Old familiar new national team coach of PSV’er

After the elimination with Croatia at the 2026 World Cup, Ivan Perišić is currently enjoying his vacation. At the Croatian FA, a farewell was also held for head coach Zlatko Dalić, who resigned following the defeat in the second round against Portugal (2-1).

However, the football association of the Balkan country is not sitting still and, more than a week and a half after the loss against the Portuguese, HNS has appointed a new national team coach. No one less than Slaven Bilic is once again the national team coach of Perisic & co.

Bilic was previously his country’s national coach between 2006 and 2012. Under Bilic, Croatia qualified for the 2008 European Championship in Austria and Switzerland, including by winning twice against England, causing the English to miss out on the tournament.

At the same European Championship, the Croats were beaten in the quarterfinals on penalties by Turkey, and in 2012 they failed to advance from the group stage. In addition, with Bilic, Croatia also failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In 2011, Perisic made his debut for the Croatian national team under Bilic and since then the current PSV player has been a mainstay within Croatia. Since his debut, Perisic has taken part in four different European Championships and four different World Cups with varying success.

At the European Championships, Perisic with Croatia was eliminated in the round of 16 in 2016 and 2021, while in 2012 and 2024 the group stage was the end of the road. At the 2018 World Cup, Croatia reached the final—partly thanks to a crucial role played by the current PSV player—even though they lost 4-2 to France.

At the 2022 World Cup, the semi-final was reached in which Argentina proved too strong with a 3-0 win and in the third-place play-off Croatia won 2-1 against Morocco, which meant bronze was won. At the 2014 World Cup, the group stage was not survived and at this World Cup, the round of sixteen was therefore the end of the road.