Croatia

Luka Modrić, 40, appears at his fifth FIFA World Cup (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026) — two decades after his debut — joining the five-tournament club while Messi and Ronaldo reach a record sixth.

Croatia (pop. ~3.9 million) is statistically the most overachieving World Cup nation ever: runners-up in 2018 and third place in both 1998 and 2022, from just six previous tournament appearances.

Davor Šuker won the 1998 World Cup Golden Boot with six goals — he remains Croatia's all-time top WC scorer, and alongside Modrić's 2018 Golden Ball he is one of only two Croatians to win a major individual World Cup award.

Luka Vušković (born 2007) is one of the youngest players at the entire 2026 World Cup — the Tottenham-owned HSV centre-back scored 6 Bundesliga goals, a record for a Croatian teenager in Germany.

Croatia qualified by winning their UEFA group with seven wins from eight matches, conceding just five goals — including a historic win over the Czech Republic that mathematically secured their spot.

Luka Modrić spent part of his childhood as a war refugee in a Zadar hotel, learning football in its shrapnel-scarred car park — his grandfather had been killed in the conflict and the family fled their village.

On their run to the 2018 final, Croatia became the first team to win three consecutive World Cup knockout games after extra time — effectively playing a full match more than France before the final.