<P> In spite of the quarter - final exit , Blažević continued to lead Croatia in the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign , which ended successfully after an aggregate victory against Ukraine in the two - legged play - off . In the group stage of the World Cup , Croatia beat Jamaica and Japan but lost to Argentina , before defeating Romania to reach a quarter - final tie against Germany , then ranked second in the world . Croatia won 3 -- 0 with goals from Robert Jarni , Goran Vlaović and Davor Šuker , all after Christian Wörns had been sent off . Croatia then faced the host nation , France , in the semi-final . After a goalless first - half , Croatia took the lead , only to concede two goals by opposing defender Lilian Thuram and lose 1 -- 2 . In the third - place match , Croatia beat the Netherlands 2 -- 1 , with Davor Šuker winning the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals of the tournament with six goals in seven games . Croatia 's performance in 1998 was among the best debut performances in the World Cup ( equaling Portugal 's third place debut finish at the 1966 World Cup ) , and as a result , Croatia rose to number three in the January 1999 FIFA World Rankings , their highest ranking to date . For their achievements , the team of the 1990s was dubbed the `` Golden Generation . '' A considerable portion of this squad ( Jarni , Štimac , Boban , Prosinečki and Šuker ) , previously won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Yugoslavia under - 20 team . </P>
<P> In spite of the quarter - final exit , Blažević continued to lead Croatia in the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign , which ended successfully after an aggregate victory against Ukraine in the two - legged play - off . In the group stage of the World Cup , Croatia beat Jamaica and Japan but lost to Argentina , before defeating Romania to reach a quarter - final tie against Germany , then ranked second in the world . Croatia won 3 -- 0 with goals from Robert Jarni , Goran Vlaović and Davor Šuker , all after Christian Wörns had been sent off . Croatia then faced the host nation , France , in the semi-final . After a goalless first - half , Croatia took the lead , only to concede two goals by opposing defender Lilian Thuram and lose 1 -- 2 . In the third - place match , Croatia beat the Netherlands 2 -- 1 , with Davor Šuker winning the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals of the tournament with six goals in seven games . Croatia 's performance in 1998 was among the best debut performances in the World Cup ( equaling Portugal 's third place debut finish at the 1966 World Cup ) , and as a result , Croatia rose to number three in the January 1999 FIFA World Rankings , their highest ranking to date . For their achievements , the team of the 1990s was dubbed the `` Golden Generation . '' A considerable portion of this squad ( Jarni , Štimac , Boban , Prosinečki and Šuker ) , previously won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship with the Yugoslavia under - 20 team . </P>
when did croatia finish 3rd in the world cup
when did croatia finish 3rd in the world cup
1998
1998