Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Croatia participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This was their third appearance. Up to 2006, the country had qualified for every FIFA World Cup which it has been eligible for since independence in 1991.
Qualifying[edit]
Croatia was in Group 8 of UEFA's World Cup qualifications. They played alongside Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Malta and Sweden. During the course of qualifications, the team remained undefeated. At the end of qualification, the team was tied with Sweden in points. However, Croatia won the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head record (Croatia won both meetings).
The complete results were as follows:
| Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | |
| 4 September 2004 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb |
 Hungary
|
3:0 | |
| 8 September 2004 | Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg |
 Sweden
|
1:0 | |
| 9 October 2005 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb |
 Bulgaria
|
2:2 | |
| 26 March 2005 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb |
 Iceland
|
4:0 | |
| 30 March 2005 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb |
 Malta
|
3:0 | |
| 4 June 2005 | Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia |
Bulgaria
|
3:1 | |
| 3 September 2005 | Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík |
Iceland
|
3:1 | |
| 7 September 2005 | Ta' Qali, Ta' Qali |
Malta
|
1:1 | |
| 8 October 2005 | Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb |
Sweden
|
1:0 | |
| 12 October 2004 | Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest |
Hungary
|
0:0 | |
The final standings were the following:
| Final Standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
 Croatia
|
24 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 16 | |
| Sweden
|
24 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 4 | 26 | |
| Bulgaria
|
15 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 0 | |
| Hungary
|
14 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 14 | -1 | |
| Iceland
|
4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 27 | -13 | |
| Malta
|
3 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 32 | -28 | |
Players[edit]
Altogether 23 players appeared in the qualifying games. None of the players played in all 10 qualifying matches. Marko Babić, Niko Kovač, Niko Kranjčar, Dado Pršo and Darijo Srna played in 9 games. Darijo Srna was the top scorer with 5 goals. Ivica Banović and Ivica Mornar that made one appearance in the qualifiers did not make the final World Cup squad, while goalkeeper Joey Didulica and future star Luka Modrić made the squad with out appearing in the qualifying games.
Complete list of players in the qualifying matches
| # | Name | Games Played | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darijo Srna | 9 | 5 |
| Dado Pršo | 9 | 4 | |
| Niko Kovač | 9 | 2 | |
| Niko Kranjčar | 9 | 2 | |
| Marko Babić | 9 | 1 | |
| 6 | Igor Tudor | 8 | 2 |
| Ivan Klasnić | 8 | 1 | |
| Josip Šimunić | 8 | 1 | |
| Tomislav Butina | 8 | 0 | |
| Robert Kovač | 8 | 0 | |
| 11 | Jerko Leko | 7 | 0 |
| 12 | Ivan Bošnjak | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | Boško Balaban | 5 | 2 |
| Ivica Olić | 5 | 0 | |
| Mario Tokić | 5 | 0 | |
| Stjepan Tomas | 5 | 0 | |
| Ivica Olić | 5 | 0 | |
| 18 | Dario Šimić | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Ivan Leko | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Stipe Pletikosa | 2 | 0 |
| Anthony Šerić | 2 | 0 | |
| 22 | Ivica Banović | 1 | 0 |
| Ivica Mornar | 1 | 0 |
Source: Croatian Football Federation
| Player was not selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad |
World Cup preparation[edit]
The Croatian national team's World Cup camp was in the spa town of Bad Brückenau in northern Bavaria, Germany. The county of Bad Kissingen in northern Bavaria was the only one to host two teams preparations. Ecuador were based in the city of Bad Kissingen,
The team also participated in several exhibition games around Europe in preparation for the World Cup:
| Results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | |
| 23 May 2006 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna |
Austria | 4:1 | |
| 28 May 2006 | Stadion Gradski vrt, Osijek |
Iran | 2:2 | |
| 3 June 2006 | Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg |
Poland | 0-1 | |
| 7 June 2005 | Stade de Genève, Geneva |
Spain | 1-2 | |
Draw[edit]
Croatia was drawn into Group F. Croatia's opponents in the first stage were Brazil, Australia and Japan, respectively.
