Croatia women's national football team

Croatia women
Nickname(s)Lavice (The Lionesses)
AssociationCroatian Football Federation (HNS)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachNenad Gračan
CaptainDoris Bačić
Most capsIva Lažeta (95)
Top scorerMaja Joščak (20)
FIFA codeCRO
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 60 Decrease 1 (25 August 2023)
Highest44 (July 2003 – June 2005)
Lowest65 (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)
Websitehns-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".[citation needed]

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

2022

10 November International friendly Azerbaijan  0–0  Croatia Baku, Azerbaijan
Report Stadium: Dalga Arena
Referee: Fəridə Lütfəliyeva (Azerbaijan)
13 November Friendly Azerbaijan  1–2  Croatia Baku, Azerbaijan
Report
Stadium: Dalga Arena
Referee: Fəridə Lütfəliyeva (Azerbaijan)

2023

7 April Friendly Greece  1–1  Croatia Athens, Greece
12:00 Report Stadium: Georgios Kamaras Stadium
Referee: Lotta Vuorio (Finland)
10 April Friendly Greece  2–1  Croatia Athens, Greece
11:00 UTC+3
Report 42' Stadium: Georgios Kamaras Stadium
22 September Nations League B Gr 2 Croatia  2–1  Romania Varaždin, Croatia
20:15
Report
Stadium: Stadion Varteks
Referee: Maria Marotta (ITA)
Assistant referees: Veronica Vettorel (ITA)
Fourth official: Deborah Bianchi (ITA)
26 September Nations League B Gr 2 Slovakia  4–0  Croatia Senec, Slovakia
18:00
Report
  • Krajinović Yellow card 78'
Stadium: NTC Senec
Referee: Alexandra Collin (FRA)
Assistant referees: Clémentine Dubreil (ITA)
Fourth official: Emeline Rochebiliere (ITA)

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Head Coach Croatia Nenad Gračan
Assistant Coach Croatia Jure Perković
Assistant Coach Croatia Nenad Glušica
Assistant Coach Croatia Helena Hercigonja-Moulton
Goalkeeping Coach Croatia Blaž Bugarin

Source: [1]

Players

Current squad

The following players were named to the squad for the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League B match against Finland on 27 and 31 October 2023.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Doris Bačić (1995-02-23) 23 February 1995 (age 28) 70 0 Italy Napoli
12 1GK Ana Filipović (2003-07-04) 4 July 2003 (age 20) 0 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
23 1GK Laura Fiket (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Croatia Split

3 2DF Ana Jelenčić (1994-06-08) 8 June 1994 (age 29) 42 1 Switzerland Servette
4 2DF Lucia Domazet (2003-06-17) 17 June 2003 (age 20) 10 0 Croatia Split
5 2DF Kristina Nevrkla (2003-06-17) 17 June 2003 (age 20) 82 3 Croatia Osijek
15 2DF Maria Kunštek (1998-11-06) 6 November 1998 (age 24) 25 0 Croatia Osijek
2DF Antonia Dulčić (1997-02-04) 4 February 1997 (age 26) 24 0 Turkey ALG Spor

2 3MF Ružica Krajinović (2002-05-10) 10 May 2002 (age 21) 4 0 Austria Sturm
6 3MF Tea Krznarić (2004-08-09) 9 August 2004 (age 19) 11 0 Austria LASK
7 3MF Petra Pezelj (1998-10-28) 28 October 1998 (age 25) 38 2 Turkey Trabzonspor
8 3MF Ella Ljuština (2002-05-10) 10 May 2002 (age 21) 11 1 Switzerland Zürich
10 3MF Anela Lubina (1995-12-18) 18 December 1995 (age 27) 42 2 Croatia Osijek
13 3MF Helena Spajić (2000-02-08) 8 February 2000 (age 23) 25 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb
16 3MF Ivana Kirilenko (2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 (age 23) 8 0 Spain Dux Logroño
22 3MF Izabela Lojna (1992-05-11) 11 May 1992 (age 31) 71 11 Croatia Osijek
3MF Veronika Terzić (2000-02-16) 16 February 2000 (age 23) Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo
3MF Fatjesa Gegollaj (2001-11-05) 5 November 2001 (age 21) Saudi Arabia Al-Ula FC

11 4FW Ivana Slipčević (1998-08-23) 23 August 1998 (age 25) 11 0 Germany FC Ingolstadt 04
17 4FW Karla Jedvaj (2000-11-16) 16 November 2000 (age 22) 10 0 Austria Blau-Weiß Linz
4FW Andrea Glibo (2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 21) Austria Sturm
4FW Paula Vidović (2003-06-16) 16 June 2003 (age 20) Germany FC Ingolstadt 04

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 (age 20) 0 0 Croatia Rijeka  Slovakia, 26 September 2023

DF Leonarda Balog (1993-02-05) 5 February 1993 (age 30) 65 1 Austria St. Pölten  Slovakia, 26 September 2023
DF Janja Čanjevac (1999-08-08) 8 August 1999 (age 24) 9 0 Croatia Hajduk  Slovakia, 26 September 2023

MF Mia Došen (2003-09-25) 25 September 2003 (age 20) United States Parkside  Slovakia, 26 September 2023

FW Selma Kajdić (1996-05-03) 3 May 1996 (age 27) 2 0 Austria Dornbirn  Slovakia, 26 September 2023
FW Nika Petarić (2002-06-02) 2 June 2002 (age 21) 2 0 Croatia Dinamo Zagreb  Slovakia, 26 September 2023
FW Ivana Rudelić (1992-01-25) 25 January 1992 (age 31) 44 17 Switzerland Basel  Slovakia, 26 September 2023
FW Jelena Đorđić (2002-01-27) 27 January 2002 (age 21) Austria First Vienna  Slovakia, 26 September 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
China 1991 Part of  Yugoslavia
Sweden 1995 Did not enter
United States 1999
United States 2003 Did not qualify 2/5 8 4 1 3 16 11
China 2007 2/4 6 3 0 3 11 11
Germany 2011 6/6 10 0 2 8 4 27
Canada 2015 4/6 10 2 2 6 7 20
France 2019 5/5 8 0 3 5 5 20
Australia New Zealand 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
Italy 1969 Part of  Yugoslavia
Italy 1979
Denmark England Italy Sweden 1984
Norway 1987
West Germany 1989
Denmark 1991
Italy 1993 Did not enter
England Germany Norway Sweden 1995 Did not qualify 2/4 6 3 1 2 8 18
Norway Sweden 1997 4/4 8 0 1 7 2 23
Germany 2001 4/4 6 1 0 5 7 19
England 2005 3/5 8 4 1 3 17 22
Finland 2009 3/4 3 2 0 1 9 6
Sweden 2013 5/5 8 0 1 7 6 26
Netherlands 2017 4/5 8 2 1 5 8 15
England 2022 4/5 8 2 1 5 7 19
Switzerland 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 Same position 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
Iva Landeka 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
Violeta Baban 58 2002–2016

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-11-01 15:07 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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