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Croatia national under-23 football team

The Croatia national under-23 football team represents Croatia in international men's football matches for players aged 23 or under. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. Although the team never competed at the Olympics, the team is sometimes referred to as the Croatia Olympic football team (Croatian: Hrvatska olimpijska nogometna reprezentacija).

Croatia U23
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Mladi Vatreni (The Young Blazers)
AssociationCroatian Football Federation (HNS)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachOgnjen Vukojević
CaptainTonio Teklić
Most capsŽeljko Pavlović (5)
Dražen Madunović (5)
Mario Stanić (5)
Josip Gašpar (5)
Danijel Štefulj (5)
Top scorerIgor Cvitanović (2)
FIFA codeCRO
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Croatia 1–1 Slovenia 
(Varaždin, Croatia; 17 March 1993)
Biggest win
 Qatar A 0–3 Croatia 
(Wiener Neustadt, Austria; 20 September 2022)
Biggest defeat
 Croatia 0–2 Tunisia 
(Alès, France; 17 June 1993)
Websitehns-cff.hr

The team was formed for the 1993 Mediterranean Games held in France. Prior to the tournament, Croatia played two preparational friendlies against Slovenia, both ending in a 1–1 draw. These were the first matches ever played by the Croatian team. At the tournament itself, Croatia finished last in its four-teams-group, losing two, and drawing one match. In 1996 the team played a friendly against Brazil as Brazil's preparation match for the upcoming 1996 Olympics, drawing 1–1. During the 1997 Mediterranean Games held in Italy, the team again finished last in its three-teams-group, losing both matches. In 1998, it won a friendly against Romania with a 0–1 score and in 2013 it lost a friendly against the Netherlands. The team didn't play any matches from 2013 until 2022 when it met the Qatari senior team as part of their pre-2022 FIFA World Cup preparation in a friendly in Austria, winning 3–0.

Since Croatia U21 never managed to secure Croatia's participation at the Olympics through UEFA EURO U21 Championship, which serves as a qualifying system, Croatia U23 has never participated at the Olympics.

History

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Croatia's national under-23 football team was formed for the occasion of the 1993 Mediterranean Games, held in June 1993 in France. The team was led by Vlatko Marković. Its first matches, the two friendlies against Slovenia, were played as a preparation for the Mediterranean Games. The two teams first met on 17 March 1993 in Zaprešić, Croatia, and the second time on 12 May 1993 in Maribor, Slovenia, with both matches ending in a 1–1 draw.[1][2][3] At the tournament itself, Croatia was in the group with Tunisia, Turkey, and France. It played its first match against Tunisia, losing 0–2.[4][5] Its second match against Turkey also ended in defeat, with a score of 2–3.[6][7] A 3–3 draw against France was their last match in the tournament.[8][9] Croatia finished last among ten teams, while Turkey won the tournament.[citation needed] The 1993 Mediterranean Games were at the same time the first Croatian encounter with international competitive football after its independence. The coach Marković was disappointed with the performance, blaming the "celebrities" within the team, commenting that "the first encounter with the world football shows us how low we have fallen, we're at the tail of all modern football events".[10]

Croatia's U23 team went on to play against Brazil's U23 team in a friendly which ended in a 1–1 draw. Croatia was led by Martin Novoselac. At the time Brazil held the champions title of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was preparing for the 1996 Olympics in the United States.[11]

Under the leadership of Ivo Šušak, the Croatian U23 team competed at the 1997 Mediterranean Games, being in the group with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Spain. It lost both matches, with scores 0–1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1–2 against Spain, finishing last in its group. Italy won the tournament, while Croatia finished 10th among 13 teams. The football tournament at the next Mediterranean Games was limited to players aged 21 or younger, with Croatia not participating in future Mediterranean football tournaments.[citation needed]

In 1998, in Bucharest, Croatia played a friendly against Romania, which at the time had one of the best young football teams. Croatia won the match with a 0–1 score.[12] Fifteen years later, in 2013, Croatia played against the Netherlands in Pula, with Croatia losing 2–3.[13][14]

The team was formed again in September 2022 to replace Bolivia senior team for a friendly match against Qatar senior team, after Bolivia cancelled the match.[citation needed] The Croatian team was led by Robert Jarni who also led the Croatia U17 team.[15] The match was played on 20 September 2022 in Wiener Neustadt in Austria as Qatar's preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup which they hosted. Croatia won 0–3.[citation needed] Qatar senior team played a return match against Croatia on 8 June 2023, in Vorau, with Croatia winning 0–1. The Croatian team was led by Ognjen Vukojević.[citation needed]

