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