Croatia women's national football team
The Croatia women's national football team represents Croatia in international women's football matches. 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 Lavice ('Lionesses'). So far, the Lavice have not qualified for any major tournament.
| Nickname(s) | Lavice (The Lionesses) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Croatian Football Federation (HNS) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Nenad Gračan | ||
| Captain | Doris Bačić | ||
| Most caps | Iva Landeka (102) | ||
| Top scorer | Maja Joščak (20) | ||
| FIFA code | CRO | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 56 3 (14 June 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 44 (July 2003 – June 2005) | ||
| Lowest | 65 (November 2010; July 2011) | ||
| First international | |||
| Slovenia 3–2 Croatia (Ižakovci, Slovenia; 28 October 1993) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Croatia 8–2 Slovenia (Kecskemét, Hungary; 27 May 2001) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Romania 10–0 Croatia (Bucharest, Romania; 2 October 2004) | |||
| Website | hns-cff.hr | ||
History
After winning independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the newly established Croatian Football Federation immediately moved toward creating separate national football teams to represent the country, which included the establishment of the women's team. Three years after the men's team debut, the women's team of Croatia officially marked their international debut, playing against neighbouring Slovenia in a friendly on 28 October 1993, where Croatia lost 2–3 away.
Since its inception, the women's team of Croatia has suffered from the lack of coverage from the increasingly successful men's side. Most of Croatia's female footballers, unlike the male ones, are made up of only amateur or part-timers, and thus they are not adequately trained. As for the result, while the men's team has been largely competitive and qualified for several UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup, the women's team is unable to repeat the same as the men's one, and has a tendency of being finished near bottom or bottom of the qualifications for UEFA Women's Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup.
Team image
Nicknames
The Croatia women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Lavice".
Rivalry
Like the men's counterparts, the Croatian women's team also maintained a rivalry with its neighbour Serbia. However, unlike the men's, the women's team of Croatia, long suffered from lack of investment, could not demonstrate its domination against its Serbian arch-rival.
Recent results and fixtures
- The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
- Legend
Win Draw Lose Fixture
2023
| 22 September Nations League B Gr 2 | Croatia | 2–1 | Romania | Varaždin, Croatia |
| 20:15 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stadion Varteks Referee: Maria Marotta (Italy) Assistant referees: Fourth official: Deborah Bianchi (Italy) |
| 26 September Nations League B Gr 2 | Slovakia | 4–0 | Croatia | Senec, Slovakia |
| 18:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: NTC Senec Referee: Alexandra Collin (France) Assistant referees: Fourth official: Emeline Rochebiliere (Italy) |
| 27 October 2023–24 UEFA Nations League | Finland | 3–0 | Croatia | Helsinki |
| 17:45 | Report | Stadium: Bolt Arena, Referee: Désirée Grundbacher (Switzerland) |
| 31 October 2023–24 UEFA Nations League | Croatia | 0–2 | Finland | Šibenik |
| 18:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stadion Šubićevac, Referee: Teresa Oliveira (Portugal) |
| 1 December 2023 2023–24 UEFA Nations League | Croatia | 2–0 | Slovakia | Velika Gorica |
| 18:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion Radnik Attendance: 347 Referee: Hristiyana Guteva (Bulgaria) |
| 5 December 2023 2023–24 UEFA Nations League | Romania | 0–1 | Croatia | Bucharest |
| 19:00 (20:00 EET) | Report | Stadium: Stadionul Arcul de Triumf Referee: Rasa Grigonė (Lithuania) |
2024
| 23 February 2023–24 UEFA Nations League play-offs | Croatia | 0–3 | Norway | Osijek, Croatia |
| Stadium: Opus Arena Referee: Abigail Byrne (England) |
| 27 February 2023–24 UEFA Nations League play-offs | Norway | 5–0 (8–0 agg.) | Croatia | Stavanger |
| Stadium: Viking Stadion Referee: Veronika Kovarova (Czech Republic) | ||||
| Note: Norway won 8–0 on aggregate, and therefore both teams remained in their respective leagues. | ||||
| 5 April Euro 2025 qualifying | Wales | 4–0 | Croatia | Wrexham |
| Report | Stadium: Racecourse Ground Referee: Zuzana Valentová (Slovakia) |
| 9 April Euro 2025 qualifying | Croatia | 1–0 | Ukraine | Zaprešić |
| Report | Stadium: Ivan Laljak-Ivić Stadium Referee: Zulema González (Spain) |
| 31 May UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Kosovo | 1–0 | Croatia | Podujevo, Kosovo |