Results

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17 March 1993 (1993-03-17) Friendly Croatia   1–1   Slovenia Varaždin, Croatia
15:15
Report
Stadium: Stadion Varteks
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Lajos Hartmann (Hungary)
12 May 1993 (1993-05-12) Friendly Slovenia   1–1   Croatia Maribor, Slovenia
16:30
Report
Stadium: Ljudski vrt
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Ladislav Gádoši (Slovakia)
17 June 1993 (1993-06-17) 1993 Mediterranean Games Gr B Croatia   0–2   Tunisia Alès, France
20:00
Report
Stadium: Stade Pierre Pibarot
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Giorgos Bikas (Greece)
19 June 1993 (1993-06-19) 1993 Mediterranean Games Gr B Croatia   2–3   Turkey Sète, France
 Report
Stadium: Stade Louis-Michel
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Merzak Nems (Algeria)
21 June 1993 (1993-06-21) 1993 Mediterranean Games Gr B France   3–3   Croatia Alès, France
 Report
Stadium: Stade Pierre Pibarot
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Salem Prolić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
22 May 1996 (1996-05-22) Friendly Brazil   1–1   Croatia Manaus, Brazil
17:00
Report
Stadium: Vivaldão
Attendance: 43,825
21 June 1997 (1997-06-21) 1997 Mediterranean Games Gr D Croatia   1–2   Spain Lecce, Italy
 Report
Stadium: Stadio Via del Mare
Attendance: 150
Referee: Pascal Garibian (France)
17 March 1998 (1998-03-17) Friendly Romania   0–1   Croatia Bucharest, Romania
Report
Stadium: Stadionul Național
5 February 2013 (2013-02-05) Friendly Croatia   2–3   Netherlands Pula, Croatia
15:00
Report
Stadium: Stadion Veruda
Referee: Darko Čeferin (Slovenia)
Assistant referees: Andrej Kokolj (Slovenia)
Assistant referees: Jure Prapotnik (Slovenia)
Fourth official: Marin Vidulin (Croatia)
20 September 2022 (2022-09-20) Friendly Qatar A   0–3   Croatia Wiener Neustadt, Austria
16:00 UTC Report
Stadium: Stadion Wiener Neustadt
Referee: Stevan Radenkovic (Austria)
8 June 2023 (2023-06-08) Friendly Qatar A   0–1   Croatia Vorau, Austria
18:00 UTC
Report
Stadium: Ukraft Arena
Referee: Alexander Harkam (Austria)

Coaching staff

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Current coaching staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Ognjen Vukojević

Players

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Last squad

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The following players were named in the squad for a friendly against Qatar A on 8 June 2023.[16]

Caps and goals as of 8 June 2023, after the match against Qatar A.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Lovro Majkić (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 25) 1 0   Istra
12 1GK Dinko Horkaš (1999-03-10) 10 March 1999 (age 25) 1 0   Las Palmas
2 2DF Luka Hujber (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 25) 1 0   Vejle
3 2DF Bruno Goda (1998-04-17) 17 April 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Rijeka
4 2DF Branimir Kalaica (1998-06-01) 1 June 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Astana
5 2DF Vinko Soldo (1998-02-15) 15 February 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Sarajevo
13 2DF Matej Maglica (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Darmstadt 98
14 2DF Ivan Smolčić (2000-08-17) 17 August 2000 (age 24) 1 0   Rijeka
15 2DF Jozo Stanić (1999-04-06) 6 April 1999 (age 25) 2 0   St. Gallen
6 3MF Mario Ćurić (1998-09-28) 28 September 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Torpedo Moscow
8 3MF Neven Đurasek (1998-08-15) 15 August 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Debrecen
10 3MF Tonio Teklić (1999-09-09) 9 September 1999 (age 25) 2 1   Trabzonspor
16 3MF Mario Čuić (2001-04-22) 22 April 2001 (age 23) 1 0   Istra
18 3MF Leon Belcar (2002-01-04) 4 January 2002 (age 22) 1 0   Varaždin
7 4FW Kristian Fućak (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 26) 1 0   Osijek
9 4FW Sandro Kulenović (1999-12-04) 4 December 1999 (age 24) 2 1   Dinamo Zagreb
11 4FW Mario Ćuže (1999-04-24) 24 April 1999 (age 25) 1 0   Zrinjski
17 4FW Denis Bušnja (2000-04-14) 14 April 2000 (age 24) 1 0   Muangthong United
19 4FW Igor Matanović (2003-03-31) 31 March 2003 (age 21) 1 1   Eintracht Frankfurt

Competitive record

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  Champions  
  Runners-up  
  Third place  
  Fourth place  
  Tournament played fully or partially on home soil  

