November 16, 2022 - Andrej Kramarić scores in Croatia's only friendly match ahead of the World Cup. Croatia beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Riyadh on Wednesday. 

In the only preparatory match before the World Cup in Qatar, the Croatia national team won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia. Andrej Kramarić brought the victory to Croatia with a great goal in the 82nd minute.

Coach Zlatko Dalić started this match with Croatia's reserves. As announced, Dalić chose a mixed lineup, mostly with players who will not start against Morocco next week. 

Croatia Lineup

Livaković, Stanišić, Lovren, Erlić, Barišić, Sučić, Brozović, Majer, Pašalić, Vlašić, Petković

Croatia looked rough in the first half and only had one shot on goal. Saudi Arabia proved to be a formidable opponent until the very end. Saudi Arabia had several attempts and even hit the post. On the other hand, Croatia was mainly invisible. At halftime, Dalić subbed off Vlašić and Sučić for Kovačić and Oršić. In the 58th minute, Lovren and Petković were subbed off for Vida and Kramarić. 

Kramarić scored in the 73rd minute, but it was called offside. Luka Modrić and Ivan Perišić entered the match only in the 65th minute. 

Croatia finally secured the victory in the final 10 minutes of the match. A great ball by Luka Modrić found Kramarić in the 82nd minute. He shot from about ten meters and hit the near post of the goal for the Croatia lead and ultimate win. Croatia had another goal disallowed after Ivan Perišić scored in the 87th minute. 

This was Croatia's fifth win in a row, coming off a successful Nations League campaign. 

Croatia's first World Cup match in Group F is against Morocco on Wednesday, November 23, at 11 am Croatia time. Croatia travels from Riyadh to Qatar tomorrow. 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

October 19, 2021 - Croatia captain and Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić has spoken out against the biennial World Cup plan, which would move the international event from every 4 to 2 years. 

Former best footballer in the world and captain of the Croatia national football team Luka Modrić said he did not want the World Cup every two years, reports Gol.hr.

"For me, the World Cup every two years makes no sense. The World Cup is special precisely because it is an event that takes place only every four years," Modrić said at a news conference in Kyiv on Monday before the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Shakhtar. 

"I would not like to see the World Cup - every two years. But, as you (journalists) said, they do not ask us much for an opinion," Modrić added.

FIFA still does not give up on the idea of introducing the World Cup every two years. On the contrary, the organization is conducting a feasibility study on the practicality of organizing championships every two years despite fierce criticism from various federations, clubs, players, and fan groups.

FIFA also announced that it would organize video conferences this week to gather the "point of view" of football coaches on the reform of the international calendar and the introduction of the World Cup every two years.

"The reputation of an event depends on its quality, not its frequency. Every year you have a Super Bowl, Wimbledon or the Champions League, everyone is excited and waiting for them," said International Football Federation (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino during a recent visit to Israel.

The Croatia captain also commented on speculations that the Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is one of the primary candidates for the Golden Ball.

The award, given by the prestigious France Football, was won by the 36-year-old Croatian footballer in 2018, and this year he is among the 30 remaining players up for the prestigious award.

"There are a few candidates who can win. For me, Karim is one of them. He deserved it because of how he played this year and how he played in recent years. Besides, he won the Nations League with France, and that's important when voting for this award," Modrić said.

Real Madrid is in second place in Group D of the Champions League with three points, while Sheriff is in the lead with six points. Shakhtar and Inter have one point each.

"We have a crucial game ahead of us. Especially because we lost the last one at home. We have no more room for mistakes. We have to enter the game like Real Madrid, with confidence and strength. We were not at the best level in the last three games, but the national team break was welcome. We are ready to play a good game," Modrić said.

"When you play for Real Madrid, you have to get used to the criticism. If you win, everything goes great, but when the results happen to us, like in the last three games, doubts begin whether we are at a good level or not. We don't worry much; we trust ourselves and our qualities," he concluded.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE.

A look at the terms that saw the most action on Google in Croatia in 2018. 

The Croatian Football Federation and Croatia national team will receive $28 million from FIFA for their World Cup journey. For successfully qualifying for the World Cup, HNS will receive $8 million, while an additional $20 million will be awarded to Croatia for winning the silver in Russia, reports Goal.hr on December 10, 2018. 

