{"id":6674,"date":"2026-07-08T13:08:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6674"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:08:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:08:38","slug":"zlatko-dalic-steps-down-as-croatias-coach-after-world-cup-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6674","title":{"rendered":"Zlatko Dali\u0107 steps down as Croatia’s coach after World Cup exit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo\/Mike Stewart)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

ZAGREB, Croatia \u2014 Zlatko Dali\u0107 is out as Croatia\u2019s coach after a spell that included leading the team to two consecutive top-three finishes at World Cups.<\/p>

Read more Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 condemns Paraguayan senator over racist remarks after World Cup match<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI leave with a fulfilled heart, proud of my contribution to the greatest successes of Croatian soccer in history, and I wish my successor, the national team and Croatian soccer many new successes,\u201d Dali\u0107 said in a statement posted by the national soccer federation on Instagram<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The announcement came less than a week after Croatia lost 2-1<\/a> to Portugal in the round of 32 at the World Cup<\/a> .<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always said that there is no greater honor than leading my national team, and that I cannot have a more important, more responsible, and more beautiful job than this,\u201d Dali\u0107 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support in recent days has prompted me to reconsider my decision to leave, but… it\u2019s about time. As much as I still feel the ambition and desire to write new successes with Croatia, I feel that this is the right moment to conclude this incredible era.\u201d<\/p>

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The federation called Dali\u0107\u2019s time at the helm an \u201cunforgettable journey\u201d and said his departure was a \u201cproud farewell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing nearly nine years, head coach Zlatko Dali\u0107 has decided to close his incredibly successful chapter with Croatia,\u201d the federation said on X. \u201cHead coach, thank you for everything \u2014 the victories, the achievements, the qualifying berths, the medals, the unity, the respect, and your unwavering commitment to fight for Croatia, both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe results speak of your coaching virtues. The respect you\u2019ve earned from your players, staff, and opponents speaks volumes about the person you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under Dali\u0107, Croatia\u2019s so-called golden generation, which included star player Luka Modri\u0107, was runner-up at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and third at the 2022 edition in Qatar. It was also runner-up at the 2023 Nations League.<\/p>

Read more Questions remain about defense strategy for man accused of killing Charlie Kirk<\/a><\/p>\n

The federation did not immediately announce a new coach.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zlatko Dali\u0107 is out as Croatia\u2019s coach after a spell that included leading the team to two consecutive top-three finishes at World Cups<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nZlatko Dali\u0107 steps down as Croatia's coach after World Cup exit - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6674\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zlatko Dali\u0107 steps down as Croatia's coach after World Cup exit - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Zlatko Dali\u0107 is out as Croatia\u2019s coach after a spell that included leading the team to two consecutive top-three finishes at World Cups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6674\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T13:08:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bc90b178ecabe7d88f05d77dba2eb76a-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1712\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Zlatko Dali\u0107 steps down as Croatia’s coach after World Cup exit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T13:08:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674\"},\"wordCount\":412,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5885690daaa66a0115d7819cbf9318d-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674\",\"name\":\"Zlatko Dali\u0107 steps down as Croatia's coach after World Cup exit - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5885690daaa66a0115d7819cbf9318d-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T13:08:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6674#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5885690daaa66a0115d7819cbf9318d-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5885690daaa66a0115d7819cbf9318d-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1712,\"caption\":\"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Portugal and Croatia in Toronto, Thursday, July 2, 2026. 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