Ivan Perišić prepares for his fourth World Cup | This is how the PSV player performed with his country at previous World Cups

Despite his 37-year-old age, current PSV player Ivan Perisic is still a mainstay for the Croatia national team. Perisic made his debut for the Balkan country in 2011 and is now preparing for his fourth appearance with the Croats at the World Cup.

Since independence in 1991, Croatia has been frequently seen during a European Championship or World Cup of Football. Since its first appearance at the World Cup in 1998, the Balkan country only missed the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2000 European Championship in the Netherlands & Belgium.

In 1998, the Croatians surprised friend and foe by winning the bronze medal, while in 2002 and 2006 the group stage was the end of the road. In 2014, Croatia returned to the top podium again after the country had missed out on a World Cup ticket just four years earlier.

At that tournament, Croatia kicked off the World Cup with a match against host country Brazil. Despite an early 0-1 lead, the Brazilians ultimately won 3-1, and after that the Balkan country, with current PSV player Perisic, won their second group match 0-4 against Cameroon, which meant the Croats would decide the last group match in a direct encounter with Mexico to determine who would go on to the next round.

Ultimately Mexico won 1-3, meaning Croatia could pack its bags since Brazil knew how to settle matters with Cameroon, which had already been eliminated. Four years later, the Croats were once again in the mix at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and Vatreni managed to finish first in Group D after wins over Nigeria (2-0), Argentina (0-3) and World Cup debutant Iceland (1-2).

In the last group match, Perisic managed to make it 1-2 in the ninetieth minute, which meant that Croatia won all three matches and would advance to the second round against Denmark. Via penalty shootouts, the Croats managed to settle things with the Danes, and in the quarterfinal against host nation Russia (2-2 after extra time) the Balkan country also pulled it off, advancing to the semifinals for the first time again since 1998, via penalty shootouts.

In the semi-final against England, Croatia were trailing after five minutes via a free kick from Kieran Trippier and in the 68th minute it was Perisic who managed to head home the 1-1 past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, sending both teams into extra time. In extra time, Croatia ultimately struck through striker Mario Mandzukic and thanks to a 2-1 victory, the Croats reached the World Cup final for the first time.

Even in the final, Perisic was responsible for the equalizer, but despite this, Croatia had to bow out 4-2 to France, meaning the world title passed by Perisic & co. Four years later, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Croatia was once again in the mix in a group with Belgium, Canada, and Morocco.

After a difficult group stage in which the Croats finished second behind group winner Morocco, the Balkan nation advanced via Japan and Brazil to the semi-final against Argentina. In the match against Japan, Perisic in minute 55 provided the equalizer (1-1) after which Croatia ultimately went through to the quarter-final via penalties and there also settled matters with Brazil via penalty shootouts.

The semi-final against Argentina, unlike the match at the 2018 World Cup, became a hopeless affair for Perisic & co. This time the Argentinians won with the same score as the Croatians in 2018 (3-0), which meant the semi-final was the end station for the Balkan country.

Ultimately, Croatia managed to win the bronze medal by defeating World Cup surprise Morocco 2-1 in the consolation final. Morocco qualified as the first African country for the semi-finals of a World Cup by taking care of business in the knockout stage, including against Spain and Portugal.