The Croatia–Serbia football rivalry is a football rivalry between the national football teams of Croatia and Serbia. Both national sides are governed by UEFA in Europe, in addition to FIFA during their international matches.

Croatia and Serbia have met four times: twice in the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying and twice during their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns. It has received limited media attention for its perception of being one of the most hostile rivalries in world football due to their complex political history stemming from World War II and the breakup of Yugoslavia. The two rivals had previously both represented the Yugoslavia national football team,The Daily Telegraph and contributed the bulk of the team's footballers during almost 70 years of its existence.

History Origins The two countries first played in the semi-final of the one-off 1945 Yugoslav Football Tournament. The Home Championship/Victory International-style competition was played amongst six federal republics of Yugoslavia, one autonomous region and the Yugoslav People's Army team to mark the end of World War II. Serbia featured a team almost entirely composed of Red Star Belgrade players whilst Dinamo Zagreb was the primary contributor to the Croatian line-up. The match was played in Belgrade's 20th October Stadium with Serbia defeating Croatia 3–1, and progressing to the final where they beat the Army team 1–0. These matches are not formally recognized by FIFA or UEFA as this was a domestic tournament organised by the Football Association of Yugoslavia.

On 13 May 1990, Dinamo Zagreb hosted Red Star Belgrade at Stadion Maksimir in the Yugoslav First League. It was two weeks after Croatia's first election, in the middle of ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia. The game was interrupted after only ten minutes, as Dinamo's ultras Bad Blue Boys and Red Star's ultras Delije started an infamous riot. The incident is remembered for Dinamo's Zvonimir Boban kicking a Militia officer, after seeing him beating a Dinamo ultra. Boban was suspended for six months by the Football Association of Yugoslavia and expelled from the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

On 3 June 1990, a friendly match between Yugoslavia and the Netherlands took place at Stadion Maksimir and was the last friendly before the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The crowd of 20,000 booed the Yugoslav national anthem "Hey, Slavs".Football Fans cheered for the Netherlands, heckling the Yugoslav team and their manager Ivica Osim. Many Dutch flags were also seen in the crowd, owing to their similarity to the Croatian tricolour.In the bus The match was the last Yugoslavia match to be played at the stadium.Yugoslavia National Team List of Results 1990-1999 , RSSSF On 17 October of that same year, Croatia played its first international match as a sovereign country, against the United States.

UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying Croatia played against FR Yugoslavia (later renamed as Serbia and Montenegro) on 18 August 1999 at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, as part of UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying. The match ended as a goalless draw. The match remained memorable for a power outage at the stadium that allegedly intimidated the Croatian players. The return game at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb was played on 9 October 1999 and it was a decisive match for Croatia, as they needed a victory to qualify for the tournament. Ten minutes into the game, Aljoša Asanović passed the ball to Davor Šuker who took a shot, but Ivica Kralj rebounded it. Even though the ball was over the goal line, Spanish referee José María García-Aranda ruled the goal out. In 20th minute, Alen Bokšić opened the scoreline. Yugoslavia came from behind with goals by Predrag Mijatović and Dejan Stanković in 26th and 31st respective minute. In a contest between Zoran Mirković and Robert Jarni, the former grabbed the latter and received a red card. The incident motivated Croatia even more resulting in Mario Stanić's equalizer in 47th minute, drawing the match.

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification Croatia and now-independent Serbia met for the first time after nearly 70 years since their first encounter in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. The first match was played on 22 March 2013 at Stadion Maksimir and ended up as a 2–0 victory for Croatia following goals by Mario Mandžukić and Ivica Olić. The return game was played on 6 September 2013 at the Red Star Stadium and ended up as a 1–1 draw. Croatia took the lead after Mandžukić scored in 53rd minute but Serbia equalized in 66th minute through Aleksandar Mitrović. In 80th minute, Josip Šimunić tackled Miralem Sulejmani as the latter was running towards Croatia's goal. As a result, he received a red card. Croatia finished the qualification as the group runners-up and went on to beat Iceland 2–0 on aggregate in the play-offs. Serbia ended up third in the group with three points less than Croatia and subsequently did not qualify for the tournament.

Matches

Statistics Competition Croatia Wins Draws Serbia Wins Total 1 3 0

Top scorers Mario Mandžukić (2 goals) Alen Bokšić (1 goal) Predrag Mijatović (1 goal) Aleksandar Mitrović (1 goal) Ivica Olić (1 goal) Mario Stanić (1 goal) Dejan Stanković (1 goal)

Comparison in major international tournaments Key Denotes which team finished better in that particular competition.

Tournament Notes UEFA Euro 1992 Not a FIFA member SuspendedYugoslavia qualified but was banned from international sports tournaments as part of United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. 1994 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 19967th 1998 FIFA World Cup3rd10th In the quarter-finals, Croatia eliminated Germany, who had previously drawn with Yugoslavia in the group stage. In the third place play-off, Croatia defeated the Netherlands, who had previously eliminated Yugoslavia in the round of 16. UEFA Euro 2000Did not qualify8th Yugoslavia denied Croatia's qualification to the tournament following a goalless draw in Belgrade and a 2–2 draw in Zagreb, as Croatia needed a win in Zagreb to qualify. 2002 FIFA World Cup23rdDid not qualify UEFA Euro 200413th Did not qualify 2006 FIFA World Cup22nd32nd UEFA Euro 20085th Did not qualify 2010 FIFA World CupDid not qualify 23rd UEFA Euro 201210thDid not qualify 2014 FIFA World Cup19thCroatia and Serbia were drawn in the same qualifying group. Following a 2–0 win in Zagreb and a 1–1 draw in Belgrade, Croatia ended the qualification as the group runner-up with three points ahead of third-placed Serbia. UEFA Euro 20169th 2018 FIFA World Cup2nd23rd 2018–19 UEFA Nations League9th27th UEFA Euro 202014thDid not qualify 2020–21 UEFA Nations League12th27th 2022 FIFA World Cup3rd29thIn the quarter-finals, Croatia eliminated Brazil, who had previously defeated Serbia in the group stage. 2022–23 UEFA Nations League2nd19th UEFA Euro 202420th19thSerbia qualified to the European Championships for the first time in their history as an independent nation. 2024–25 UEFA Nations League8th9th 2026 FIFA World Cup20thDid not qualify 2026–27 UEFA Nations LeagueTBDTBD

See also Croatia–Serbia diplomatic relations Croatia–Serbia basketball rivalry Albania–Serbia football rivalry

References