Croatia against African teams in the World Cup

Nigeria 2018: a corner leading to a penalty

Croatia began its World Cup campaign against Nigeria in Group D on June 16, 2018, in Kaliningrad, Russia. In the 32nd minute, a corner from Luka Modrić touched by Mandžukić led to an own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo. In the 71st minute, William Troost-Ekong fouled Mandžukić in the box, and Modrić converted the penalty.

Croatia won the match 2-0. Modrić was involved in both goals, taking the corner that led to the first and converting the penalty for the second, while Nigeria left Kaliningrad without a point. Croatia finished top of Group D before reaching the final, which it lost to France.

Morocco 2022: a draw, then a third place

On November 23, 2022, at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar, Croatia, the runner-up from the last World Cup, and Morocco played to a 0-0 draw in their first match of Group F, leaving each team with one point. The match was low on chances and marked the third 0-0 draw in nine tournament matches. The Moroccans then achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinals.

The two teams met again for the third place on December 17 at Khalifa International Stadium. Joško Gvardiol opened the scoring with a header in the 7th minute, Achraf Dari equalized two minutes later, and Mislav Oršić restored Croatia's lead just before halftime. This 2-1 victory secured Croatia its second bronze medal at the World Cup, following the one in 1998.

Ghana 2026: Croatia's victory in Philadelphia

Before the tournament, Croatia suffered a 0-2 defeat against Belgium, followed by a 2-1 victory against Slovenia in a friendly, thanks to a last-minute goal from Mario Pašalić. Its first match in Group L, which also included Ghana, was tougher: England defeated them 4-2. Before the match against Panama, Zlatko Dalić acknowledged that his team made too many mistakes against England, but stated that Croatia remained a favorite. Subsequently, Croatia defeated Panama.

Ghana, coached by Portuguese manager Carlos Queiroz, opened Group L with a 1-0 victory against Panama in Toronto, thanks to a last-minute goal from Caleb Yirenkyi, followed by a 0-0 draw against England near Boston. Before the final day, Ghana had four points and Croatia three.

On June 27, at Lincoln Financial Field in the United States, Petar Sučić opened the scoring with a long-range shot in the 31st minute. Derrick Luckassen equalized for Ghana in the 73rd minute. Ten minutes later, Nikola Vlašić scored with a header from a corner taken by Modrić, giving Croatia a 2-1 lead, eight years after Modrić's penalty against Nigeria.

In the final standings of Group L, England finished with seven points and Croatia with six. Ghana, third with four points, qualified as one of the best third-placed teams: with twelve groups of four, the 2026 tournament also sent eight third-placed teams to the Round of 16. Both teams were eliminated at this stage: Ghana lost 1-0 to Colombia, while Croatia was knocked out by Portugal.

Summary of these five matches

In total, across these five matches, Croatia scored ten goals and conceded two, resulting in a goal difference of eight. Four of these matches took place in the group stage, with the fifth being the third place match in 2022. Eight different Croatian players scored, not counting Etebo's own goal, and the 4-0 in Manaus accounts for four of the ten goals. Twelve years separate the 4-0 in Manaus from the 2-1 in Philadelphia.

The two goals conceded were equalizers, one by Achraf Dari in 2022 and the other by Derrick Luckassen in 2026, and Croatia won both matches 2-1. Luka Modrić was involved in at least three of the ten goals: the corner leading to the own goal and the penalty in 2018, then the corner for Vlašić in 2026. Cameroon and Nigeria failed to score against Croatia, while Morocco only found the net in the third place match. Five of Croatia's ten goals were scored in the first half, and five in the second.