It’s qualifying time for the FIFA World Cup 26™, and Croatia could secure in October their place in the competition, which will be held next year in Canada, Mexico, and the USA. Croatia have been a major player in the last two editions, reaching the final at Russia 2018 and winning the bronze medal at Qatar 2022.
Those impressive results allowed the likes of legendary midfielder Luka Modric and Co. to write their country’s footballing history. Now, a new generation of players, such as Petar Sucic, are looking to make a name for themselves. Sucic has become an important part of the Croatian national team and at club level in Serie A with Inter, ironically the opposite of Modric, who joined AC Milan for the 2025/26 season.
Sucic is building his own story step by step, constantly raising the level of his performances. Between ambitions and dreams, and what it means to learn from the master Modric, Sucic opened up in an interview with FIFA.
Petar Sucic: Of course, I’m very happy that at an early stage of my career I’ve become a regular member of one of the best national teams in the world, a team that won silver and bronze medals at the last two World Cups. I know that every national team gathering is an opportunity to learn something new by playing alongside such great players, and also a chance to prove my own quality and show that I deserve to be here.
Croatians are very passionate about the national team — we know what it means to our people. And when I see players like Modric, [Ivan] Perisic, [Mateo] Kovacic or [Andrej] Kramaric, who have achieved Croatia’s greatest successes, giving their maximum effort in every training session and match, that’s the best possible example of how to represent our country and achieve such impressive results. Playing for Croatia is a huge honor, and I know I can earn that privilege only through consistent performances on the pitch and by maintaining the right attitude and behavior. That’s how our team works, and that’s why it’s so successful.
It’s really interesting that, by coincidence, we both ended up in the same city — though on opposite sides! Luckily, Luka’s career has lasted so long that many of us younger players still have the chance to learn from him and see, first-hand, how much playing for Croatia means to him, and how much he still enjoys football and competition. His quality speaks for itself — Luka is one of the best midfielders of all time, a complete player who sees everything before anyone else, always finds a solution, and does everything for the team. The fact that, at 40, he joined a new club, immediately became the leader, and lifted Milan to a higher level tells you everything you need to know about him.
Luka leads by example — you see how seriously he takes every training session, every preparation, every recovery, every analysis. He’s professional and respectful toward teammates, coaches, staff, and media alike. We know that nothing lasts forever, but as long as he’s with us in the national team, we’ll enjoy every moment — not only because he’s the best Croatian player of all time, but because it’s a real joy to play alongside him and share the dressing room with someone who truly cares about the team and about winning.
We’ve raised our own expectations very high with two incredible results at the last two World Cups. Still, I think we’re all realistic enough to understand that, for a small country like Croatia, just qualifying for a major tournament is already a big achievement. I see tremendous motivation and ambition even among our more experienced players to reach the World Cup, and I don’t need to say how much it would mean to those of us who haven’t played at such a tournament yet. We’ve started the qualifiers very well, and now it’s up to us to finish the job successfully, qualify for the World Cup, and give ourselves another chance to surprise the world.
Those were the years when you probably feel football most emotionally, so I was really attached to that generation and lived through every match intensely. I saw how much joy and happiness those victories brought to the entire Croatian nation, and it was hard to even imagine that one day I might be in a position to contribute to similar successes. That generation was a true inspiration for all of us — probably not just in Croatia, but in every smaller country dreaming of competing with the biggest nations.
I knew I was joining a great club, and the club’s management gave me a clear picture of what to expect and how they saw my role. Even though a new coach arrived in the meantime, I’m glad that the adaptation process has gone exactly as they described. Of course, it takes time to adjust — it’s a new team, new coach, new league, new city, new language — but from Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team, I brought something that’s also very important at Inter: the highest ambition and a winning mentality, the pressure to win every match.
I’m satisfied with how the first few months have gone — I think I’ve played some good games and shown that the team can rely on me. I’m grateful to everyone at the club for the warm welcome and for helping me settle in quickly.
Coach Dalic has achieved incredible results with Croatia. He’s just reached his 100th match as national team coach, which says everything about the consistency of success since he took over. He deeply values team unity, which has been the foundation of all these achievements. I’m grateful to him for giving me a chance and for the great trust he shows in me during matches.
Christian Chivu was a great player himself, and as such, he understands perfectly the pressure of playing for a club like Inter. It’s never easy to take over a team after a coach who achieved big success, but he’s handled it really well. I believe we’ll be competitive in all competitions again because we have an excellent squad.
