The Croatian national football team has officially qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, after defeating the Faroe Islands 3:1 in Rijeka during the seventh round of Group L qualifying.
The visitors initially took the lead in the 16th minute through Geza David Turi, who scored his first goal for the Faroe Islands national team after the ball deflected off Croatia’s Luka Vušković. Croatia quickly responded seven minutes later, with Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol equalizing. Petar Musa (57’) and Nikola Vlašić (70’) secured the victory for the host team.
Since gaining independence, Croatia has only missed one World Cup—in South Africa in 2010—and this marks their fourth consecutive qualification for the tournament.
In the same group, Montenegro secured a 2:1 away victory against Gibraltar. Montenegro now has nine points, while Gibraltar remains in last place with no points. In the final round, Croatia will visit Montenegro, while the Czech Republic hosts Gibraltar.
Other European Qualifiers Update
- Group G: Poland and the Netherlands drew 1:1 in Warsaw. Jakub Kamiński gave Poland the lead in the 43rd minute, before Memphis Depay equalized for the Netherlands just after halftime. The Netherlands leads Group G with 17 points, three ahead of second-placed Poland. Goal difference favors the Netherlands (23:4 vs. Poland’s 11:5). In the final round, the Netherlands hosts Lithuania, and Poland visits Malta.
- Group A: Germany defeated Luxembourg 2:0 on the road, with Nick Voltemade scoring both goals in the 49th and 69th minutes. Slovakia edged Northern Ireland 1:0 in Košice, thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Tomas Bobček. Germany leads Group A with 12 points, level on points with Slovakia but ahead on goal difference (Germany 10:3, Slovakia 6:2). Northern Ireland sits third with six points, while Luxembourg remains last with no points. The final round will see Germany host Slovakia in Leipzig, a decisive match for direct World Cup qualification.
