Nine days after Croatia's elimination, FIFA released the final rankings for the World Cup, in which the team led by Zlatko Dalčić finished in 20th place. This is the lowest result for Croatia at a World Cup since 2006.
Croatia were eliminated in the round of 16, losing 2-1 to Portugal in a match in which a goal was disallowed in the final seconds. Prior to that, they had beaten Panama 1-0 and Ghana 2-1, before losing to England 4-2 in the opening match of the tournament.
Teams that did not reach the semi-finals are ranked according to the stage at which they were eliminated: quarter-finalists occupy positions 5 to 8, while teams such as Croatia, which were eliminated in the round of 16, are placed between 17th and 32nd. Within each group, the ranking is determined by points, goal difference, number of goals scored, fair play points, and finally the position on the FIFA rankings.
With six points, Croatia finished fourth among the 16 teams eliminated in the round of 16. Only the Netherlands and Germany, who scored more points, were ahead of them, along with Ivory Coast, which had a better goal difference.
The 20th place is the lowest position for Croatia since 22nd place at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with the 2010 tournament excluded as Croatia did not qualify. Following 2006, the 2014 tournament in Brazil saw 19th place, followed by two medals: silver in Russia in 2018 and bronze in Qatar in 2022. The bronze was also achieved by the team on their debut in France in 1998, while the tournament in Japan and South Korea in 2002 ended in 23rd place.
