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.
History
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.
Recent results
The following is a list of match results from the last 12 months, as well as any future matches scheduled.
2025
Coaching staff
PositionNameHead coach Ognjen VukojevićAssistant coaches Mato Neretljak Mario CarevićGoalkeeping coach Marjan MrmićFitness coach Ivan KrakanPhysiotherapists Ivan HalambekDoctors Goran MadžaracChief instructor Petar KrpanTeam manager Denis Lukša
Current squad
The following is the squad named for friendly matches against China played on 1 and 3 June 2023.
Competitive record
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Croatian under-20 team played most of its matches competing in a regional cup called Mirop Cup, also known as Cup Alpe-Adria, with groups of Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and teams of some Austrian and Hungarian regions. Croatia won that cup three times in a row, in 1994, 1995 and 1996, and ever after.
FIFA U-20 World Cup record
recordQualifications recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1977colspan=9 rowspan=8 colspan=7 rowspan=9 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993colspan=9 1995colspan=9 rowspan=2 UEFA European Under-19 Championship1994 19971996 1999Round of 1614/2441216619991998 2001colspan=9 rowspan=5 2000 20032002 20052004 20072006 20092008 2011Group stage23/2430032820112010 2013Round of 1611/2442114420132012 2015colspan=9 rowspan=5 2014 20172016 20192018 20232022 20252024 2027colspan=9 2026TotalRound of 163/24113351218
MatchesFirst match 1–1 (Kaduna, Nigeria; 4 April 1999)Biggest win 5–1 (Kaduna, Nigeria; 7 April 1999)Biggest defeat 4–0 (Calabar, Nigeria; 14 April 1999)
Head-to-head record
Key
Opponent 67 teams played
See also
Croatia national football team Croatia national football B team Croatia national under-23 football team Croatia national under-21 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 Croatia women's national football team Croatia women's national under-19 football team Croatia women's national under-17 football team Croatia women's national under-15 football team
References
Head-to-head record The following table shows Croatia's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. OpponentWin %Total