History
The Croatia national under-20 football team represents Croatia in international football matches for players aged 20 or under. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the Mladi vatreni ('Young Blazers'). So far, the Mladi vatreni qualified for three FIFA U-20 World Cups, namely in 1999, 2011 and 2013. The team's greatest accomplishment is passing the group stage at the 1999 and 2013 tournaments.
The U20 team is the de facto U19 of the previous year, and it acts mainly as a feeder team for the U21s and provides further international development for youth players. The team qualifies for the FIFA U-20 World Cup based on the success of the U19 at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
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The U20 national team was formed in 1994. The first match was played against the team of Austrian region Styria, and the first match against FIFA member was against Italy on 8 February 1995.
Croatia managed to qualify for 1999 FIFA U-20 World Cup. That was the second appearance from the Croatian football team in the FIFA competition, after A team appeared on FIFA World Cup in France in 1998. They passed the group, then lost to Brazil by 4–0 in Round of 16.
On 24 July 2010, after trashing Portugal 5–0 in 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship group game, Croatia qualified for the semi-final. Also, it secured a spot in 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Another good performance by the U19 team at 2012 championship saw Croatia qualifying for the World Cup, this time held in Turkey in 2013.
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Squad
| # | Goalkeepers | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| L. Klobučarević | |||
| L. Å agovac |
| # | Defenders | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| M. ÄikotiÄ | |||
| E. Äurin | |||
| H. LeÅ¡iÄ | |||
| L. LovriÄ | |||
| L. Plazibat | |||
| Å . TomiÄ |
| # | Midfielders | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| L. Ciglević | |||
| M. Gavrić | |||
| A. Grdiša | |||
| J. Å oÅ¡iÄ | |||
| T. TkalÄec | |||
| L. Vunić | |||
| H. Zuber |
| # | Forwards | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| L. Kolčić | |||
| P. Petković | |||
| G. PrkaÄin | |||
| S. Veseli | |||
| K. VujeviÄ |
