We talk Luka Modric (€7.5m), Andrej Kramaric (€7.5m) and all things Croatia in our latest Euro 2024 Fantasy team preview.
In these country-by-country guides, we’ll be looking at the best players from each nation, taking a stab at predicted line-ups, reviewing the road to Germany and more.
To do this, we’ll be calling on the help of correspondents from each country.
Here, Fantasy Football Scout user Hrvoje Radman (aka @hradman) assists us with a guide to the 2018 World Cup runners-up.
All prices given are from the official Fantasy Euro 2024 game.
THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 17 |
| 2 | Croatia | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 16 |
| 3 | Wales | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | Armenia | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 8 |
| 5 | Latvia | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 19 | -14 | 3 |
Croatia are the national team who continue to punch above their weight, making light of a population of just under four million with sustained overperformance on the football field.
They reached the European Championships for a sixth successive occasion with a narrow victory over Armenia on the final day of qualifying.
That 1-0 win came courtesy of Ante Budimir’s (€7.5m) header and earned Zlatko Dalic’s side a runners-up finish at the expense of Wales in a section that was won by Turkey.
It looked for all the world as though Croatia would progress as group winners after a strong start to the campaign. A draw with Wales on Matchday 1 was followed by three straight victories, including a 2-0 success against Turkey. Back-to-back defeats by Turkey and Wales, however, constituted a wobble but the Vatreni closed out with two wins to avoid the stress of the play-offs.
Croatia mustered just 13 goals in qualifying but their five clean sheets was an impressive achievement, and this defensive obduracy could stand them in good stead when they come up against Italy, Spain and Albania in Germany.
Having reached the final and semi-finals of the last two World Cups, Croatia know what it takes to go deep in major tournaments, although they will want to improve on their last two Euros performances, which ended in the round of 16.
The last of those exits came at the hands of Spain, who beat them 5-3 in a classic encounter in Copenhagen. Having also succumbed to the same side on penalties in the Nations League final last June, Croatia will be hoping it’s third time lucky when they meet their old foes in Berlin on 15 June.
QUALIFICATION IN NUMBERS
- Most starts: Marcelo Brozovic, Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Livakovic, Luka Modric (8)
- Most goals: Andrej Kramaric (4)
- Most assists: Ivan Perisic (2)
- Clean sheets: 5 from 8
RECORD SINCE QUALIFYING
| Date | Competition | Opposition | Result | Score | Goalscorers | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March | FIFA Series | Tunisia (a) | D | 0-0 (5-4 on pens) | ||
| 26 March | FIFA Series | Egypt (a) | W | 4-2 | Vlasic, Petkovic, Kramaric, Majer | Modric x2, Majer, Kramaric |
Croatia took on North African opposition in March, sharing a draw with Tunisia, before beating Egypt 4-2. They also brushed up on their penalty-taking technique by overcoming Tunisia 5-4 in a shoot-out following their goalless draw in Cairo.
Although they lost on penalties to Spain in the Nations League final, they got the better of both Japan and Brazil via spot-kicks at the 2022 World Cup, so they are well-versed at holding their nerve from 12 yards on the big stage.
MOST RECENT INTERNATIONAL LINE-UPS
23/03/2024 – Tunisia (a)
(4-2-3-1): Livakovic (Ivusic 46); Juranovic, Erlic (Caleta-Car 59), Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric (Vlasic 59), Brozovic (Marco Pasalic 59); Mario Pasalic, Kovacic (Petkovic 68), Ivanusec (Majer 68); Kramaric
26/03/2024 – Egypt (a)
(4-3-2-1): Labrovic (Kotarski 46); Stanisic, Vida, Pongracic, Gvardiol (Juranovic 60); Vlasic (Mario Pasalic 67), Modric (Marco Pasalic 60), Brozovic (Kovacic 46); Majer, Pjaca; Petkovic (Kramaric 68)
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| Date | Competition | Opposition |
|---|---|---|
| 3 June | Friendly | North Macedonia (h) |
| 8 June | Friendly | Portugal (a) |
GROUP FIXTURES
- 15 June: Spain
- 19 June: Albania
- 24 June: Italy
HOW FAR WILL THEY GET?
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STAY TUNED FOR MORE EURO 2024 COVERAGE!
A reminder that we’ll be covering the European Championship in great detail this summer.
Part of that coverage will be the usual team-by-team guides on all competing 24 nations in Euro 2024.
But we’ll also have team reveals, strategy guides and much more. The official UEFA Fantasy game will be the main game we’re covering, which you read about below:
There’ll also be £500+ worth of prizes if you join our mini-league! Click the below to sign up:
If you want to be part of our coverage and are a fan of one of the countries competing, do get involved via the below:
7 months, 5 days agoWho are the two best defenses in the Euros?
I assume Italy is one?