Olympic Games

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Summer Olympic Games record Qualifications record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA Squad
  1896 Part of   Austria-Hungary
  1900
  1904
  1908
  1912
  1920 Part of   Kingdom of Yugoslavia
  1924
  1928
  1936
  1948 Part of   Yugoslavia
  1952
  1956
  1960
  1964
  1968
  1972
  1976
  1980
  1984
  1988
  1992 Not a FIFA member
  1996 Did not qualify UEFA European Under-21 Championship 1996
  2000 2000
  2004 2004
  2008 2008
  2012 2012
  2016 2016
  2020 2020
  2024 2024
  2028 To be determined 2028
  2032 2032
Total 0/29
Matches
First match —
Biggest win —
Biggest defeat —

Mediterranean Games

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Since Croatia's independence, Croatia's U23 football team participated in two Mediterranean Games: 1993 and 1997. The next 2001 Mediterranean Games were limited to U21 teams, while the 2005 Mediterranean Games were set for the U23 teams, even though none of the players who participated were older than 21. The 2009 Mediterranean Games were limited to U20 teams, while the 2013 Games pushed the limit to U19 teams. Since 2018, the Mediterranean Games have invited U18, U19 and U21 teams, though, only U18 teams participated ever since. No Croatian team participated in the Mediterranean Games after 1997.

Mediterranean Games record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA Squad
  1951 Part of   Yugoslavia
  1955
  1959
  1963
  1967
  1971
  1975
  1979
  1983
  1987
  1991
  1993 Group stage 10/10 3 0 1 2 5 8 1993
  1997 Group stage 10/13 2 0 0 2 1 3 1997
Total Group stage 2/13 5 0 1 4 6 11 Total

Correct as of 21 June 1997 after the match against   Spain.

Matches
First match   Croatia 0–2 Tunisia  
(Alès, France; 17 June 1993)
Biggest win —
Biggest defeat   Croatia 0–2 Tunisia  
(Alès, France; 21 June 1993)

Statistics

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Managers

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Vlatko Marković was the first coach of Croatia's U23 national team

The following table provides a summary of the complete record of each Croatia manager's results.

Key: Pld–games played, W–games won, D–games drawn; L–games lost, %–win percentage
Manager Tenure Pld W D L Win % Tournaments
  Vlatko Marković 1993 5 0 3 2 000.0   1993 Mediterranean Games – Group stage
  Martin Novoselac 1996 1 0 1 0 000.0 —
  Ivo Šušak 1997–2013 4 1 0 3 025.0   1997 Mediterranean Games – Group stage
  Robert Jarni 2022 1 1 0 0 100.0 —
  Ognjen Vukojević 2023 1 1 0 0 100.0 —

Last updated: Qatar A vs Croatia, 8 June 2023.

Most capped players

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Mario Stanić (pictured), Željko Pavlović, Dražen Madunović, Josip Gašpar, and Danijel Štefulj are the most capped players for Croatia's U23 team, each playing three matches
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Željko Pavlović 5 0 1993
Dražen Madunović 0 1993
Mario Stanić 1 1993
Josip Gašpar 1 1993
Danijel Štefulj 0 1993–1996
2 Zoran Ban 4 0 1993
Goran Vlaović 1 1993
Ivica Mornar 0 1993
Ivan Jurić 0 1996–1998
Mario Cvitanović 0 1996–1998

Last updated: Qatar A vs. Croatia, 8 June 2023

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Igor Cvitanović 2 3 0.67 1993
2 Andrej Kramarić 1 1 1 2013
Ivan Boras 1 1 2013
Josip Mitrović 1 1 2022
Igor Matanović 1 1 2023
Milan Rapaić 2 0.5 1993–1996
Davor Vugrinec 2 0.5 1996–1998
Mario Bazina 2 0.5 1997
Tonio Teklić 2 0.5 2022–2023
Sandro Kulenović 2 0.5 2022–2023
Goran Vučević 3 0.33 1993
Goran Vlaović 4 0.25 1993
Josip Gašpar 5 0.2 1993
Mario Stanić 5 0.2 1993

Last updated: Qatar A vs. Croatia, 8 June 2023

Most clean sheets

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Rank Player Clean sheets Caps Ratio Career
1 Nediljko Labrović 1 1 1 2022
Karlo Sentić 1 1 2022
Lovro Majkić 1 1 2023
Dinko Horkaš 1 1 2023
Vladimir Vasilj 3 0.33 1997–1998

Last updated: Qatar A vs. Croatia, 8 June 2023

Record per opponent

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Key
  More wins than losses
  As many wins as losses
  Fewer wins than losses

Correct as of 8 June 2023, after the match against   Qatar A.

