Croatia women's national football team
Introduction The '''Croatia women's national football team''' represents Croatia in international women's football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the ''Lavice'' ('Lionesses'). So far, the ''Lavice'' hadn't qualified for any major tournament.
History After winning independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the newly established Croatian Football Federation immediately moved toward creating separate national football teams to represent the country, which included the establishment of the women's team. Three years after the men's team debut, the women's team of Croatia officially marked their international debut, playing against neighbouring Slovenia in a friendly on 28 October 1993, where Croatia lost 2–3 away.Since its inception, the women's team of Croatia has suffered from the lack of coverage from the increasingly successful men's side. Most of Croatia's female footballers, unlike the male ones, are made up of only amateur or part-timers, and thus they are not adequately trained. As for the result, while the men's team has been largely competitive and qualified for several UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup, the women's team is unable to repeat the same as the men's one, and has a tendency of being finished near bottom or bottom of the qualifications for UEFA Women's Championship and FIFA Women's World Cup.
Team image === Nicknames ===The Croatia women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "".=== Rivalry ===Like the men's counterparts, the Croatian women's team also maintained a rivalry with its neighbour Serbia. However, unlike the men's, the women's team of Croatia, long suffered from lack of investment, could not demonstrate its domination against its Serbian arch-rival.
Recent results and fixtures :''The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. '';''Legend''=== 2023 ===
Coaching staff
Players === Current squad ===*The following players were named to the squad for the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League B match against Slovakia and Romania  on 1 and 5 December 2023.=== Recent call-ups ===:''The following players were named to a squad in the last 12 months. '':''This list may be incomplete.''
Competitive record  '''Champions'''   '''Runners-up'''   '''Third place'''   '''Fourth place'''  Tournament played fully or partially on home soil  === FIFA Women's World Cup ===FIFA Women's World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1991 1995 1999 20032/584131611 20072/463031111 20116/610028427 20154/610226720 20195/580355204/6103166182027Total0/90/6521293149107'''Matches'''First match–Biggest win–Biggest defeat–=== UEFA Women's Championship ===UEFA Women's Championship recordQualification recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1969 1979 1987 1989 1991 19932/463128184/48017223 20014/46105719 20053/584131722 20093/4320196 20135/58017626 20174/58215815 20224/58215719 2025Total0/150/8551463564148'''Matches'''First match–Biggest win–Biggest defeat–=== UEFA Women's Nations League ===UEFA Women's Nations LeagueFinals recordSeasonYearRoundSquad2023–24B22nd6303523rd2024'''Total''''''6''''''3''''''0''''''3''''''5''''''10''''''Total''''''0/1''''''0''''''0''''''0''''''0''''''0''''''0'''—'''Matches'''First match 2–1 (Varaždin, Croatia; 22 September 2023)Biggest win 2–0 (Velika Gorica, Croatia; 1 December 2023)Biggest defeat 4–0 (Senec, Slovakia; 26 September 2023)
Individual statistics === Most capped players ===Iva Landeka has played 102 matches for Croatia, making her most capped Croatian playerRankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer1Iva Landeka'''102'''142Sandra Žigić'''94'''102005–20193'''Kristina Nevrkla''''''87'''42008–4'''Izabela Lojna''''''82'''122010–5Maja Joščak'''77'''202006–2019'''Doris Bačić'''02011–7'''Leonarda Balog''''''68'''12009–8Kristina Šundov'''59'''82003–20209Violeta Baban'''58'''82002–201610'''Ana Jelenčić''''''47'''12011–=== Top goalscorers ===With 20 goals, Maja Joščak is the top goalscorer for the Croatia's women's national football teamRankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Maja Joščak'''20'''772'''Ivana Rudelić''''''18'''463Katarina Kolar'''16'''402006–20144Iva Landeka'''14'''1025Marina Koljenik'''13'''356Ljiljana Jakšić'''12'''22'''Izabela Lojna'''818Sandra Žigić'''10'''949Violeta Baban'''8'''58Kristina Šundov59
See also * Croatia women's national under-19 football team* Croatia women's national under-17 football team* Croatia women's national under-15 football team* Croatia national football team* Croatia national football B team* Croatia national under-23 football team* Croatia national under-21 football team* Croatia national under-20 football team* Croatia national under-19 football team* Croatia national under-18 football team* Croatia national under-17 football team* Croatia national under-16 football team* Croatia national under-15 football team
References