Luka Modrić and his Croatian side needed only to avoid defeat to confirm their World Cup ticket—but they did far more than that. Croatia came from behind to secure an impressive 3–1 victory over the Faroe Islands, becoming the third European nation and the 30th team overall to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite conceding first, they displayed composure and dominance. The match at Rijeka Stadium saw the hosts control 73% possession and fire 18 shots, five of them on target. In contrast, the Faroe Islands managed six attempts, four on goal. Their early pressure paid off in the 16th minute when Geza David Turi stunned the home crowd with a well-taken opener.
Croatia’s Comeback Powered by Quality Finishing
Croatia responded quickly. In the 23rd minute, Manchester City defender Joško Gvardiol headed home the equaliser. After halftime, the momentum shifted fully in Croatia’s favour. Petar Musa struck in the 57th minute to put the hosts ahead, and in the 70th, Ivan Perišić’s far-post cross was expertly volleyed in by Nikola Vlašić, sealing a comfortable win.
Reflecting on the achievement, coach Zlatko Dalić said,
“𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒘𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍. 𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.”
He added that they would still aim for three points in their final league-stage match, emphasizing that,
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓.”
Croatia sits atop Group L with 19 points from 7 matches (6 wins, 1 draw). The Czech Republic trails with 13 points, while the Faroe Islands remain third with 12 from eight games.
30 Teams Confirmed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
With Croatia’s qualification, the list of confirmed teams has grown to 30. England became the first European qualifier, soon followed by France. Thirteen more European teams will advance, joining the expanded 48-team tournament.
Teams Qualified So Far
CONCACAF (North & Central America, Caribbean)
- Canada (hosts)
- Mexico (hosts)
- United States (hosts)
(Three more teams to qualify)
CONMEBOL (South America)
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
AFC (Asia)
- Australia
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- South Korea
- Uzbekistan
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
CAF (Africa)
- Morocco
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Algeria
- Ghana
- Cape Verde
- South Africa
- Ivory Coast
- Senegal
OFC (Oceania)
- New Zealand
UEFA (Europe)
- England
- France
- Croatia
(13 more teams yet to qualify)
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