Luka Modric is expected to lead Croatia at what could be his final World Cup as Zlatko Dalic's side aim to continue their remarkable record of success on football's biggest stage despite fitness concerns over their captain.
Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric broke his country's scoring record by netting eight times as top flight Rijeka thrashed third division Zmaj Blato 11-0 in a cup match on Wednesday.
"The conditions here have been better than I expected, the conditions are a little bit windy. And considering the air conditioning in the stadiums, it will even get cold during the games," Kramaric said on Monday.
The official 26-man squads for FIFA World Cup 2026.
Images from the Euro 2024 Group B match between Italy and Croatia at Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig, Germany, on Monday
While Canada may have been humbled, coach John Herdman remained unbowed making no apologies for his incendiary remarks - which caused a stir in Croatia.
They also topped their Nations League group ahead of World Cup holders France, Denmark and Austria, and head into the tournament on the back of a winning streak that culminated in a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their final warm-up friendly.
There was however still some drama. Croatia were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute when Andrej Kramaric's toe was clipped by Yannick Carrasco and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.
Portugal's Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo scored first-half goals in a comfortable 3-1 win away to Poland in the Nations League on Saturday as the Group A1 leaders continued their perfect start to the competition with three wins.
Spain's late substitute Joselu struck two quick-fire goals on his debut to seal a 3-0 win over Norway
A reshuffled France drew 1-1 away to Croatia in their second Nations League game on Monday, four days after an opening defeat by Denmark.
IMAGES from the Euro 2024 Group B match between Croatia and Albania at Hamburg Volksparkstadion, in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday.
anada's hopes of getting back into the contest were dashed when a curling cross from Perisic on the left was controlled by Kramaric, who shifted the ball onto his left foot and dispatched it low into the bottom corner in the 70th minute.
Here is a round-up of results from the European League matches played on Friday.
Like a medieval army picking an elevated spot to engage in battle, Albania were happy to concede territory up the field in favour of packing the final third, safe in the knowledge that Croatia would not hurt them.
Bradford City produced another giant-killing to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
A diving header from Mario Mandzukic took a deflection off the Nigerian midfielder and crept into the goal for a deserved lead as Croatia dominated the count of chances created in the first 45 minutes.
Bayern Munich slumped to a shock 4-1 loss at Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday. The defeat ended their 32-match unbeaten run in all competitions stretching back to last year.
Modric was unable to dictate play as much as he normally would
A late penalty from Bryan Zaragoza secured Spain a 3-2 win over Switzerland in their final Nations League Group A4 game on Monday.
England fought back to qualify for the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League as Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard scored late goals in a pulsating 2-1 victory over Croatia, who were relegated from Group A4 after defeat at Wembley on Sunday.
The comparison with Maradona for the title of the greatest Argentine player of all time cannot be complete without a world title, which the late Maradona won almost single-handedly 36 years ago.
Spain showed tremendous character though and prevailed thanks to Morata's superb strike in the 100th minute
Spain were Nations League runners-up two years ago to France and success will come as a major fillip after a disappointing World Cup in Qatar, where they were upset by Morocco in the last-16.
Modric and Co will face England in Moscow on Wednesday!
Scotland stay in hunt for quarters with 1-0 win over 10-man Croatia
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group F match between Morocco and Croatia on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur's Erik Lamela scored a stunning 'rabona' goal to light up Thursday's Europa League ties, wrapping his left boot round the back of his right leg 20 metres out and blasting the ball into the top corner.
Bayern Munich, already crowned Bundesliga champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium on Saturday after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 on the final matchday. Bayern can win more silverware next week with the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen. They are also still in the Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved an early penalty and James Milner's shot was deflected into his own net by Havard Nordtveit for the English Premier League side's second goal in an end-to-end match.
Croatia will be ready for both versions of Russia, says Perisic
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
World Cup: When wingers gave Croatia flight
Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
Images from the FIFA World Cup third place playoff match between Croatia and Morocco on Saturday.
Leaders Bayern Munich twice surrendered the lead in a 2-2 Bundesliga draw at 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday and Borussia Moenchengladbach missed two penalties in a goalless draw against Hamburg SV.
A round-up of Friday's action in the UEFA Nations League.
Russia's World Cup dream ended within agonising sight of the semi-finals as they went down 4-3 on penalties to Croatia on Saturday after another gallant performance in front of their fanatical fans which again belied their lowly ranking.
The 2024 European Championship will be held in Germany from June 14-July 14. Following are the teams who have qualified for the tournament:
