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2026 World Cup qualifying
UEFA Group L
Matchday 3
Gibraltar v Croatia
Estadio Algarve
Faro-Loule, Portugal
Friday, 6 June 2025
Kick-off is at 19h45
Croatia will turn their attention to the
2026 World Cup qualifiers as they prepare to face Gibraltar for only the second time in their history at Estadio Algarve on Friday, June 6.
The Blazers' hopes of reaching a second consecutive UEFA Nations League final were dashed in March after they lost to France on penalties (5-4) in the quarter-finals following a 2-2 draw on aggregate.
Zlatko Dalic's side didn't have a great run in the Group 1 which saw them record two wins, two draws and two losses to advance to knockout stages as runners-up to Portugal.
Croatia beat Les Bleus 2-0 in Split on March 20, but the score was reversed in Saint-Denis three days later and the 2020-21 champions came out on top in the shootout.
Los Llanis are still fairly new to the international scene, having only been granted UEFA membership in 2013 and FIFA membership in 2016.
Scott Wiseman's side have yet to pick up a single point in World Cup qualifying after losing all 20 of their previous games ahead of the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Gibraltar's poor streak continued in March as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Montenegro in Niksic before going down 4-0 to Czech Republic in Faro-Loule.
Dalic has stressed the importance of getting off to a good start, although he admits the timing isn't great given that the season only just ended for most European clubs.
"Croatia now begins its journey towards the 2026 World Cup. From the initial squad, Mateo Kovacic has dropped out due to injury. Other players are here, except for [Dominik] Livakovic, Marco Pasalic - who still have club commitments - and [Ante] Budimir, who will join later," he said.
"It's a difficult period; the club season has just ended, and we need to take this seriously. Only the group winners go through.
"The team knows how important these qualifiers are. The timing isn't ideal, but our goal is to qualify, and that's what we'll focus on."
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 1
Gibraltar wins - 0
Croatia wins - 1
Draws - 0
2026 World Cup qualifying Matchday 3 fixtures:
Friday, June 6
20h45: Norway v Italy
20h45: Estonia v Israel
20h45: Wales v Liechtenstein
20h45: North Macedonia v Belgium
20h45: Czech Republic v Montenegro
20h45: Gibraltar v Croatia
Saturday, June 7
15h00: Bosnia and Herzegovina v San Marino
18h00: Malta v Lithuania
18h00: Andorra v England
20h45: Finland v Netherlands
20h45: Austria v Romania
20h45: Albania v Serbia
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