Luca Modric, Ivan Rakitic, and Dejan Lovren were disappointed with Croatia in the 2014 World Cup, but look to lead Croatia in the 2016 European Championship. (Getty)
Fueled behind the midfield of Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric, and Mateo Kovacic, Croatia will be a part of the European Championships in France during the summer of 2016. After finishing second in Group H behind Italy, Croatia qualified for the 24-team tournament with 20 points after losing only one match in qualifying, a 2-0 loss to Norway. Ivan Perisic, yet another midfielder for the Croatians, led the team with six goals during qualification and Croatia is fresh off of a win over Russia in a friendly.
Croatia has made the European Championship four times since seceding from Yugoslavia in 1991 and finished third at the 1998 World Cup in France. Croatia has twice made the quarterfinals of the European Championships- 1996 and 2008– and finished third in their group in the 2012 European Championship. The Checks are fresh off of finishing third in their group behind Brazil and Mexico in the 2014 World Cup and look to make an impact in France once again.