History[edit]
From the group, the Croatian team has only faced Japan before in a World Cup, but other matches, both official and friendly ones, have taken place with the other two. The history of those matches up until, but not including, the 2006 World Cup is as follows:
| Opponent | Matches | Victories | Ties | Defeats | Goals scored | Goals conceded | First match |
Last match |
 Brazil
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:1 (on 17 August 2005 at Poljud, Split) | 1:1 (on 17 August 2005 at Poljud, Split) |
 Australia
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0:1 (on 7 May 1992 in Melbourne) | 7:0 (on 7 June 1998 at Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb) |
 Japan
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3:4 (on 23 July 1989 in Tokyo) | 1:0 (on 20 June 1998 at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes) |
2006 World Cup squad[edit]
Head coach: Zlatko Kranjčar
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Stipe Pletikosa | 8 January 1979 | 53 |  Shakhtar Donetsk
|
| 2 | MF | Darijo Srna | 1 May 1982 | 39 | Shakhtar Donetsk
|
| 3 | DF | Josip Šimunić | 18 February 1978 | 45 |  Hertha BSC
|
| 4 | DF | Robert Kovač | 6 April 1974 | 58 |  Juventus
|
| 5 | DF | Igor Tudor | 16 April 1978 | 55 | Juventus
|
| 6 | MF | Jurica Vranješ | 31 January 1980 | 24 | Werder Bremen
|
| 7 | DF | Dario Šimić | 12 November 1975 | 83 | Milan
|
| 8 | MF | Marko Babić | 28 January 1981 | 36 | Bayer Leverkusen
|
| 9 | FW | Dado Pršo | 5 November 1974 | 32 |  Rangers
|
| 10 | MF | Niko Kovač (captain) | 15 October 1971 | 61 |  Red Bull Salzburg
|
| 11 | DF | Mario Tokić | 23 July 1975 | 28 | Austria Wien
|
| 12 | GK | Joey Didulica | 14 October 1977 | 4 |  AZ
|
| 13 | DF | Stjepan Tomas | 6 March 1976 | 49 |  Galatasaray
|
| 14 | MF | Luka Modrić | 9 September 1985 | 7 | Dinamo Zagreb
|
| 15 | MF | Ivan Leko | 7 February 1978 | 13 |  Club Brugge
|
| 16 | MF | Jerko Leko | 9 April 1980 | 38 | Dynamo Kyiv
|
| 17 | FW | Ivan Klasnić | 29 January 1980 | 23 | Werder Bremen
|
| 18 | FW | Ivica Olić | 14 September 1979 | 39 |  CSKA Moscow
|
| 19 | MF | Niko Kranjčar | 13 August 1984 | 24 | Hajduk Split
|
| 20 | MF | Anthony Šerić | 15 January 1979 | 14 |  Panathinaikos
|
| 21 | FW | Boško Balaban | 15 October 1978 | 27 | Club Brugge
|
| 22 | FW | Ivan Bošnjak | 6 February 1979 | 14 | Dinamo Zagreb
|
| 23 | GK | Tomislav Butina | 30 March 1974 | 28 | Club Brugge
|
Matches[edit]
All times local (UTC+2)
Round Robin[edit]
Group F
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil
|
9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 |
| Australia
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Croatia
|
2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 |
| Japan
|
1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 |
First Round
Brazil vs Croatia[edit]
13 June 2006 – 21:00
Olympic Stadium, Berlin – Attendance: 72,000
| Brazil
|
1 – 0 | Croatia
|
Kaká  44'
|
(1 – 0) | |
| (Report) |
|
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Wikinews has related news: Brazil trot to 1-0 win over Croatia in Group F |
- Referee: Benito Archundia Tellez
- Assistant referees:
- José Ramírez
- Héctor Vergara
- José Ramírez
- Fourth official: Mohamed Guezzaz
- Fifth official: Brahim Djezzar
- Man of the match: Kaká
Japan vs. Croatia[edit]
18 June 2006
15:00 – FIFA World Cup Stadium Nuremberg, Nuremberg – Attendance: 41,000
| Japan
|
0 – 0 (0–0) | Croatia
|
| (Report) |
|
 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Wikinews has related news: Croatia and Japan share point in Group F |
- Referee: Frank De Bleeckere
- Assistant referees:
- Peter Hermans
- Walter Vromans
- Peter Hermans
- Fourth official: Kevin Stott
- Fifth official: Gregory Barkey
- Man of the match: Hidetoshi Nakata
Croatia vs Australia[edit]
22 June 2006
21:00 – Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart – Attendance: 52,000
| Croatia
|
2 – 2 (1–1) | Australia
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Srna 2'
|
(Report) | Moore 39' (pen.)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kovač 56'
|
Kewell 79'
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Wikinews has related news: Australia draws with Croatia 2-2, advances to next round in Group F |
- Referee: Graham Poll
- Assistant referees:
- Philip Sharp
- Glen Turner
- Philip Sharp
- Fourth official: Kevin Stott
- Fifth official: Gregory Barkey
- Man of the match: Harry Kewell
Miscellaneous[edit]
Prior to the Croatia's match against Brazil, 823 flares were confiscated from fans. However, Croatian fans managed to sneak in at least two and lit them during the game. This game was also marked by a Croatian fan stepping onto the field and kissing the boots of Croatian forward Dado Pršo.
References[edit]
- ↑ Šimunić was given three yellow cards in the match: the referee failed to send him off the pitch after the second yellow, and was only red carded after the third yellow. The original FIFA match report listed all three yellow cards, however was revised shortly after, with the second yellow card (90') not being recorded; it is unknown whether this was for consistency in the reports, or whether the card was retrospectively overturned.
This article "Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
