At some point, Croatia stop being a surprise and just become a fact. Two straight World Cup semifinals. A final in Russia. Third place in Qatar. A country of four million people consistently punching so far above their weight it's become embarrassing for everyone else.

So why does nobody put them in their bracket? Here's the case for Croatia going deep in 2026 — again.

The Modrić Factor

Luka Modrić will be 40 years old at the 2026 World Cup. And yes, that sentence sounds insane. But this is the same man who was named the best player in the world in 2018, at 32, in the year everyone else had already called him old. He plays with a different clock than normal humans.

The real question isn't whether Modrić will show up. It's whether Croatia can build around what he still provides — vision, press resistance, tempo control — while protecting him from the legs he doesn't have anymore.

The Engine Room

Croatia's midfield has always been the core of everything. Beyond Modrić, they have:

• Kovačić — elite ball carrier, one of the best in the Premier League
• Brozović — the screen, the recycler, the guy who makes the whole thing work
• Sucić — the future, already getting run time and looking dangerous

That's not a makeshift midfield. That's a starting three that would improve the majority of World Cup squads.

Where They're Vulnerable

Let's be honest. Croatia's attacking output has been their weakness. They grind. They defend. They make games ugly when they need to. But you're not watching them for goals — Perisić's injury situation has been a real blow, and the forward options aren't exactly world-beaters.

"We don't need to score three goals a game. We need to score one more than you."

— The Croatian philosophy, essentially

If a team can get ahead of Croatia early and force them to chase, the cracks show. But very few teams can do that consistently over 90 minutes.

The Bottom Line

Croatia are not winning the World Cup. But they will beat a team that has no business losing to them, and they'll probably do it in extra time after making the game miserable for 120 minutes. That's their brand. It works. Don't sleep on the Vatreni.