Page 2 - Croatia

Schengen area welcomes Croatia, but leaves Bulgaria and Romania out

Croatia will become the 27th member state in the visa-free Schengen area from January 1, 2023, EU officials announced

Croatia beats Japan 3-1 in penalty round to enter World Cup quarterfinals

Croatia is going deep at another World Cup, and the team is taking the long route once again. Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three penalty kicks Monday in Croatia's 3-1 win over Japan in a shootout, securing a return to the quarterfinals for the runner-up in the 2018 tournament. On its run to the final four years ago, Croatia needed extra time in each round in the knockout stage and twice came through a penalty shootout. This time, Mario Pasalic converted the clinching penalty for Croatia after the teams were tied at 1-1 after extra time. Livakovic saved penalties from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitomo and Maya Yoshida, and it was the Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper who took most of the acclaim from the jubilant Croatia team after the shootout. Japan had been looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time but fell short again, just like in 2002, 2010 and 2018. The Asian team lost to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 in 2010. Croatia, which also reached the semifi

Fifa World Cup, JPN vs CRO Highlights: Croatia go through, win shoot out

Fifa World Cup, Round of 16, Japan vs Croatia Highlights: Croatia once again have won in the knockouts as they have beaten Japan 3-1 in the penalties after the game ended 1-1 in regulation, extra time

Fifa World Cup 2022: Belgium crash out; Morocco, Croatia march to last 16

Fifa World Cup 2022 Highlights: Belgium, full of club football stars failed to translate that energy at the national level and crashed out of the World Cup in group stage after 0-0 draw with Croatia

Fifa World Cup: Why are players wearing Batman-style facemasks in Qatar?

Fifa World Cup masked men: Who are these players wearing stylish black masks and why are they wearing the masks? Find out here

Croatia's Modric unwilling to compare 2022 World Cup with 2018 campaign

Croatia captain Luka Modric said his team should put aside their 2018 World Cup memories and focus on the group match against Morocco on Wednesday

FIFA World Cup: Croatian forward Kramaric happy with timing, conditions

"They have been better than I expected, although it's a little bit windy. And considering the air conditioning in the stadiums, it will even get cold during the games," Kramaric explained.

Croatia's population falls by almost 10% in a decade: 2021 Census

Croatia's population has decreased by 413,056 persons or 9.64 per cent over the past decade, the final results of the country's 2021 census revealed

Russia imposes restrictions on diplomatic missions of 5 European countries

Russia has expanded its list of "unfriendly countries" to include Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia, the Russian government has announced

Davis Cup: Croatia beats Serbia in doubles after Djokovic fails to impress

Croatia beat Serbia in doubles to advance to the Davis Cup final after Novak Djokovic couldn't follow up his single's win in the decider. Croatia will seek its third Davis Cup on Sunday against the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between Russia and Germany. Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the top-ranked doubles pair, beat Djokovic and partner Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-1 on the Madrid Arena's indoor hard court on Friday. In a meeting pitting the world's No.1-ranked singles player against its best pair, Mektic's and Pavic's well-honed teamwork proved too much for the 20-time Grand Slam winner. Djokovic had already done what he could to force the doubles match by beating Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2 to even the tie at 1-1. Borna Gojo put Croatia in front by upsetting Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening singles. Serbia won the previous two Davis Cup meetings with Croatia since they became independent nations following the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Croatia marks 30th anniversary of fall of Vukovar during 1991-95 war

Tens of thousands of people on Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar

EAM Jaishankar to visit three Central European countries from Sept 2-5

Jaishankar is set to pay an official visit to Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark from September 2-5, as part of a tour to review the bilateral relationship with the three Central European countries.

Jhingan's India teammates hoping his Croatia move opens up new avenues

India's senior team footballers feel the centre-back will come back from his European sojourn as "an entirely different player" while possibly opening up new avenues

Sandesh Jhingan joins HNK Sibenik, to play in Croatia's top tier league

Sandesh Jhingan will become the first India international footballer to play in the Croatian top-tier league Prva HNL after completing a move from ATK Mohun Bagan to HNK Sibenik

Stimac 'may consider' releasing Jhingan for club football in Croatia

Indian men's team coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday said he "may consider" releasing his premier defender Sandesh Jhingan from national commitments to play club football in Croatia. Referring to Jhingan's move to Croatia to play league Football, Stimac said: "Having in mind that the Croatian league has already had five rounds, and the players are fit, we are thinking as to how we can help Sandesh get into form as soon as possible, and also try to facilitate him get his place in the team. "It's important for him to get into the playing XI. So we may consider releasing him from the camp and bringing him back but allow him to stay with the club." Stimac had coached Croatia to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Indian team's defensive mainstay Jhingan is expected to join Croatian top division club HNK Sibenik, making use of a clause that allows him to leave his current club ATK Mohun Bagan if he gets an opportunity to play in Europe. India will be travelling to Kathmandu later this mon

How local politics and nationalism shaped football as we know it today

The sport, which began capturing global imagination just after World War I, has been used as a platform to make political and racial statements and broadcast ethnic identities

Euro Cup 2021 final date, match time, live telecast and streaming in India

England qualified for the first major tournament final since 1966 and will now face Italy in the summit clash at Wembley Stadium on July 12

Euro 2020 highlights: Switzerland beats France 5-4 in penalty shootout

Switzerland beats France 5-4 in the penalty shootout after extra time ends in a 3-3 tie. Switzerland to square off with Spain in the Euro Cup 2020 quarterfinals

Euro Cup: Spain beat Croatia in extra time thriller to reach quarter-finals

Spain defeated Croatia 5-3 after extra time in their Round of 16 clash in the ongoing Euro Cup in Copenhagen to progress to the quarter-finals on Monday.Alvaro Morat scored in the 100th minute to take Spain 4-3 ahead and Mikel Oyarzabal netted one in the 103rd minute to get Spain a double lead. In the final few minutes, Croatia tried hard but were unable to score a goal as Spain got over the line.In the first half, Spain struggled to string passes together and the strikers failed to get through Croatia's defense. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was unable to control a bouncing pass from Pedri which resulted in an own goal as Croatia took the lead.However, Spain bounced back in style as Pablo Sarabia latched onto a rebound to drill home the equaliser from close range in the 38th minute.In the second half, both teams started the game from 1-1 but Cesar Azpilicueta scored his first-ever goal for Spain as the side again got the lead in the 57th minute.Croatia kept pressing hard for an ...

Spain, Croatia peaking ahead of Euro 2020 knockout game

Dani Osmo will be lining up against some familiar opponents when Spain faces Croatia in the round of 16 at the European Championship. In fact, he easily could have been lining up for Croatia instead of Spain at Euro 2020. The attacking midfielder turned down overtures from Croatia's national team after moving to Dinamo Zagreb from Barcelona's academy as a 16-year-old and spending six seasons at the club. Olmo has never played senior club soccer in Spain he moved to RB Leipzig in 2020 but doesn't regret his decision to stick to his home country. "There was interest from Croatia, but I always preferred to play for Spain," Olmo said. The 23-year-old Olmo is part of a group of young players who have been given leading roles in Luis Enrique's new-look Spain team. Against Croatia, he has the added role of being the in-house expert on the opposing players. "Our coach knows the Croatia team well. If he asks me, I will share my opinion with him, Olmo said. I have played with the majorit