| 17:00 | Report | Rudelić 58' | Stadium: Zahir Pajaziti Stadium Referee: Kristina Georgieva (Bulgaria) |
| 4 June UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Croatia | 2–0 | Kosovo | Karlovac, Croatia |
| Rudelić 15' Marković 74' |
Report | Stadium: Stadion Branko Čavlović-Čavlek Referee: Michaela Pachtová (Czech Republic) |
| 12 July Euro 2025 qualifying | Croatia | v | Wales | |
| Report |
| 16 July Euro 2025 qualifying | Ukraine | v | Croatia | Petar Miloševski Training Centre, Skopje (North Macedonia) |
| 19:00 | Report |
Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Nenad Gračan |
| Assistant Coach | Jure Perković |
| Assistant Coach | Nenad Glušica |
| Assistant Coach | Helena Hercigonja-Moulton |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Blaž Bugarin |
Players
Current squad
- The following players were called up for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying matches against Kosovo on 31 May and 4 June 2024 respectively.[2]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Doris Bačić | 23 February 1995 | 77 | 0 | Napoli |
| 12 | GK | Ana Filipović | 4 July 2003 | 0 | 0 | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 23 | GK | Laura Fiket | 5 June 2002 | 0 | 0 | Split |
| 5 | DF | Kristina Nevrkla | 17 June 2003 | 88 | 4 | Osijek |
| 3 | DF | Ana Jelenčić | 8 June 1994 | 47 | 1 | Servette |
| 15 | DF | Maria Kunštek | 6 November 1998 | 28 | 0 | Osijek |
| DF | Janja Čanjevac | 8 August 1999 | 9 | 0 | Hajduk | |
| 13 | DF | Tea Varćević | 25 April 2006 | |||
| 4 | DF | Lucia Orkić | ||||
| 22 | MF | Izabela Lojna | 11 May 1992 | 81 | 12 | Osijek |
| 10 | MF | Anela Lubina | 18 December 1995 | 43 | 2 | Osijek |
| 7 | MF | Petra Pezelj | 28 October 1998 | 41 | 2 | Trabzonspor |
| 13 | MF | Helena Spajić | 8 February 2000 | 25 | 0 | Dinamo Zagreb |
| 6 | MF | Tea Krznarić | 9 August 2004 | 14 | 0 | LASK |
| 11 | MF | Ivana Slipčević | 23 August 1998 | 11 | 0 | FC Ingolstadt 04 |
| 2 | MF | Ružica Krajinović | 10 May 2002 | 7 | 0 | Sturm |
| 8 | MF | Ella Ljuština | 10 May 2002 | 11 | 1 | Grasshopper |
| 9 | FW | Ivana Rudelić | 25 January 1992 | 44 | 17 | Basel |
| 17 | FW | Karla Jedvaj | 16 November 2000 | 13 | 0 | Blau-Weiß Linz |
| 19 | FW | Paula Vidović | 16 June 2003 | FC Ingolstadt 04 | ||
| FW | Ana Maria Marković | 9 November 1999 | 12 | 1 | Grasshoppers | |
| 11 | FW | Jelena Đorđić | 27 January 2002 | First Vienna | ||
| 11 | FW | Petra Mikulica | ||||
Recent call-ups
- The following players were named to a squad in the last 12 months.
- This list may be incomplete.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Danijela Vidović | 5 June 2003 | 0 | 0 | Rijeka | Slovakia, 26 September 2023 |
| DF | Lucia Domazet | 17 June 2003 | 10 | 0 | Split | Norway, 5 April 2024 |
| DF | Barbara Živković | 15 February 2005 | Osijek | Norway, 5 April 2024 | ||
| DF | Antonia Dulčić | 4 February 1997 | 24 | 0 | ALG Spor | Norway, 5 April 2024 |
| DF | Leonarda Balog | 5 February 1993 | 65 | 1 | St. Pölten | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 |
| MF | Mia Došen | 25 September 2003 | Parkside | Slovakia, 26 September 2023 | ||
| MF | Antea Batarilo | 2 October 2005 | Austria Wien | Romania, 5 December 2023 | ||
| MF | Fatjesa Gegollaj | 5 November 2001 | Al-Ula | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 | ||
| MF | Ivana Kirilenko | 21 June 2000 | 8 | 0 | Dux Logroño | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 |
| MF | Veronika Terzić | 16 February 2000 | Sarajevo | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 | ||
| MF | Bianca Rose Galić | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 | ||||
| FW | Selma Kajdić | 3 May 1996 | 2 | 0 | Dornbirn | Slovakia, 26 September 2023 |
| FW | Nika Petarić | 2 June 2002 | 2 | 0 | Dinamo Zagreb | Romania, 5 December 2023 |
| FW | Andrea Glibo | 5 April 2002 | 5 | 0 | Sturm | Ukraine, 9 April 2024 |
Competitive record
Champions
Runners-up
Third place
Fourth place
Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
FIFA Women's World Cup
| FIFA Women's World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1991 | Part of Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Did not qualify | 2/5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 11 | |||||||||
| 2007 | 2/4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 2011 | 6/6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 27 | ||||||||||
| 2015 | 4/6 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 5/5 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 2023 | 4/6 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 18 | ||||||||||
| 2027 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/9 | — | 0/6 | 52 | 12 | 9 | 31 | 49 | 107 | ||||||||
Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out; correct as of 6 September 2022 after the match against Lithuania.
