Luka Modric of Croatia celebrates with his bronze medal during the FIFA World Cup third-place match against Morocco. Getty Images. However, as the final whistle blew on Morocco’s historic run at ...

Croatia's goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saves a ball during the penalty shoot out at the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and Brazil, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan ...

Croatia entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the reigning runner-up. Here is a look back at the country’s World Cup history.

Before 2018, Croatia had only made it out of the group stage at a World Cup once. In 1998, it finished third after losing to France in the semifinal. Its run to the final was completely unexpected.

But Croatia is moving on to the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals, with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic the hero, on a shootout victory over Japan that finished 3-1 after a 1-1 draw through extra time.

The Croatian Football Association applied and gained admittance to soccer’s world governing body FIFA, in 1992 and Europe’s governing body UEFA in 1993. “We have football in the blood.

Croatia entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the reigning runner-up. Here is a look back at the country’s World Cup history.