Overview
Croatia enters the 2026 World Cup with many expectations but also under no small pressure. After two consecutive appearances on the podium at the most recent World Cups and once approaching the UEFA Nations League championship, the golden generation of Croatian football is facing the last chance to close the glorious journey with a major title.
Many people see this summer's tournament in North America as the "last dance" of coach Zlatko Dalic and captain Luka Modric. This duo has been associated with the most brilliant successes of Croatian football in nearly a decade.
Since being appointed in 2017, Dalic has turned Croatia into one of the most stable teams in Europe. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the checkered team only dropped 2 points after 8 matches to win a convincing ticket to North America.
The reward for Croatia is Group L with the participation of England, Panama and Ghana. This is considered an easy group but still within the control of Modric and his teammates.
However, Croatia's recent warm-up was not really smooth. After defeating Colombia and losing to Brazil in a friendly series in March, Dalic's team continued to suffer a 0-2 defeat to Belgium right at home at Rijeka in the middle of the week.
That is the first time since 2023 that Croatia has lost 2 consecutive matches. Therefore, the confrontation with Slovenia is important in regaining confidence before entering the World Cup.
On the other side, Slovenia is experiencing disappointment again when they could not win a ticket to participate in the biggest football festival on the planet.
This team unexpectedly failed to win any match in the World Cup qualifiers and only ranked third in Group B. The achievement of only 4 points and 3 goals scored caused Slovenia to end the second 7-year term of coach Matjaz Kek.
After the departure of the veteran strategist, Bostjan Cesar was given the opportunity to lead the national team. The initial signals were quite opposite when Slovenia lost to Hungary 0-1 but then defeated Montenegro 3-2 away from home.
In the most recent friendly match with Cyprus, Slovenia continued to disappoint when they were held to a 1-1 draw by an opponent ranked 68th below them in the FIFA rankings right at home. They even had to rely on a goal in the second half to avoid a shameful defeat.
Recent head-to-head history between the two teams is quite balanced. In the last three encounters, each team has one win and one draw. However, in terms of squad quality, international competition experience as well as current motivation, Croatia is still rated significantly higher.
With the World Cup approaching, Dalic certainly wants his players to quickly regain their form to enter the tournament in the best condition. Meanwhile, Slovenia sees this as a valuable opportunity to accumulate experience and prepare for the upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.
Expected lineup:
Croatia: Livakovic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Stanisic, Modric, Kovacic, Perisic, Vlasic, Baturina, Budimir.
Slovenia: Oblak, Brekalo, Bijol, Drkusic, Karnicnik, Lovric, Gnezda Cerin, Seslar, Janza, Sturm, Vipotnik.
The match between Croatia and Slovenia takes place at 1:45 a.m. June 8 (Vietnam time).
