The draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League group stage took place on Thursday, February 12.
Croatia’s UEFA Nations League Group is quite simply one of the hardest ones, and while there are naturally no easy groups in League A, Croatia were drawn into the” Group of Death”, Group A3 with Spain, England, and the Czech Republic. Below, we will analyse Croatia’s Nations League group further.
Croatia’s UEFA Nations League Group: Plenty of Familiar Foes
The Vatreni are quite familiar with all three opponents in their UEFA Nations League group.
Spain have been an unpleasant adversary at every UEFA Euros from 2012 to 2024, with Croatia only winning once.
Meanwhile, the teams are also no strangers to each other in the UEFA Nations League, where they were in the same group in the 2018/19 edition.
The Vatreni suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat in the first match after having won silver at the 2018 World Cup; however, Croatia bounced back to win the return match 3-2.
The third and most recent UEFA Nations League encounter between them was the 2023 final, where Spain once again had the upper hand, this time in a penalty shootout.
As far as matches with England are concerned, there is an even longer recent history there.
The English won most of those encounters as well, but Croatia did inflict some of the most painful defeats on the Three Lions in this century.
The Croats beat England 3-2 at Wembley in 2007 to deny them a place at Euro 2008, and even more importantly, they came back from behind to win 2-1 in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. In addition, the two sides will also meet at this summer’s World Cup.
There is somewhat less of a history of big matches against the Czech Republic, but they did meet during the recent World Cup qualifying campaign, as Croatia got four points from the two matches.
The teams also met at Euro 2020 in the group stages, as their match finished in a 1-1 draw.
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Croatia’s UEFA Nations League Group: The Match Schedule
The match schedule for Croatia’s UEFA Nations League group is as follows:
First, the Vatreni will travel to the Czech Republic on September 26, and three days later, they will meet Spain away from home.
On October 3, Croatia will host England, before playing at home to Spain on October 6. Finally, on November 12, they will travel to England, before hosting the Czech Republic on November 15.
Croatia’s UEFA Nations League Group: What’s At Stake
Ideally, the Vatreni should aim for a top-two finish in Croatia’s UEFA Nations League group, to reach the two-legged quarter-final ties and advance. However, in this difficult section, it is most important to try to avoid relegation to League B.
Croatia cannot afford to lose its status as one of Europe’s elite. That will be important for future qualifying campaigns for big events such as World Cups and Euros.
Croatia’s UEFA Nations League Group: What The Future Holds
The future should be bright for Croatia’s national side. Of course, they will have to replace the ageing and irreplaceable captain Luka Modrić and a few others of his generation.
However, Croatia have always bounced back from retirements of legends and has for decades now managed to always build a solid team.
Even so, it will be important to replace coach Zlatko Dalić as soon as possible. Despite his great successes at the last two World Cups, his extremely defensive approach is holding the team back, and they are more than capable of playing attractive, attacking football.
Here’s to hoping that a lot of excitement and great football can be on display in Croatia’s UEFA Nations League group.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO/ABACAPRESS
Recording Date: 23.03.2025
