During the 2018 World Cup tournament that was held in Russia, the final took place between France and Croatia. While the presence of a team that had names such as Kylian Mbappé or Paul Pogba didn’t surprise anyone, we certainly can’t say the same about Croatia. The latter represents a nation of only 4 million inhabitants but with an extraordinary passion for football.
Despite making it all the way to the World Cup final after eliminating the National Teams of Denmark, England, and even the host Russia, Croatia wasn’t present in the squad roster of the FIFA series of football simulation games for a lot of time. Many people wanted it there, and it seems that EA has finally taken their request into account.
FIFA 23 brings Croatia into the game after 10 years of absence
FIFA 23 players will finally get to control footballers such as Luka Modric or Matteo Kovacic otherwise than by choosing their football clubs. They’ll be present in the Croatian National Team, along with other top players of the Eastern European country. Croatia hasn’t been on the squad roster in a FIFA game since FIFA 12, meaning an absence of 10 years.
"The moment many players around the world have been waiting for" – Marijan Kustić, HNS president
HNS and @EASPORTSFIFA reach an agreement to include #Croatia national team, the current @FIFAWorldCup runners-up, in #FIFA23! 🇭🇷🎮⚽️#Family #Vatreni❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/MHx9cIQQ1d
— HNS (@HNS_CFF) August 23, 2022
If you still have any doubts, here’s the confirmation from EA itself:
The Vatreni have their eyes on the prize 🏆 🇭🇷🔥
Take @hns_cff to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and beyond in #FIFA23. Get a guaranteed, untradeable Ones to Watch Special Player Item in #FUT by Pre-Ordering 👉 https://t.co/th0YW48H0q pic.twitter.com/oWuejDwX27
— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) August 23, 2022
Croatia was expected to appear back in FIFA 19 after the team finished second in the World Cup 2018 tournament, but it didn’t happen.
Tomislav Pacak, the spokesperson for the Croatian Football Federation, explained for Eurogamer at the time:
The reason why Croatia is not in FIFA 19 is because Croatian Football Federation and EA could not come to an agreement that would satisfy both sides,
Obviously, we value FIFA World Cup silver medallists and world’s best player in 2018 more than EA currently does with its offer, and we will continue protecting the value and image of the Croatian team and our players.
He also said that he hopes for the situation to improve in the future, and we’re glad to see that it finally happens.