Opponent Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 000.00
  Brazil 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
  France 1 0 1 0 3 3 +0 000.00
  Netherlands 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 000.00
  Qatar A 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00
  Romania 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
  Slovenia 2 0 2 0 2 2 +0 000.00
  Spain 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 000.00
  Tunisia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
  Turkey 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 000.00
Total: 9 teams played 12 3 4 5 16 17 −1 025.00

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Kruljac 1993, p. 35.
  2. ^ Pejić 1993, p. 40.
  3. ^ Večernji list (a) 1993, p. 20.
  4. ^ Slobodna Dalmacija (a) 1993, p. 27.
  5. ^ Večernji list (b) 1993, p. 43.
  6. ^ Slobodna Dalmacija (b) 1993, p. 26.
  7. ^ Večernji list (c) 1993, p. 33.
  8. ^ Slobodna Dalmacija (c) 1993, p. 28.
  9. ^ Večernji list (d) 1993, p. 42.
  10. ^ Bariša 1993, p. 28.
  11. ^ Dasović 2022.
  12. ^ Flak 1998, p. 30: "Tamo gdje je Ceausescuov ožiljak još svjež i dubok, gdje je dacia popularnija od mercedesa i forda, gdje je "zalutao" McDonalds, a slučajni turist traži taksi do zrakoplovne luke, hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija (igrači do 23 godine) razveselila je malobrojnu pratnju, veleposlanika, a nadasve sebe. Čak se u zrakoplovu stidljivo zapvjevalo, splitski naglasak otkrivao je Tudora, Leku i Jurića. I bilo je lijepo, na travnjaku malokad tako pametno i zrelo, nadasve disciplinirano, taktički odlično. I dovoljno za 1:0 pobjedu nad neugodnim Rumunjima. Vrijedna pobjeda, i te kako vrijedna. Pa ti su Rumunji stalno u svjetskom vrhu, a ova mlada reprezentacija je među četiri najbolje u Europi.".
  13. ^ Glas Slavonije 2013.
  14. ^ HNS 2013.
  15. ^ Index.hr 2022.
  16. ^ HNS 2023.

References

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  • Bariša, Mladen (23 June 1993). "Majstori bez pokrića" [Worthless experts]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • Dasović, Tomislav (7 December 2022). "Utakmica o kojoj se ne priča: 'Miki Rapaić šokirao je Brazil, a Runje je skidao bombe Robertu Carlosu! Nismo ni znali tko je taj'" [The football match nobody's talking about: 'Miki Rapaić shocked Brazil, while Runje saved the bomb shots of Roberto Carlos! We had no idea who the guy was']. Večernji list (in Croatian). Zagreb. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  • Flak, Igor (19 March 1998). "'Nadmudrili smo ih'" ['We out smarted them']. Večernji list (in Croatian). No. 12391. Zagreb.
  • "Francuska-Hrvatska 3:3" [France-Croatia 3:3]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. 23 June 1993. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • "Hrvatska oformila U-23 reprezentaciju da pomogne Kataru" [Croatia forms the U-23 team to help Qatar]. Index.hr (in Croatian). Zagreb. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • "Hrvatska U-23 reprezentacija bolja od Katara" [The Croatian U-23 team better than Qatar]. Croatian Football Federation (in Croatian). Zagreb. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • Kruljac, Krunoslav (18 March 1993). "Premalo lijepoga" [Not beautiful enough]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  • "Lekciju održali Tunižani" [A lession from the Tunisians]. Večernji list (in Croatian). No. 10709. Zagreb. 18 June 1993.
  • "Niko Kovač pobjedom je debitirao na klupi mlade U21 vrste Hrvatske. Danas je u Umagu, u Regionalnom kupu, pred oko petstotinjak gledatelja rezultatom 3–1 pobijeđena talentirana Italija" [Niko Kovač had a victory debut on the bench of the young Croatian U-21 team. Today in Umag, in the Regional Cup, in front of some five hundred visitors, talented Italy was defeated with a 3–1 score]. Croatian Football Federation (in Croatian). Zagreb. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  • "Nogometna blamaža" [A football blanter]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. 20 June 1993. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • "Odlazak bespomoćnih" [The departure of the helpless]. Večernji list (in Croatian). No. 10712. Zagreb. 22 June 1993.
  • "Ognjen Vukojević objavio popis igrača za utakmicu s Katarom u Vorauu" [Ognjen Vukojević published the list of players for a match against Qatar in Vorau]. Croatian Football Federation (in Croatian). Zagreb. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  • Pejić, Slobodan (13 May 1993). "Slovenija-Hrvatska 1:1" [Slovenia-Croatia 1:1]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  • "Put propuštenih prigoda" [The way of the missed chances]. Večernji list (in Croatian). No. 10713. Zagreb. 23 June 1993.
  • "Razočaranje" [Disappointment]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Split. 18 June 1993. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  • "Šuškovi izgubili, U-19 vrsta remizirala" [Šušak's team lost, while U-19 tied]. Glas Slavonije (in Croatian). Osijek. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  • "'Veza' podbacila" [A failed 'connection']. Večernji list (in Croatian). No. 10622. Zagreb. 18 March 1993.
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