Croatia women's national football team

Croatia women
Nickname(s)	Lavice (The Lionesses)
Association	Croatian Football Federation (HNS)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Nenad Gračan
Captain	Doris Bačić
Most caps	Iva Lažeta (95)
Top scorer	Maja Joščak (20)
FIFA code	CRO
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	60 1 (25 August 2023)
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

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 hadn't qualified for any major tournament.

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

16 February 2023 Cyprus Women's Cup	Croatia	1–4	Finland	Larnaca, Cyprus
	Nevrkla 8'		Summanen 3' Sällström 15' Ahtinen 62' Rantala 69'	Stadium: GSZ Stadium Referee: Marta Huerta de Aza (Spain)

19 February 2023 Cyprus Women's Cup	Romania	0–2	Croatia	Larnaca, Cyprus
			Nevrkla 52' Rudelić 57'	Stadium: AEK Arena

22 February 2023 Cyprus Women's Cup	Hungary	0–1	Croatia	Larnaca, Cyprus
				Stadium: AEK Arena

7 April Friendly	Greece	1–1	Croatia	Athens, Greece
12:00	Spyridonidou 18'	Report	Rudelić 62'	Stadium: Georgios Kamaras Stadium Referee: Lotta Vuorio (Finland)

10 April Friendly	Greece	2–1	Croatia	Athens, Greece
11:00 UTC+3	Spyridonidou 50', 72'	Report	42'	Stadium: Georgios Kamaras Stadium

22 September Nations League B Gr 2	Croatia	2–1	Romania	Varaždin, Croatia
20:15	Rudelić 45+1' Pezelj 54'	Report	Carp 31'	Stadium: Stadion Varteks Referee: Maria Marotta (Italy) Assistant referees: Veronica Vettorel (Italy) Giulia Tempestilli (Italy) Fourth official: Deborah Bianchi (Italy)

26 September Nations League B Gr 2	Slovakia	4–0	Croatia	Senec, Slovakia
18:00	Hmírová 24', 60', 73' Lemešová 30' 45+1' Morávková 34'	Report	Krajinović 78'	Stadium: NTC Senec Referee: Alexandra Collin (France) Assistant referees: Clémentine Dubreil (Italy) Nabila Zaouak (Italy) Fourth official: Emeline Rochebiliere (Italy)

27 October 2023–24 UEFA Nations League	Finland	3–0	Croatia	Helsinki
17:45	Sällström 6' Kunštek 65' (o.g.) Franssi 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Bolt Arena, Referee: Désirée Grundbacher (Switzerland)

31 October 2023–24 UEFA Nations League	Croatia	0–2	Finland	Šibenik
18:00		Report	Summanen 5', 12'	Stadium: Stadion Šubićevac, Referee: Teresa Oliveira (Portugal)

1 December 2023 (2023-12-01) 2023–24 UEFA Nations League	Croatia	2–0	Slovakia	Velika Gorica
18:00	Krajinović 53' Dordić 60'	Report		Stadium: Stadion Radnik Attendance: 347 Referee: Hristiyana Guteva (Bulgaria)

5 December 2023 (2023-12-05) 2023–24 UEFA Nations League	Romania	v	Croatia	Bucharest
19:00 (20:00 EET)		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Arcul de Triumf Referee: Rasa Grigonė (Lithuania)

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

Source:

Players

Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League B match against Slovakia and Romania on 1 and 5 December 2023.^[2]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Doris Bačić	(1995-02-23) 23 February 1995	70	0	Napoli
12	1GK	Ana Filipović	(2003-07-04) 4 July 2003	0	0	Dinamo Zagreb
23	1GK	Laura Fiket	(2002-06-05) 5 June 2002	0	0	Split

3	2DF	Ana Jelenčić	(1994-06-08) 8 June 1994	42	1	Servette
5	2DF	Kristina Nevrkla	(2003-06-17) 17 June 2003	82	3	Osijek
	2DF	Antonia Dulčić	(1997-02-04) 4 February 1997	24	0	ALG Spor
6	2DF	Tea Varćević
15	2DF	Maria Kunštek	(1998-11-06) 6 November 1998	25	0	Osijek
	2DF	Leonarda Balog	(1993-02-05) 5 February 1993	65	1	St. Pölten
4	2DF	Barbara Zivkovic

22	3MF	Izabela Lojna	(1992-05-11) 11 May 1992	71	11	Osijek
10	3MF	Anela Lubina	(1995-12-18) 18 December 1995	42	2	Osijek
7	3MF	Petra Pezelj	(1998-10-28) 28 October 1998	38	2	Trabzonspor
8	3MF	Ella Ljuština	(2002-05-10) 10 May 2002	11	1	Zürich
2	3MF	Ružica Krajinović	(2002-05-10) 10 May 2002	4	0	Sturm
6	2DF	Tea Krznarić	(2004-08-09) 9 August 2004	11	0	LASK
	3MF	Antea Batarilo