Just for placing in the World Cup, Croatia will receive $8 million, and another $1.5 million for travel and accommodation costs, intended exclusively for HNS. By advancing to the final, an additional $20 million was collected, bringing the total prize money to $28 million. 

The $8 million reward will also be given to former Croatia coach Ante Čačić, who led Croatia in nine games. After his team drew at Rujevica against Finland, Čačić was sacked. The last qualifier, not counting the additional qualifications, was led by Zlatko Dalić. For these nine games, Čačić is entitled to $240,000. The remaining $240,000 should be given to Čačić's staff, which included Josip Šimunić, Ante Miše, Marijan Mrmić, Leonard Sovina, and so on. 

The national team players will receive 40 percent of the $8 million for the qualifiers, which is $3.2 million, while $640,000 of that amount will go to Dalić and Čačić's staff. Čačić can now thank Dalić for getting the team to Russia at all, because if he hadn’t, Čačic would not be eligible for any compensation. Thus, of the $640,000, Dalić’s staff will receive $480,000, of which, as we have already said, $240,000 will go to Čačić. 

The remaining $2.6 million will be split between players depending on playing time. It is estimated that the players who played for the most minutes, like Modrić, Rakitić, and Mandžukić, could get about $150,000. Dalić and his staff should receive $160,000 for three qualifying matches.

But that’s not all - Croatia will also receive a decent sum for their Russia campaign. The Croatian Football Federation will receive $20 million, which will be shared 50:50, so, $10 million to the Federation, and $10 million to the players. However, unlike the qualifications, the players have decided to share this money evenly, regardless of minutes. Thus, Modrić and Livaković, who did not play one second in Russia, will receive an equal gross amount of $454,545. Naturally, part of the share will also be given to Zlatko Dalić and his staff. Dalić's share is $2,160,000,000, though this money will not be divided into equal parts.

Zlatko Dalić, as the head of staff and coach, will receive the most, meaning half of that amount, or about a million dollars. Dalić’s staff will divide the rest, but not in equal parts. This money will be allocated to assistants Ivica Olić and Dražen Ladić, goalkeeper coach Marjan Mrmić, video analyst Marc Rochon and others. 

Just how much each member of the staff will receive will be known on Monday after the HNS Executive Committee's meeting. 

To read more about the Croatia national team, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

The international governing body of association football (FIFA) will compensate the football clubs whose players participated in national team preparations and at the World Cup itself. Among them are three Croatian clubs, reports HRT on December 5, 2018. 

“The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of football, generating passion and emotion from every player and every fan in every corner of the world. It is FIFA’s responsibility to redistribute the revenues of this unique competition among the entire football community, and clubs, obviously, deserve to share in this success as they were key contributors. I’m very pleased to see that teams from so many different regions will benefit from this programme, which will help to develop football even further around the globe,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the FIFA website on Tuesday. 

FIFA announced that they would pay $209 million as compensation to clubs who had players participating in the World Cup in Russia this summer. Among them are three Croatian clubs - Dinamo, Rijeka, and Hajduk.

Dinamo will receive the most ($680,615), followed by Rijeka ($547,605) and Hajduk ($66,505).

Almost 76 percent of this money will be awarded to European clubs, or precisely - $157.8 million. In first place is Manchester City, who will receive $5 million in compensation, followed by the European Champion Real Madrid ($4.803 million) and Tottenham in third ($4.385). Barcelona will receive $4.145 million. 

England clubs will receive a total of $37.4 million in compensation. Behind them are the clubs from Spain ($22.5 million), Germany ($18.9), Italy ($17.45) and France ($15.3).

As far as clubs from other continents are concerned, Saudi club Al Hilal will receive $2.02 million and Egyptian club Al Ahly will receive $1.7 million. 

Boca Juniors front south American clubs (to receive $1.13) and Mexican club Pachuca (to earn $1.035 million) stands out among the CONCACAF clubs.

The full list of clubs and their benefits can be found here. 

To read more about the World Cup in Russia this year, follow TCN’s dedicated page here. 

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