BRAZIL , CROATIA , MEXICO , CAMEROUN

BRIEFLY : They may not be the class of ' 98 standard but there is enough quality within the squad with the talents of Bayern Munich ' s Mario Mandzukic and Real Madrid ' s Luka Modric supplemented by the likes of Niko Kranjcar , Eduardo and Nikica Jelavic .

Boss Niko Kovac took over at a difficult time for Croatia but passed the European play-off test with flying colours with a 2-0 aggregate win over Iceland . The 42-year-old former defensive midfielder replaced Igor Stimac , who was sacked after a 2-0 defeat by Scotland in their final Group A match , only a few weeks before the twolegged decider .

Known for his no-nonsense approach as a player , Kovac hit the ground running to earn a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Reykjavik . His team selection and formation paid dividends in the second leg with an impressive 2-0 win despite being reduced to 10 men following the first half sending off of striker Mario Mandzukic , shortly after he scored the opener .

STAR MAN

SHINING HOPE : Croatia will look to Real Madrid star Modric for inspiration in Brazil .

LUKA MODRIC : Luka Modric is arguably the most gifted Croatian footballer around , and he acts as a midfield general in the team , covering both attacking and defensive duties . It ' s his craft in the final third that will be vital to Croatia ' s chances . His abilities made him a key player at Tottenham during his four yearspell at the Premier League club and earned him a move to Real Madrid , where he has shown gritty determination to break into the

MISSION : In reality , the present generation , led by midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic , has the potential to make it to the quarter-finals though just making it out of their group is a big ask .

PREPARATION : Croatian fans were put through the wringer in their campaign , even after things started so well . Five wins from their opening six games set them on their way , but then they took just a single point from a possible 12 . Then , one day after the final group game , Igor Stimac resigned as head coach and was replaced by Niko Kovac . It meant Kovac had t o o v e r s e e Croatia ' s play-off tie , but they carved out a narrow win over Iceland to qualify .

HIGH POINT :

KEY MAN

COACH NIKO KOVAC : Kovac coached the Croatian under-21s to four wins out of four in their Euro 2015 qualifiers before his promotion to the senior team . Although he lacks experience at the highest level as a

Srna

Vukojevic

IVAN RAKITIC : Ivan Rakitic is in the form of his career at Sevilla , and will look to bring it to the international stage . The midfielder will aim to take some of the pressure off Modric , and make some trademark late runs into the box . Rakitic is crucial to Croatia ' s bid to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since their memorable run to the semi-finals at France 1998 .

The Croatians raised the bar in their m a i d e n a p p e a r a n c e a s a n independent nation in 1998 when , led by striker Davor Suker , they reached the semi-finals and went on to beat Holland in the third-place playoff .

LOW POINT : They failed to get past the group stages in both 2002 and 2006 , and didn ' t appear in 2010 . in this 2014 edition , star striker Mario Manduzkic is out suspended for the first two games – against hosts Brazil

STRONGEST LINE-UP

Corluka

Modric

Mandžukic

Subašic

Schindelfeld

Perišic

Jelavic

FORMATION : 4-4-2

Lovren

Rakitic

CROATIA FA INFO

Foundation year : 1912

WORLD CUP HISTORY Their debut at the FIFA World Cup in 1998 as virtual unknowns , but were to prove one of the surprises of the tournament . They finished second in their group behind Argentina after losing 1-0 to the South Americans , but beating Jamaica 3-1 and Japan 1-0 . Hosts and eventual winners France proved too strong in a 2-1 semi-final defeat , but the new boys crowned a dream debut by beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the third place play-off . The next two tournaments proved thoroughly disappointing by comparison , as Croatia failed to survive the group stage at both Korea / Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 .

ROAD TO BRAZIL 2014 RUNNERS-UP EUROPEAN GROUP

A 2012 : Sept 7 Macedonia H W 1-0 ( Jelavic ) Sept 11 Belgium A D 1-1 ( Perisic ) Oct 12 Macedonia A W 2-1 ( Corluka , Rakitic ) Oct 16 Wales H W 2-0 ( Mandzukic , Eduardo )

2013 : March 22 Serbia H W 2-0 ( Mandzukic , Olic ) March 26 Wales A W 2-1 ( Lovren , Eduardo ) June 7 Scotland H L 1-0 Sept 6 Serbia A D 1-1 ( Mandzukic ) Oct 11 Belgium H L 2-1 ( Kranjcar ) Oct 15 Scotland A L 2-0

PLAYOFFS Nov 15 Iceland A D 0-0 Nov 19 Iceland H W 2-0 ( Mandzukic , Srna )

Previous W / Cup appearances ( 3 ): 1998 , 2002 ,

KEY

MAN D A R I J O S R N A : Experienced captain Darijo

Srna is a born leader and can always be relied upon for moments of inspiration . Kovac presides over a wealth of international-class attacking talent including Eduardo , Ivica Olic , Nikita Jelavic and Mario Mandzukic .

COMPLETE FOOTBALL 13