The Croatia national under-16 football team represents Croatia in international football matches for players aged 16 or younger. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the Mali vatreni ('Little Blazers'). The Mali vatreni participate in the UEFA Under-16 Development Tournaments which are organised annually in several UEFA member countries. Croatia won four of the Development Tournaments: 2014 in Switzerland, 2018 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 2019 and 2022 at home in Croatia.
| Nickname(s) | Mladi Vatreni (The Young Blazers) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Croatian Football Federation (HNS) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | Robert Jarni | ||
| Most caps | Domagoj Pavičić (15)Josip Šutalo (15) | ||
| Top scorer | Teo Kardum (9) | ||
| FIFA code | CRO | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Slovenia 0–0 Croatia  (Brežice, Slovenia; 6 April 1993) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Croatia 7–1 Slovenia (Rovinj, Croatia; 5 March 2002) Croatia 6–0 Hungary  (Belišće, Croatia; 16 April 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Austria 4–0 Croatia (Villach, Austria; 24 May 2000) Croatia 1–5 Russia  (Stara Pazova, Serbia; 2 June 2015) | |||
| Website | hns-cff.hr | ||
Recent results
editThe following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
| 17 April 2023 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament | Croatia | 1–0 |  Turkey | Čakovec, Croatia |
| 17:30 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion SRC Mladost |
| 21 April 2023 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament | Norway  | 1–2 | Croatia | Čakovec, Croatia |
| 11:30 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion SRC Mladost |
| 24 April 2023 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament | Croatia | 1–4 | Austria | Kotoriba, Croatia |
| 11:00 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Sportski park Kotoriba |
Players
editCurrent squad
editThe following players were called up for the summer camp in Stubičke Toplice from 4 to 9 August 2023.[1]
Competitive record
edit Champions
Runners-up
Third place
Fourth place
Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament record
edit| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
 2014 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 2015 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Third | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
 2016 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
 2017 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Last | 4th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 2018 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2019 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| 2022 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
| 2023 UEFA Under-16 Development Tournament |
Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Total | 4 titles | 9/10 | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 29 |
Draws include matches decided via penalty shoot-out; correct as of 24 April 2023 after the match against Austria.
| Matches | |
|---|---|
| First match | Croatia 2–0 Macedonia  (Umag, Croatia; 11 March 2013)
|
| Biggest win |  Bolivia 0–5 Croatia (Karlovac, Croatia; 7 April 2019)
|
| Biggest defeat | Croatia 1–4 Austria (Kotoriba, Croatia; 24 April 2023)
|
Other
edit| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Telki Cup |
Last | 8th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 2000 Telki Cup |
Seventh | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
 2012 Tournoi du Val-de-Marne |
Third | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
 2015 Miljan Miljanić International Tournament |
Third | 3rd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2016 Miljan Miljanić International Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 2020 Four Nations Tournament |
Last | 4th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 2020 Vlatko Marković International Tournament |
Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 2 titles | 6/6 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 33 |
Correct as of 27 September 2020 after the match against 
Romania.
See also
edit- Croatia national football team
- Croatia national football B team
- Croatia national under-23 football team
- Croatia national under-21 football team
- Croatia national under-20 football team
- Croatia national under-19 football team
- Croatia national under-18 football team
- Croatia national under-17 football team
- Croatia national under-15 football team
- Croatia women's national football team
- Croatia women's national under-19 football team
- Croatia women's national under-17 football team
- Croatia women's national under-15 football team
References
edit- ^ "Ljetni kamp za selekcije U-15 i U-16 u Stubičkim Toplicama". Croatian Football Federation. Zagreb. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.