Runners-up in 2018, third place in 2022: Can Croat...

playModric happy to arrive at fifth World Cup for Croatia (1:32) Josko Gvardiol doesn't know the answer to the question everyone seems to ask when it comes to Croatia and the FIFA World Cup. Ivan Rakitić is at a loss, too. How does a country with a population of less than 4 million people keep punching so far above its weight? Not even the players who have been part of it can tell you. In terms of population alone, Croatia should struggle to reach the World Cup. But not only do they qualify, they also regularly exceed expectations once they get there. This summer marks the 30th anniversary of their first international tournament at the European Championship in 1996, coming just five years after the country was officially declared independent from Yugoslavia in 1991. It will also be their fourth straight World Cup appearance, and after finishing third in 2022 and second in 2018, the mystery of how it's possible for such a small country to consistently compete at the highest level is a difficult one to solve -- even for Rakitić, one of the stars in Russia eight years ago, and Gvardiol, who stood out in Qatar four years later. "Maybe it's in the food," laughed Gvardiol when asked by ESPN for the secret of Croatia's success. "I think no one knows. It is difficult to tell. "All I can say is that we have good players. Most of the team are playing in the top teams. And yeah, I don't ... there is no explanation, but I can say that we know when we are with the national team, we give everything. We have a huge support from our fans even though we are a small nation." Of the 48 teams to qualify for this summer's World Cup, only Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde and Curaçao have smaller populations than Croatia. Their domestic league is ranked 20th by UEFA, behind both Cyprus and Austria. To put it into context, Italy -- a country of close to 60 million and with the second-strongest domestic league in Europe according to UEFA -- have failed to qualify for the past three World Cups and haven't been past the group stage in 20 years. Croatia joined FIFA only in 1992 and yet have the same number of semifinal appearances (three) as England, who have been entering World Cups since 1950. "Truly we don't know how it works," Rakitić told ESPN. "Really, I think it's about the love for the country and feeling so proud. "It's a country that loves football. We love sport, but especially football. It's really important here. For us here in Croatia, football is very important. We know that maybe our infrastructure is not at the highest level, but we try to do other things at the highest level. "This is football, this is sport. Everything can happen. Not always the bigger team or the bigger country have to win. We give our best, and I think that's why we have big results." Croatia will look to go into the latter stages of a World Cup yet again, just like they did in 1998, 2018 and 2022. (Photo by Vjeran Zganec Rogulja/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)Rakitić was a key part of the Croatia team that beat Argentina and England on its way to the final in Russia 2018, where it lost 4-2 to France. The former Barcelona midfielder retired from international duty in 2019, but a core of the squad that performed so well in Russia and Qatar in 2022 is back again. Luka Modric, once of Real Madrid but now at AC Milan, will play at his sixth World Cup at the age of 40. Elevated to godlike status in Croatia as one of the most prominent figures in the country's post-independent history, Modric has a relationship with head coach Zlatko Dalić that allows him a voice in decision-making around tournament planning and tactical approaches to games. Veteran campaigners Dominik Livakovic, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric have also made the cut for the tournament. And with Dalić, in the job for nine years after initially serving as an emergency appointment in 2017, Croatia are hoping the continuity will help re-create the team spirit that has been central to their impressive World Cup record. "Russia in 2018 was the most important tournament in my career, for sure," Rakitić said. "The secret for us is the team, the atmosphere. We believed, and everything from the coach was really clear. We understood that everything is possible. "I think we thought it was possible because in that moment our team was really strong. We had some players who were at the biggest clubs in the world. After that it was a bit of magic!" For the younger players in the squad, the World Cup offers a platform to further their own careers. Gvardiol's performances in reaching the last four in Qatar convinced Manchester City to press ahead with plans to sign him from RB Leipzig six months later. Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and others to bring you the latest highlights and debate the biggest storylines. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only). The 24-year-old suffered a broken leg in January but has battled back to fitness just in time for th

Runners-up in 2018, third place in 2022: Can Croat...

Key takeaways

More in sports