Croatia Returns to the Socca World Cup After a Year-Long Hiatus
Small-sided football, big ambitions: after a year off, the Croatian national team returns to the world stage with the goal of winning a medal.
Small-sided football, big ambitions: after a year off, the Croatian national team returns to the world stage with the goal of winning a medal.
Croatia's national small-sided football team will begin its quest for a new world medal in about two weeks. The German city of Essen will host the Socca World Cup from August 28 to September 6, with 48 national teams competing, and after a year of absence, Croatia will be among them once again.
This will be the second time Essen hosts the world's best socca national teams. The tournament was first held in this German city in 2023, when Croatia achieved an excellent result, finishing in fourth place. Due to financial difficulties, Croatia did not participate in last year's World Cup in Mexico, so its appearance in Essen will mark a significant return to the world stage.
Preparations for this year's competition are underway, and expectations are high. In recent years, Croatia has consistently ranked among the best national teams in the world and Europe. At the European Championships, it won a silver medal in 2024 and a bronze in 2025, and it brought home a bronze from the 2024 World Cup in Oman.
The best Croatian small-sided football players will be led from the bench by head coach Dino Kovač, who will announce the final squad for the World Cup at the beginning of next week. Ahead of the trip to Essen, Kovač expressed both optimism and caution.
We are looking forward to our return to the World Cup. Our excellent results in previous years give us reason to believe we can achieve great success in Essen as well. We know how strong our opponents are and that there are no easy matches at a World Cup, but we have confidence in this team. First, we want to get out of the group, and then we will focus on each subsequent match. Croatia has proven in recent years that it belongs at the very top of this sport, and we want to show that again in Essen.
This statement from the coach was reported by Večernji list.
Croatia has been drawn into Group G, where it will face very strong Italy, South Africa, and Peru. The Croatian players have already met Italy and South Africa at major tournaments, while Peru is the biggest unknown for the Croatian coaching staff.
All of Croatia's matches at the World Cup in Essen will be available to viewers live on Sport Klub and ZonaSport television.