| Matches | |
|---|---|
| First match | – |
| Biggest win | – |
| Biggest defeat | – |
UEFA Women's Championship
| UEFA Women's Championship record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1969 | Part of Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995 | Did not qualify | 2/4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 18 | |||||||||
| 1997 | 4/4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 23 | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 4/4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 2005 | 3/5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 22 | ||||||||||
| 2009 | 3/4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 2013 | 5/5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 2017 | 4/5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 15 | ||||||||||
| 2022 | 4/5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 2025 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/15 | — | 0/8 | 55 | 14 | 6 | 35 | 64 | 148 | ||||||||
Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out; correct as of 23 February 2021 after the match against Romania.
| Matches | |
|---|---|
| First match | – |
| Biggest win | – |
| Biggest defeat | – |
UEFA Women's Nations League
| UEFA Women's Nations League | Finals record | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | LG | GP | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | P/R | RK | Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | |
| 2023–24 | B | 2 | 2nd | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 23rd | 2024 | Did not qualify | |||||||||
| Total | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 10 | Total | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||||||
Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 5 December 2023 after the match against Romania.
| Matches | |
|---|---|
| First match | Croatia 2–1 Romania (Varaždin, Croatia; 22 September 2023) |
| Biggest win | Croatia 2–0 Slovakia (Velika Gorica, Croatia; 1 December 2023) |
| Biggest defeat | Slovakia 4–0 Croatia (Senec, Slovakia; 26 September 2023) |
Individual statistics
- As of 6 June 2024
Most capped players
| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iva Landeka | 102 | 14 | 2006–2022 |
| 2 | Sandra Žigić | 94 | 10 | 2005–2019 |
| 3 | Kristina Nevrkla | 93 | 4 | 2008– |
| 4 | Izabela Lojna | 86 | 13 | 2010– |
| 5 | Doris Bačić | 82 | 0 | 2011– |
| 6 | Maja Joščak | 77 | 20 | 2006–2019 |
| 7 | Leonarda Balog | 72 | 1 | 2009– |
| 8 | Kristina Šundov | 59 | 8 | 2003–2020 |
| 9 | Violeta Baban | 58 | 8 | 2002–2016 |
| 10 | Ana Jelenčić | 53 | 1 | 2011– |
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivana Rudelić | 20 | 51 | 0.39 | 2015– |
| Maja Joščak | 77 | 0.26 | 2006–2019 | ||
| 3 | Katarina Kolar | 16 | 40 | 0.4 | 2006–2014 |
| 4 | Iva Landeka | 14 | 102 | 0.14 | 2006–2022 |
| 5 | Marina Koljenik | 13 | 35 | 0.37 | 1994–2007 |
| Izabela Lojna | 86 | 0.15 | 2010– | ||
| 7 | Ljiljana Jakšić | 12 | 22 | 0.55 | 1995–2005 |
| 8 | Sandra Žigić | 10 | 94 | 0.11 | 2005–2019 |
| 9 | Violeta Baban | 8 | 58 | 0.14 | 2003–2020 |
| Kristina Šundov | 59 | 0.14 | 2002–2016 | ||
See also
- Croatia women's national under-19 football team
- Croatia women's national under-17 football team
- Croatia women's national under-15 football team
- Croatia national football team
- Croatia national football B team
- Croatia national under-23 football team
- Croatia national under-21 football team
- Croatia national under-20 football team
- Croatia national under-19 football team
- Croatia national under-18 football team
- Croatia national under-17 football team
- Croatia national under-16 football team
- Croatia national under-15 football team
References
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- Izbornik Nenad Gračan objavio je popis igračica za kvalifikacije za Europsko prvenstvo 2025.