The Croatia national football team (Croatian: Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in men's international football matches. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. Football is widely supported throughout the country due to the ever-present popularity of the sport. Most home matches are played at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, although other smaller venues are also used occasionally. They are one of the youngest national teams (since formation) to reach the knockout stage of a major tournament, as well as the youngest team to occupy the top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings. Croatia has represented itself as an independent nation since 1993, when the team was officially recognised by both FIFA and UEFA following dissolution of Yugoslavia. However, short-lived national sides were briefly active during periods of political upheaval, representing sovereign states such as the Banovina of Croatia from 1939 to 1941, or the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1944. Before the current team was formed, most Croatian players represented Yugoslavia instead. The modern-day team has played competitive matches since 1994, starting with a successful qualifying campaign for the 1996 European Championship. In 1998, they competed in their first FIFA World Cup, finishing 3rd and providing the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Exactly twenty years later, under their second golden generation, Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup Final, securing second place after losing to France. Captain Luka Modrić was awarded best player of the tournament for his performances, thus making him the first ever Croatian player to win the award. Among other nicknames, the team is colloquially referred to as the Vatreni (Blazers) or the Kockasti (The Chequered Ones). In the Italian-speaking counties the team is known as Il furioso incendio (The Blazing Fire). Since becoming eligible to compete, Croatia has only failed to qualify for two major tournaments; the 2000 European Championship and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Their biggest defeat came in 2018 with a 6–0 loss to Spain, while their highest-scoring victory was a 10–0 friendly win over San Marino in 2016. The national team is also known for some long-standing rivalries, such as the Derby Adriatico with Italy, or the politically-charged rivalry with Serbia, both of which have led to controversial or disruptive matches. The team represents the second-smallest country by population and land mass to reach the World Cup final, behind Uruguay and Netherlands respectively. At major tournaments, Croatia holds joint-records for longest period between one goal and another of a player (2002–2014), most penalty shootouts played (2), most extra time periods played (3) and most penalties saved in a match (3). They are also one of only two teams—along with Colombia—to be named FIFA's "Best Mover of the Year" more than once, winning the award in 1994 and 1998. Upon admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world; following the 1998 World Cup campaign, the side rose to third place in the rankings, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history.

Stadion Maksimir

The Portugal national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) represents Portugal in international men's football competition since 1921. It is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's first participation in a major tournament finals was at the 1966 World Cup, which saw a team featuring Ballon d'Or winner Eusébio finish in third place. The next two times Portugal qualified for the World Cup finals were in 1986 and 2002, going out in the first round both times. Portugal also made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 1984 final tournament, losing 3–2 after extra time to the hosts and eventual winners France. During this period, Portugal was not part of a group of teams that were candidates to win titles, but from 2000 until this present day, the team evolved, being present in all the final stages of major tournaments. This was in great part due to the production of several world-class players by Portugal, such as Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, and Cristiano Ronaldo who is counted among the best players in history. This golden generation helped Portugal reach the semi-finals of Euro 2000, losing 2–1 after extra time to eventual winners France, securing the second place at Euro 2004 Final after losing to Greece on home soil, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup losing to finalist France, after a penalty, ending in the fourth place after losing to 3–1 to hosts Germany, thus being the best result of the country in the World Cup since 1966. Despite losing many players of the golden generation, new players such as Fábio Coentrão, João Moutinho, Nani and Pepe helped the Portuguese reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012, losing to Spain in penalties, with Cristiano Ronaldo finishing as joint top scorer of the tournament with three goals. In 2014, Fernando Santos was appointed as the new head coach for the national team. Two years later at Euro 2016, Santos brought Portugal its first ever major trophy, defeating hosts France 1–0 after extra time, with the winning goal scored by Eder. With the win, Portugal qualified and made its first appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup held in Russia, where they finished in third place. Portugal hosted the brand new 2018–19 UEFA Nations League as well as winning the trophy, defeating the Netherlands 1–0, with the winning goal scored by Gonçalo Guedes, making it the second major tournament earned by the Portuguese in three finals. Portugal is colloquially referred to as the Seleção das Quinas (The Navigators) and has notable rivalries with Brazil, with whom they share many common cultural ties and with Spain—known as A Guerra Ibérica in Portuguese or The Iberean War in English, with the rivalry between two countries going back to 1581. The team's home stadium is the Estádio Nacional, in Oeiras, although most of their home games are frequently played in other stadiums across the country. The current head coach is Fernando Santos and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who also holds the team record for most caps and for most goals.