- Croatia national under-21 football team
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Croatia Under-21 
Nickname(s) Mladi Vatreni ("The Young Blazers") Association Croatian Football Federation Head coach Ivo Šušak Most caps Tomislav Vranjić (26) Top scorer Tomislav Bušić (13) 
Home colours
Away coloursFirst international 
Croatia 0-0 Italy 
13 February 1993, friendlyBiggest win Croatia 6-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Osijek, 5 September 1997, qual. ECBiggest defeat Croatia 0-4 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vinkovci, 17 November 2004, friendly
Switzerland 4-0 Croatia
Sion, 5 September 2011, qual. ECUEFA U-21 Championship Appearances 2 (First in 2000) Best result Group stage 2000 & 2004 The Croatia national under-21 football team, also known as Croatia under-21(s) or Croatia U21(s) is a youth association football national team which represents Croatia at this age level and is a feeder team for the Croatia national football team.
This team is for Croatian players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U21s, senior side and again for the U21s, as Ivan Rakitić and Nikola Kalinić have done recently. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible). For example, Ivan Rakitić is a former Switzerland U21 player who later became a Croatia international.
The under-21 age category came into existence with the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976. The Croatia U21 team was formed following Croatia's independence from SFR Yugoslavia in 1991 and is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation (from 1976 to 1990 Croatian players played for Yugoslavia U21). A goalless draw in a friendly against Italy played on 13 February 1992 was Croatia U21s' first result.
Contents
Competition history
As a European U21 team, Croatia compete for the European U21 Championship, with the finals held every odd-numbered year, formerly even-numbered years. There is no U21 World Cup, although there is an U20 World Cup. Since the Croatian Football Federation was recognised by UEFA in June 1993, in the middle of the two-year European Championship cycle, Croatia U21s began their first competitive campaign in 1994, in which they tried to qualify for the 1996 finals. They eventually finished 4th in a six-team group, with 5 wins out of 10 games and 4 points behind group winners Italy.
They failed to qualify for the next tournament in 1998, but then managed to win their first qualification for the 2000 tournament. However, they finished bottom of a four-team group in the group stage, losing to Netherlands and Czech Republic and drawing with Spain.
In their next five campaigns Croatia U21 managed to qualify for the finals only one more time (for the 2004 finals), but again they failed to progress past the group stage. They came close to qualifying for the 2002 and 2006 tournaments, as they had reached the qualification playoff round, but were knocked out by Czech Republic U21 and Serbia and Montenegro U21 respectively.
UEFA U-21 Championship record
UEFA U-21 Championship record UEFA U-21 Championship Qualification record Manager Year Round Pld W D L GF GA GD Pld W D L GF GA GD 
1996Did not qualify 10 5 2 3 13 12 +1 Martin Novoselac 
19988 4 0 4 13 9 +4 Ivo Šušak 
2000Group stage 3 0 1 2 4 6 −2 10 7 2 1 28 9 +19 Ivo Šušak 2002Did not qualify 8 3 4 1 10 7 +3 Martin Novoselac 
2004Group stage 3 0 1 2 3 5 −2 8 4 2 2 11 5 +6 Martin Novoselac 
2006Did not qualify 12 8 1 3 16 11 +5 Slaven Bilić 
20072 0 0 2 2 4 −2 Dražen Ladić 
200910 7 1 2 20 12 +8 Dražen Ladić 
201110 5 2 3 18 15 +3 Dražen Ladić 
2013Qualification in progress 5 2 0 3 5 7 −2 Ivo Šušak Total 6 0 2 4 7 11 −4 83 45 14 24 136 91 +45 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
Group 5
TeamPld W D L GF GA GD Pts Spain5 5 0 0 20 2 +18 15 Switzerland5 3 1 1 10 3 +7 10 Croatia5 2 0 3 5 7 −2 6 
Georgia5 1 0 4 3 15 −12 3 
Estonia4 0 1 3 0 11 −11 1 Croatia — 4–0 0–1 0–2 2 Jun Estonia 0–1 — 5 Jun 31 May 0–0 Georgia 15 Aug 6 Sep — 2–7 0–1 Spain 10 Sep 6–0 2–0 — 3–0 Switzerland 4–0 10 Sep 5–0 6 Sep — 3 June 2011 Croatia 0 – 1 GeorgiaStadion Hrvatski vitezovi, Dugopolje 16:00 Report Tarkhnishvili 
5'Referee: Ilias Spathas (Greece) 5 September 2011 Switzerland 4 – 0 CroatiaStade Tourbillon, Sion 19:30 Zuber 8'
Toko 62'
Kasami 79'
Seferović 81'Report Referee: Halis Özkahya (Turkey) 6 October 2011 Croatia 0 – 2 SpainStadion Gradski vrt, Osijek 20:30 Report Koke 18'
Rodrigo 57'Referee: Steven McLean (Scotland) 10 October 2011 Estonia 0 – 1 CroatiaTamme Stadium, Tartu 15:00 Report Vukušić 89' (pen.)Referee: Ioannis Anastasiou (Cyprus) 14 November 2011 Croatia 4 – 0 EstoniaStadion Aldo Drosina, Pula 17:00 Čop 14'
Vukušić 42', 81'
Ademi 75'Report Referee: Oleksandr Derdo (Ukraine) 2 June 2012 Croatia v Switzerland15 August 2012 Georgia v Croatia10 September 2012 Spain v CroatiaCurrent squad
The following is the list of players called up to the squad by manager Ivo Šušak for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification match against Estonia played on 14 November 2011.[1]
Caps and goals listed refer to Croatia U21 team only, and are correct as of the last competitive match against Estonia U21 held on 14 November 2011. Sorted by caps.# Name Date of Birth (Age) Club Caps Goals Debut Goalkeepers 1 Lovre Kalinić 3 April 1990 Hajduk Split5 0 v. Georgia, 3 June 201112 Matej Delač 20 August 1992 
Dynamo České Budějovice4 0 v. 
Slovenia, 16 November 2010N/A Marko Vasilj 6 May 1991 Winterthur0 0 N/A Defenders 6 Mateo Pavlović 9 June 1990 NK Zagreb8 1 v. Slovenia, 16 November 20105 Renato Kelić 31 March 1991 Slovan Liberec7 0 v. Slovenia, 9 February 201113 Dino Škvorc 2 September 1990 Lokomotiva4 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010N/A Domagoj Antolić 30 June 1990 Lokomotiva3 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 20113 Dino Štiglec 3 October 1990 NK Zagreb0 0 N/A Midfielders 7 Arijan Ademi 29 May 1991 Dinamo Zagreb7 1 v. Spain, 9 October 201014 Filip Ozobić 8 April 1991 
Spartak Moscow6 0 v. 
Macedonia, 11 February 200918 Mario Tičinović 20 August 1991 Hajduk Split6 0 v. Macedonia, 11 February 20092 Antonio Jakoliš 28 February 1992 Šibenik5 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010N/A Mateo Kovačić 6 May 1994 Dinamo Zagreb4 0 v. Georgia, 3 June 201115 Ivan Paurević 1 July 1991 Borussia Dortmund II2 0 v. Estonia, 10 October 20114 Tomislav Šarić 24 June 1990 Inter Zaprešić2 0 v. 
Hungary, 28 March 20118 Damir Šovšić 5 February 1990 NK Zagreb2 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 201117 Dejan Glavica 20 August 1991 Slaven Belupo1 0 v. Estonia, 14 November 2011Forwards 9 Ante Vukušić (c) 4 June 1991 Hajduk Split10 3 v. 
Norway, 11 August 2010N/A Ivan Lendrić 8 August 1991 Hajduk Split7 2 v. Slovenia, 16 November 201016 Petar Slišković 21 February 1991 St. Pauli7 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 201019 Duje Čop 1 February 1990 RNK Split5 1 v. Georgia, 3 June 201110 Mario Šitum 4 April 1992 Dinamo Zagreb4 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011Recent callups
The following players have also been called up to the Croatia U21 squad during the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualifications and were not named in the above squad list for various reasons, but are still eligible for selection.
Sorted by most recent callup.Name Date of Birth (Age) Club Caps Goals Debut Most Recent Callup Goalkeepers Dominik Picak 12 February 1992 Lokomotiva2 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Ante Topić Solin0 0 N/A v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Defenders Tonći Kukoč 25 September 1990 Hajduk Split3 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Dario Župarić 5 March 1992 Cibalia1 0 v. Spain, 6 October 2011v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Karlo Bručić 17 April 1992 Dinamo Zagreb0 0 N/A v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Tomislav Glumac 14 May 1991 Hajduk Split1 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011Goran Jozinović 27 August 1990 Hajduk Split14 0 v. 
Togo, 18 May 2008v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Vedran Celjak 13 August 1991 Pergocrema5 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Dario Rugašević 29 January 1991 Cibalia3 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Midfielders Dario Vujičević 1 April 1990 Twente8 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Roberto Punčec 27 October 1991 Maccabi Tel Aviv7 0 v. 
France, 2 March 2010v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Marcelo Brozović 16 November 1992 Lokomotiva3 0 v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011v. Estonia, 10 October 2011Antonini Čulina 27 January 1992 Rijeka0 0 N/A v. Spain, 6 October 2011Zvonko Pamić 4 February 1991 Duisburg5 1 v. France, 2 March 2010v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011Dinko Trebotić 30 July 1990 Hajduk Split5 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Switzerland, 5 September 2011Franko Andrijašević 22 June 1991 Dugopolje3 0 v. Slovenia, 16 November 2010v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Forwards Andrej Kramarić 19 June 1991 Dinamo Zagreb6 3 v. Norway, 5 September 2009v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Filip Škvorc 22 July 1991 Lokomotiva1 1 v. Hungary, 28 March 2011v. Georgia, 3 June 2011Past squads
See also
- Croatia national football team
- Croatia U19 national football team
- Croatia U17 national football team
- UEFA U21 European Championship
References
- ^ "Ivo Šušak objavio popis kandidata za Estoniju" (in Croatian). HNS-CFF.hr. 2 November 2011. http://www.hns-cff.hr/?ln=hr&w=vijesti&d=mladi_uzrasti&p=1&id=3465. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
External links
- Under-21 at UEFA.com
- U-23/U-21 Tournaments at the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website
- Croatia youth teams players' statistics at the Croatian Football Federation website
National under-21 football teams of Europe (UEFA) Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Ireland · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · WalesUEFA European U-21 Football Championship Tournaments 1976–1978 · 1978–1980 · 1980–1982 · 1982–1984 · 1984–1986 · 1986–1988 · 1988–1990 · 1990–1992 · 1994 France · 1996 Spain · 1998 Romania · 2000 Slovakia · 2002 Switzerland · 2004 Germany · 2006 Portugal · 2007 Netherlands · 2009 Sweden · 2011 Denmark · 2013 IsraelQualification Squads Football in Croatia National teams League system Domestic cups Seasons 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12Categories:- European national under-21 association football teams
- Croatia national football team
- Youth association football by country
- Youth football in Croatia
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