in Croatia's starting team for the opening game of the tournament, a 3–1 defeat to World Cup hosts Brazil at the Arena Corinthians, São Paulo, where he played for his team for 60 minutes before being substituted. He went to play all the remaining games in the group stage, as Croatia was eliminated in the group stage. On 7 June 2015, he scored his first international goal in a 4–0 victory over Gibraltar, coming in his 20th appearance for the team. On 4 June 2018, Kovačić was selected in Zlatko Dalić's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 22 June, Kovačić provided an assist to his teammate Ivan Rakitić as he scored Croatia's third goal in a 3–0 win over Argentina in their second group stage match of the tournament. Croatia was beaten 4–2 by France in the final on 15 July. Kovačić appeared in Croatia's Nations League matches against Spain away and England home, that ended up as 6–0 defeat and a goalless draw, respectively. He featured throughout Croatia's successful Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, as they finished top of the group. In a 2–1 win over Wales in Osijek on 8 June 2019, he scored what would have been a goal for 2–0, however it was disallowed as Andrej Kramarić was in an offside position. In a return leg on 13 October, in the build-up to Wales' goal, Kovačić was controversially injured by Ben Davies as the match ended up as a 1–1 draw. During 2020–21 Nations League, Kovačić was heavily criticized for his inefficiency in the national team, especially after making an error that led to Dejan Kuluševski's opening goal in Croatia's crucial match against Sweden on 14 November 2020, that eventually finished as a 2–1 defeat. However, three days later, he scored a brace in a 3–2 defeat to Portugal, which eventually saved Croatia from relegation to League B as they achieved better goal difference than Sweden. On 17 May 2021, Kovačić was selected in Dalić's 26-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 and started all three group stage matches. In stark contrast to Croatia's Nations League campaign, his performances earned him widespread praise in the country as Croatia finished as the group runners-up and went through to the Round of 16. On 3 June 2022, in a 3–0 Nations League defeat to Austria, Kovačić captained Croatia for the first time. At the 2022 FIFA