it would most likely be one of Uruguay, Serbia, Switzerland, Brazil or Portugal. 

Already this is a much tougher draw than 2018 and considering the ageing squad and the perhaps underwhelming European Championship campaign, this appears to be a slight cause for concern.

Croatia's 2020 Euros Campaign

The best way to judge this current Croatia side and their hopes for the World Cup is by looking at their Euros campaign and dissecting that in further detail. They did get knocked out in the Round of 16 to eventual semi-finalist Spain, and perhaps this campaign is the best depiction of where Croatia is at.

They struggled in the group stage, scraping through in second place. This meant that he had to secure qualification against Scotland on the last match-day. They then fell to Spain in extra time. However, this match probably didn’t deserve to go all the way. 

Spain dominated proceedings, having two-thirds the possessions and nearly double the number of total shots. Spain took a 3-1 lead with 5 minutes to play, before goals from substitutes Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic dragged the game to extra time. 

Two quick goals before halftime of extra time saw Spain become out-of-reach and Croatia couldn’t fight back again. This game proved to be a microcosm of the way Croatia has fared ever since that World Cup final. 

MORE: How Cristiano Ronaldo Can Lead Portugal To Glory in 2022

Throughout the Euros, coach Zlatko Dalic was very persistent and regimented in his system. Deploying a 4-3-3 system for all bar one match, this formation and style of play was engineered to get the best out of his star man, Luka Modric. 

Playing on the right-hand side of the midfield three, Modric was, and still is, the anchor that all Croatia’s build-up play is built around. Having the hardworking Kovacic playing on the other side of the midfield three, with the ever-reliable Brozovic at the base, this proved to be the ultimate midfield trio that Croatia built their side around.   

This way of playing has been a staple of this Croatian team for the best part of four years and despite some slight tinkering here and there, it is relatively the same squad and the same system. 

This has created an aura of predictability around the Croatian side that allows opposition teams to get on the front foot and dominate games. One of the reasons why Croatia was able to explode onto the footballing scene in 2018 was because of their unpredictability, now that it is no longer there, they are losing the same spark that they once had.

But the question will continue to be asked, can they go one step further? It would, arguably, be an even bigger surprise than them making the final in 2018. 

The talents of that midfield are still firing, but with the absence of Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic’s move to wing-back in recent times, they have lacked potency in attack.

Despite Josip Brekalo and Mislav Orsic’s increased involvement in the first team, this new crop of attackers is probably one tournament away from being able to make a real impact. 

It will be a swan song for the golden generation of Croatian football, and maybe, just maybe, they can leave their mark on the world stage one more time.

(Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)