17	4FW	Karla Jedvaj	(2000-11-16) 16 November 2000	10	0	Blau-Weiß Linz
	4FW	Jelena Đorđić	(2002-01-27) 27 January 2002			First Vienna
	4FW	Andrea Glibo	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002			Sturm
	4FW	Paula Vidović	(2003-06-16) 16 June 2003			FC Ingolstadt 04
	4FW	Nika Petarić	(2002-06-02) 2 June 2002	2	0	Dinamo Zagreb
	4FW	Ivana Rudelić	(1992-01-25) 25 January 1992	44	17	Basel

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	(2003-06-05) 5 June 2003	0	0	Rijeka	Slovakia, 26 September 2023

DF	Janja Čanjevac	(1999-08-08) 8 August 1999	9	0	Hajduk	Slovakia, 26 September 2023
DF	Lucia Domazet	(2003-06-17) 17 June 2003	10	0	Split	Finland, 31 October 2023

MF	Mia Došen	(2003-09-25) 25 September 2003			Parkside	Slovakia, 26 September 2023
MF	Helena Spajić	(2000-02-08) 8 February 2000	25	0	Dinamo Zagreb	Finland, 31 October 2023
MF	Ivana Kirilenko	(2000-06-21) 21 June 2000	8	0	Dux Logroño	Finland, 31 October 2023
MF	Veronika Terzić	(2000-02-16) 16 February 2000			Sarajevo	Finland, 31 October 2023
MF	Fatjesa Gegollaj	(2001-11-05) 5 November 2001			Al-Ula FC	Finland, 31 October 2023

FW	Selma Kajdić	(1996-05-03) 3 May 1996	2	0	Dornbirn	Slovakia, 26 September 2023
FW	Ivana Slipčević	(1998-08-23) 23 August 1998	11	0	FC Ingolstadt 04	Finland, 31 October 2023

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	Did not enter
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	2	1	0	1	2	5		TBD	2024	To be determined
Total				2	1	0	1	2	5			Total	0/1	0	0	0	0	0	0	—

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 26 September 2023 after the match against Slovakia.

Matches
First match	Croatia 2–1 Romania (Varaždin, Croatia; 22 September 2023)
Biggest win	Croatia 2–1 Romania (Varaždin, Croatia; 22 September 2023)
Biggest defeat	Slovakia 4–0 Croatia (Senec, Slovakia; 26 September 2023)

Individual statistics

As of 26 September 2023

Most capped players

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Iva Landeka	94	14	2006–2022
2	Sandra Žigić	87	10	2005–2019
3	Kristina Nevrkla	79	3	2008–
4	Izabela Lojna	71	11	2010–
5	Doris Bačić	69	0	2011–
6	Maja Joščak	68	20	2006–2019
7	Leonarda Balog	66	1	2009–
8	Violeta Baban	58	8	2002–2016
9	Kristina Šundov	57	8	2003–2020
10	Ivana Rudelić	42	17	2015–
	Ana Jelenčić	42	1	2011–
	Antonijela Horvat	42	0	2001–2009

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Maja Joščak	20	68	0.29	2006–2019
2	Ivana Rudelić	17	42	0.40	2015–
3	Katarina Kolar	14	33	0.42	2006–2014
3	Iva Landeka	14	94	0.15	2006–2022
5	Marina Koljenik	13	35	0.37	1994–2007
6	Ljiljana Jakšić	12	22	0.55	1995–2005
7	Izabela Lojna	11	71	0.15	2010–
8	Sandra Žigić	10	89	0.11	2005–2019
9	Kristina Šundov	8	57	0.14	2003–2020
9	Violeta Baban	8	58	0.14	2002–2016

References

↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
↑ Hrvatske reprezentativke okupile su se za posljednje dvije utakmice u ovogodišnjoj Ligi nacija!

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FIFA_Women's_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

[2] Hrvatske reprezentativke okupile su se za posljednje dvije utakmice u ovogodišnjoj Ligi nacija!

[1]

[2]

Croatia national football team
General	Croatian Football Federation History Managers
Statistics	Head to head Hat-tricks
Results	Pre-independence (1940–91) 1992–99 2000–09 2010–19 2020–present
Players	20+ caps 1–19 caps
World Cup Finals	Summary 1998 2002 2006 2014 2018 2022
UEFA Euro Finals	Summary 1996 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
UEFA Nations League Finals	Summary 2023
Rivalries	Serbia
Matches	Croatia v Indonesia (1956) Croatia v United States (1990) 2018 FIFA World Cup final 2023 UEFA Nations League final
Goal scorers	Davor Šuker
Other teams	Men's B Under-23 Under-21 Under-20 Under-19 Under-18 Under-17 Under-16 Under-15 Women's Under-19 Under-17 Under-15

National women's football teams of Europe (UEFA)
Active	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Republic of Ireland Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales
Defunct	Czechoslovakia East Germany Serbia and Montenegro Soviet Union Yugoslavia
Other	Great Britain Vatican City

Football in Croatia
Croatian Football Federation (HNS)
National teams	Men's: A B U23 U21 U20 U19 U18 U17 U16 U15 Women's: A U19 U17
League system	Men's: HNL 1. NL 2. NL 3. NL 1. ŽNL 2. ŽNL Women's: 1. HNLŽ
Domestic cups	Men's: Cup Super Cup Women's: Cup
Seasons	1992 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Records List of clubs List of venues International players Men Women