Since their third-placed finish at the 1998 World Cup, Croatia have often gone into major tournaments as dark horses, only to disappoint – they exited the tournament at the group stage in 2002, 2006 and 2014. Hoffenheim striker Kramaric will be hoping to inspire them to better things as the focal point of an attack where he can expect to receive five-star service, with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic pulling the strings in midfield.
Kramaric notched 13 goals and six assists as TSG finished third in the table – and incredibly, 11 of those goals came after the start of February. The 26-year-old is therefore enjoying a hot streak at just the right time, as far as Croatia are concerned – he was also in target in the final pre-tournament friendly win over Senegal. If the Vatreni are to get past Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland in Group D, they will certainly need their versatile front man firing on all cylinders.